Month: July 2015

An Outfit to Remember

Blazer & shirt, J. Crew; pants, Banana Republic; shoes, Stuart Weitzman; belt, Tommy Hilfiger
Blazer & shirt, J. Crew; pants, Banana Republic; shoes, Stuart Weitzman; belt, Tommy Hilfiger

Admittedly, this is not a ground-breaking outfit from a fashion perspective. It IS an outfit to remember, for me, because I wore it for a very special event: running my first hearing as lead (sole, really) counsel. Considering the somewhat meandering path of my career over the last 10 years, I’m as surprised as anyone to find myself celebrating this particular milestone … and thrilled. If I can pause here for a second and give some unsolicited advice to recent grads in all professions (but especially law), allow me to say this: hang in there. The early years are often tough and unfulfilling, and you may find yourself wondering if you made a mistake in your choice of career. And, in some cases, the answer may be “yes”. But a lot of the time, the answer that might seem right is only a reflection of the difficulties you are experiencing – and, first and foremost, of the fear of failure. Give yourself time to learn and to get better, stronger, more confident. You may be amazed at the path you end up building for yourself. A path to success.

boring black? maybe not ...
boring black? maybe not …

Back to the outfit. Since my hearing was administrative in nature, the dress code was more relaxed than it would have been in a courtroom. Hence – a pop of colour! Blue and red are my fave combo, so I thought it would be auspicious choice. I felt cool, calm and collected (and prepared!) that day, so I’d call that a win.

nervous?! naaah ... (only a little bit)
nervous?! naaah … (only a little bit)

Happy Dress

Dress, Katherine Barclay; belt, H&M; shoes, J. Crew Factory; bag, Coach (vintage)
Dress, Katherine Barclay; belt, H&M; shoes, J. Crew Factory; bag, Coach (vintage)

I always seem to wear this dress for birthdays and other similarly happy events, hence the title of the post. But, really, can you blame me? This dress is like a confetti explosion in clothes form. It always makes a statement, and that statement is: have dress, will party.

party, in dress form
confetti explosion, in dress form

With so much print going on, it’s hard to do much in terms of accessorizing. Any colour of shoes/bag will work with this dress, but that’s almost besides the point, because no one is looking at them. So, basically, this is the same outfit every time. You’ve seen it before, but happy dress deserves another spin on the old blog – I think you’ll agree.

fun in the sun
fun in the sun

Serious Bizzness

Blazer, J. Crew; top, LOFT (swap); pants, Banana Republic; shoes, J. Crew; bag, Marc Jacobs; necklace, Cleo
Blazer, J. Crew; top, LOFT (swap); pants, Banana Republic; shoes, J. Crew; bag, Marc Jacobs; necklace, Cleo

Whenever I have client meetings at work these days, I struggle to find the right balance for my outfits: I want to look professional, of course, but not over-dressed for the occasion (which, in my case, tends to be client meetings on the more informal side). I thought this attempt struck a good balance; chalk it up to business separates, in neutral colours, with a small dash of sparkle.

all neutral
all neutral
hey, awkward pose
hey, awkward pose

There are actually a lot of different colours going on here, but because everything is muted, it doesn’t scream “I was a maccaw in a previous lifetime”. Another #adulting success, you guys.

wait, is that the neighbour staring?
wait, is that the neighbour staring?