Dress, Ralph Lauren (thrifted); blazer, Zara (swap); shoes, Jimmy Choo; bag, MbMJThe dress is the easiest of all outfits — one piece, you’re done — and Ralph Lauren jersey dresses are just about the easiest of dresses. Always flattering, always comfortable, pretty much indestructible. I fall in and out of love with them — they’re not particularly fashion-forward — but I always seem to come back for more … especially at thrift prices. This particular dress certainly did its job of keeping me looking polished with minimum effort and maximum comfort, and garnered a bunch of compliments to boot.
spotlight on dressblazeryThis Zara peplum blazer is a keeper too. It’s definitely more of a statement piece than a classic, but it creates a lovely silhouette. It’s also quite stretchy, which is a godsend on long days at the office (followed by, in this case, a late client function). And it works well with this dress, since they are similar shades of navy … despite my initial conviction that the dress was black. Thrifting goggles are strong, I tell ya. Still, all is well that ends well, right?
You know, I can never get the blazer/dress combo right. Is there some magic trick about where the blazer is supposed to hit? (It might just be that my torso is too long, relative to my legs).
Also, there’s a part of me that wonders if you read the news about our election and think we’re totally insane, when you’re not in polite blogger mode. :/
I think it depends on the style of the dress — how casual or dressy it is. You can get away with a longer, boyfriend-style blazer on a more casual, slinky dress. Anything flared probably needs a cropped blazer. Otherwise, I would aim for something that hits at or above your hip bones. Of course, your proportions will matter — although I have a long torso (relative to my legs) and I haven’t had issues with it. Could it be more of a tailoring issue (where the waist hits you, or if the waist even comes in enough) versus the length? I struggle a lot of boxy blazers, and they look terrible with dresses. For dresses, you need a very slim cut blazer that nips in at the waist as much as possible.
Re your last question … I do read the news, and I do my best to bite my tongue and remind myself that nobody reads this blog for my political opinions 😉
Hmm. That’s helpful. It might have something to do with the waist. I wonder if another part of the problem is that I don’t wear heels? Probably if I did that, it would elongate my legs and make the proportions look better. As stands, the blazer always seem to take up too much space, in terms of body real estate.
I hear you. I actually used to do domestic violence counseling, so I’m having a lot of complicated feelings right now. But, just so you know, if Justin Trudeau wants to invade, we probably won’t be mad.
Dress looks black to me too! I don’t care if this sort of thing isn’t fashion forward, it just looks so smart and well thought-out, much more me than fashiony things. That’s probably why I read purely OOTD blogs and zero magazines! Keeping it real 🙂
You know, I can never get the blazer/dress combo right. Is there some magic trick about where the blazer is supposed to hit? (It might just be that my torso is too long, relative to my legs).
Also, there’s a part of me that wonders if you read the news about our election and think we’re totally insane, when you’re not in polite blogger mode. :/
I think it depends on the style of the dress — how casual or dressy it is. You can get away with a longer, boyfriend-style blazer on a more casual, slinky dress. Anything flared probably needs a cropped blazer. Otherwise, I would aim for something that hits at or above your hip bones. Of course, your proportions will matter — although I have a long torso (relative to my legs) and I haven’t had issues with it. Could it be more of a tailoring issue (where the waist hits you, or if the waist even comes in enough) versus the length? I struggle a lot of boxy blazers, and they look terrible with dresses. For dresses, you need a very slim cut blazer that nips in at the waist as much as possible.
Re your last question … I do read the news, and I do my best to bite my tongue and remind myself that nobody reads this blog for my political opinions 😉
Hmm. That’s helpful. It might have something to do with the waist. I wonder if another part of the problem is that I don’t wear heels? Probably if I did that, it would elongate my legs and make the proportions look better. As stands, the blazer always seem to take up too much space, in terms of body real estate.
I hear you. I actually used to do domestic violence counseling, so I’m having a lot of complicated feelings right now. But, just so you know, if Justin Trudeau wants to invade, we probably won’t be mad.
Dress looks black to me too! I don’t care if this sort of thing isn’t fashion forward, it just looks so smart and well thought-out, much more me than fashiony things. That’s probably why I read purely OOTD blogs and zero magazines! Keeping it real 🙂