My love affair with camo has evolved into a deep passion for my new favorite neutral: olive green. One of my favorite pieces in our shop is the brushed camo pullover with RANCHO RELAXO in fluorescent yellow. This piece feels like cashmere and I love the subtle pop of lilac in the camo.
Like most of my sartorial preferences, olive green has a strong masculine/feminine dynamic. Olive has a strong militaristic affiliation. When I feel like I need a little more armor to prepare for a day where I know I will face challenges/opportunities, I pull out an olive green jacket (and I have quite a few).
Pictured here is a fabulous new AS by DF military inspired jacket that is top of my wish list. I paired it with VINCE CAMUTO 90s inspired neon yellow strappy heels and a pale pink BLUE PACIFIC silk cashmere feather weight scarf.
How do you own this look? I am currently doing a lot on monotone dressing. Wearing one color head to toe makes a strong, powerful impact. I couple this look with bold brass jewelry, OBLIK ATELIER a personal favorite.
I love the olive lace in this TRIBAL dress. This reinforces the masculine/feminine dressing that so appeals to me. Do you have anything lace that hasn't been in rotation for a while? Try dying it an unexpected color. Or cutting up the lace and sewing onto a t-shirt. Resale shops are a great source of vintage lace dresses and doiles.
When I want to fly my feminine card, I opt for a long flowy dress. Do you still have your favorite ditzy floral dress from the 90s? Pull it out! This look is very relevant today!
Looking for inspiration on colors to accessorize this look? Look no further than Mother Nature. After 9 years (my anniversary next month) in the desert, I am still in awe with the range of colors. From afar, the vast expanse of desert looks wondefully monotone. It is more red in Arizona, but our Sonoran desert reminds me of the amber waves of grain in my home state of Ohio.
When you look closer, there are so many shades of green. Ficus hedges thrive here, a plant that I only knew to survive as a house plant back home. The bold green of the ficus screams of bounty. Most of the other greens have a wonderful sun drenched quality that absolutely pop on the few rainy days we have.
We were blessed with an amazingly wet fall and winter that ended the drought that we have been in since I moved here. The flowers this year were absolutely spectacular. Pictured here are some of my favorites. Look how amazing these pops of color are against the desert greens.
I only wish I could share the names with you. These are from my yard and most have been there for probably decades. It is my dream to have at least one of every native plant in our desert right in my back yard.
This is one of my top 5 favorite desert plants. I wish I knew the name, I think it is an aloe. The tips are a deep burgundy and the leaves are a magnificent silver green. Burgundy is another amazing accessory color that usually reads more autumnal. Wear it with silvery greens to make your other seasonal outfits look fresh!
Look at the bright fuschia pink bouganvilla peaking out in the background of this pic. This is another plant that thrives in the desert. It is prickly underneath but oh so amazing and blooms almost year round. Hot pink is an excellent color to pop ANY neutral!
There is a reason why you see so many orange and yellow doors in the desert. Look how amazing these colors are in nature!
In our early years when Domenic and I embarked on this project, our death toll was embarrassingly high. We got a lot of native plants from San Diego nurserys that were so unhappy in our yard and died dramatic deaths. We now focus on desert natives. Domenic dreams of having a baby Joshua Tree....but that would be illegal.....
