It is still incredibly cold in my neck of the woods, and I'm longing for Spring.  I need more sunshine to combat this anxiety and depression.  I need decent weather for getting out in nature.  But for now, I wait.

You probably caught the gorgeous beaded gown from Simply Be that I showed you leading up to the holidays.  Well, Simply Be reached out again to give you styling inspiration for this Western Denim Shirt.  You'll be able to see how different bloggers styled it in an upcoming post on their blog.  (I'll link it here when it's up.)  Right now, Simply Be's tops are 30% off, including this dark wash denim goodness!!

Read on for my review of this top, and see me pretend not to be freezing my caboose off in the 38 degree weather at the lake! lol





The Western Denim Shirt is a soft, lightweight denim top in a dark wash indigo color.  It is a little thicker than my other chambray shirts from another retailer, but not too thick or heavy.  This cotton top has a little bit of stretch to it, with snap closures and buttons in between each snap - on the inside of the shirt - to keep it from gaping if you have that issue.  Because button-down shirts are a tricky fit for me, I opted to make sure it fit my hips and went with a US26/UK30 size.  I definitely could have sized down to a US24, but there wouldn't have been a lot of room in the hips for me.  The 26 buttons up without issue, the sleeves fit my larger upper arms just fine, but the bust and shoulders are a little large.  The overall fit is a bit oversized, but I like having the extra wiggle room and ability to layer this top.  It would also look really cute tucked into a skirt, or even tied at the waist like Rebecca of The Plus Side of Me did.  I also love to wear these types of denim tops as a lightweight layer in the spring and summer (like I did on my Redwoods road trip).


As it is so cold, layers are key.  This, combined with a feeling that I haven't been showing my more realistic casual wear on the blog lately, informed my styling process when putting this look together.  I wanted the shirt to pop against a contrasting background, so I kept my look pretty monochrome underneath.  Super stretchy skinny jeans and a knit top keep the comfort, but the criss-cross and stripes of the tee add some fun and interest.  My shoes are also burgundy, with a complimentary plaid pattern as well.  For jewelry, I kept the look simple with some nature-inspired resin drop earrings that look like they have bits of pebbles in them.  Burgundy, blue, and white are also present in the earrings, pulling everything together.


My shoes and purse are new to the blog, so I wanted to talk about those for a minute as well. The Leawood Sneaker Bootie from Comfortiva is so cute!  I really want to buy the olive green color as well.  The insole is simple to take out.  I put a more comfortable insole in that is more supportive for walking.  My purse is by a company called Ness, out of the UK.  I came upon this handbag in an Irish shop in Victoria, B.C. during our anniversary trip last year.  I love the color combo and could not pass it up!  The texture of the wool/poly blend is great, and the strap is long enough to be a crossbody for me.  It serves as a practical and colorful souvenir from our trip.  (It is also on sale on the Ness website.)


Western Denim Shirt - c/o Simply Be
Striped Long-Sleeve Criss-Cross Tee - Lane Bryant (similar, similar, similar)
Super Stretch Skinny Jeans - Lane Bryant (similar)
Leawood Sneaker Bootie - Comfortiva (also available here)
Resin Drop Earrings - Charming Charlie (similar, similar, similar)
Wilma Tweed Crossbody Bag in the Newhaven plaid- Ness (Also available here)