One Tartan Jacket, 3 ways | Ping Pong Post, #PPP1

It's good to share!

This post is the first in a series called the Ping Pong Posts.

{A great idea, from my international blogging buddies, Anna and Ann}

With lots of help from these friends, I hope to showcase how three women can wear the same item in three different ways.

Three very different women, with different lives, different tastes and different hair colours!

Imagine popping round to a friends house...

{A friend with a wardrobe you would love to rummage around}

You crack open the fizz, or the wine, or a cheeky vodka. I make a great cocktail too!

You break out the nibbles, put on some tunes and start playing dress up.

Sounds like a fun night, right?

Unfortunately, the ladies in my style trio all live thousands of miles apart.

So, this coat did a spot of international travel on our behalf.

From the Isles of Scilly, to Hong Kong, to Scotland.

It has fairly clocked up the air miles!

This gorgeous wool jacket is by no means a classic or traditionally versatile (in the way a plain navy blazer could be).
It is a very unique and eye catching item.
Tricky to style in three different ways...right?

Well, let's find out...

I decided to wear this beautiful cape/jacket with some skinny jeans (last seen here).
The jacket is so unusual, and voluminous, that I needed a neater silhouette on my bottom half.

{Too much all-over volume can make me look really scrawny}

I was roasty-toasty inside this wool jacket, so I could happily reveal a toe (or two) in these cut out booties.
I have had these shoes for years, but they seem to be back in style again.
Result!

I was pleased to find that jacket worked really well with my red hair, and I wondered how it would look with Anna's blonde and Ann's dark locks?

Anyway, with the red sorted, I wanted to pull out the gorgeous yellow tones in the wool fabric.

{There is a vibrant apple green in the weave too, and I cursed my lack of this colour in my wardrobe...I must remedy that}

I chose this bright yellow jumper with a denim shirt underneath.
I loved the way the cuffs popped out of the bottom, adding more colour and interest to the look.

This bag, with #YEAH embossed on it, was the perfect (fun) finishing touch.

Coat: Benetton (Anna’s)

Jeans: M&S

Shoes: XTI

Jumper: Boden (teens)

Shirt: Boden (Adults this time)

Bag: M&S

Let's have a look at my two swapping buddies....

Anna, from Anna's Island Style, 

Anna is a blogger who started blogging around the same time as me (although when you see her site you will think she had been doing it forever, it is so slick!).

She has a love of charity shops and bargain hunting (ditto) and also a real way with colour and pattern.

A girl after my own heart!

She is the mastermind behind this ping-ponging AND the lucky owner of this fab jacket.

I am not envious at all (nope, not a bit) of her beach-based shots.

No wonder she has such a beautiful smile on her face!

Follow her on instagram

Anna also chose a skinny jean to balance the volume of the jacket (great minds!).
She has picked out the orange tones with a perspex necklace and added a frilled cuff to the sleeves, for more interest.
Chunky platform boots and a statement ring finish her look.
The volume of the jacket and the skinny dark jeans/chunky boots combination make her look perfectly proportioned and even 'leggy'.
Dark wash jeans are always a winner.
The colours in the jacket work well with her blonde hair too.

Jacket: Benetton

Jeans: Dorothy Perkins

Frilly blouse: charity shop

Cardigan: H&M

Boots: Office

Perspex necklace: old

Rings: charity shop

Ann, from Kremb de la Kremb, 

Ann has been blogging since the beginning of (blogging) time.
She is a dab hand, and her site reflects that.
He style blows me away.
She is the master of the texture-mix.
Today she has managed to find the perfect tonal background on the streets of Hong Kong.
Her look is totally different, from Anna and I, and I have to say I am not surprised.
She is so bold and inspiring.

Follow her on instagram.

In her signature black, but with her own twist, she has picked out the dark buttons (of the jacket) with her (P)leather culottes and a plain black roll neck top.
Adding a leopard bag, and cowboy boots, just ups the individuality points and ties the richer tones of the jacket to the rest of her look.
She has even ditched her statement red lip for a softer (and warmer) tone.
Her dark hair seems to match into the jacket too.
Perfect.

Coat: Anna's! 

Black hat and sunnies: Forever 21

Black turtleneck: Uniqlo

Black (p)leather culottes: Zara

Cowboy boots: Old West (via Zappos)

Leopard crossover: Jaspal, a Thai boutique kind of like Zara

Earrings: Random HK market stall

Do you ever borrow clothes from your friends, or family?

Who's wardrobe would you love a rummage through?

Please let me know in the comments, or tweet me your thoughts @samantha4blair

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