Mixing it up in my Closet-Television Inspiration

This morning I watched and became obsessed with the show, Man Shops Globe on the Sundance channel. It chronicles Keith Johnson as he hunts the world for incredible, one of a kind home decor...can you say dream job?!? Anyway, one episode follows him through Turkey where he finds a textile designer/seamstress who creates, by mixing and matching antique rugs and other textured fabrics, the most beautiful pillows for him...

(Photo from www.sundancechannel.com)
The results were incredible!!! It also had me wanting to do a little mixing and matching myself. So after a little digging, I unearthed 2 pieces I rarely wear out of my closet. The first was a dress with the most lovely sort of leafy Greek pattern in silver and black...

I actually love this dress but worn by itself, it really comes across as more of a party dress due to the shine of the fabric and slight bubble hem. The second item was a top that someone once had called a "popcorn" shirt because of the texture...

I have never worn this shirt! It too has a shiny sheen and I have never been successful in pairing it with anything. In fact, I have probably put it in and pulled it out of the Goodwill pile at least three times!

But with the dress (as a skirt,) it pulled off the textural, eclectic look that I had been going for. The suede of the boots toned down the shine and kept me warm. (It has finally been cool enough to pull them out.)

My look wasn't near as colorful as the amazing kilim rugs on the show, but the mix was certainly on par...minus the goat hair he was intent on using...although I did consider an ostrich feather necklace... (With an up do, it's still not out of the question.)
J.