Reaching Into the Charmed Past for Fall

I've loved Charmed since the first episode. I've seen every episode at least 3 times each and I still appreciate the fashion in each one. Phoebe (played by Alyssa Milano) was always my favorite with her romantic style full of subtle florals and lace and a bit of ethnic flair. The episode "The Lost Picture Show" from 2005 has her in an AWESOME super-cropped cardi. I'm loving the english rose, fluffy white, and fern color combination with the pattern and texture combinations.

 Isn't it just fabulous?

Early 2000s, the mix of classic and revealing with a side of futuristic holographic fabrics were king. Remember Britney's Spears' catsuit and, well, everything she ever wore? Yeah, I've tried to forget the Lisa Frank to the nth degree fashions, but they're coming around again, not that I don't yearn to have some Lisa Frank folders just for fun sorting. Stella McCartney's holographic clutch was one of the hottest designer clutches and was very hard to get, spawning many homages in clutch and purse form. And not to ignore the dark babydoll dresses with small floral print with combat boots and the huge grunge resurgence repopularizing the street fashion scene. And how about we just ignore the hipsters are their flannel lumberjack look. Give them olive denim and I'm back in elementary school in the middle of the 90s again, including a lot of the faux "I don't care about anything" attitudes.

Now, this super-cropped cardi is all me. I love the warmth for the arms and shoulders and upper back. I'm what people call a "heater." I put off lots of heat from my core constantly. Normal sweaters and sweatshirts get me too warm, normally, so this is a fantastic idea for the incoming breezes of fall days. The 90s resurgence makes me yearn for chunky knit fisherman sweaters that go down to my knees, but being not even 5 feet with pronounced curves, I can't do the traditional sloppy sweater without blobbing myself out. Cardigans and curve-hugging sweaters are great, but I don't want to hide all my cute tops all fall. I need to open up my wardrobe for all-season workability since it's bursting at the seams. Yeah, I know, what a problem to have.

Cowls, shawls, wraps, and scarves keep warmth in this coming chilly season, but add sleeves? AWESOME! So much easier to keep them all in place with sleeves and increase that warmth. My new obsession is tracking down some cardigan patterns and mixing the different patterns for something similar, since I doubt it'll be sold anywhere.