I know … the title is lame, but when you’re rocking two different animal prints, what else are you going to go with? This dress was a birthday present from a dear friend, who apparently knows my style better than I do.

Jersey sheath dresses like this one are a godsend for hourglass shapes, and comfortable as heck as long as they’re not too tight. You can kind of see what the dress does for my figure in the picture below: hello, tiny waist illusion – I heart you!

You know what else I heart? This Joe Fresh oatmeal coloured cardigan. I was gutted when I accidentally ripped a hole in it last year, and desperately hunted for a replacement; it was long sold out, and I ended up buying a cream Theory cardigan at Winners for double the price (on massive sale!), but I still come back to this one, every time. Luckily, the hole was fixable, and boy am I glad. I will definitely be crying hot tears when it eventually disintegrates from constant wear. Joe Fresh might be hit-and-miss, but the hits are pretty darn fantastic.

I have a lot of dresses in my closet, and they are all lovely in their own way. Every so often, though, there comes along a magical dress. The magical dress is a cheap, comfortable, no fuss, could-wear-it-all-the-time kind of dress. I’ve been lucky to run into a few in my time, and this is my most recent one. For $40 (full price), it’s not exactly cheap considering it’s just Joe Fresh, but that’s relative, I suppose. It’s made from super soft, floaty rayon, and it has a gorgeous print that will work perfectly with my wardrobe colours. A good thing, since the remixing possibilities are endless. I CANNOT wait to transition this dress to fall (though I CAN wait for fall a while longer, kthanxbye).

For a friend’s baby shower, I wore it with my recently thrifted Giuseppe Zanotti sandals. If you follow me on IG (or read Monday’s post, hah) you know I found these gorgeous shoes at a Salvation Army store in Vancouver for a mere $20. They’re in excellent condition, and if the heel is a little higher than I’m used to these days, that is a small price to pay, I think. Love the rose gold with my complexion.

All told, this entire outfit, minus the earrings, cost me less than $100, which is pretty impressive (if I do say so myself) considering the shoes alone retailed for around $700. Most importantly, I felt like a million bucks. That’s some serious magic, right there.

Having been at this style blogging game for over 5 years, I would have a very hard time picking my, say, Top 10 favourite outfits of all time. With that said, I have absolutely ZERO (all caps!) doubt that this outfit would make that list. Yeah, I love it that much – and, be warned, this post will reflect that, picture-wise.

Fundamentally, there is nothing all that special about it. The top + blazer + jeans combo is a classic dressy-casual look that’s perfect for (casual) Fridays at work, or weekend adventures that are a cut above grabbing groceries and getting the car washed. In this case, the love is in the details. I just love how this all comes together. The focal piece is, of course, the blouse. I almost never pay retail prices these days, especially not for 100% polyester, but I didn’t hesitate to do so for this Simons blouse ($40). The print is perfection, and the cut/style is actually not bad either (fabric aside). I like the V-neck, which makes it easy to wear with blazers, and the 3/4 sleeves (which you will see in a future post, I am sure) are also great – no rolling required. The blouse is slightly longer in the back than the front, which is also a nice detail.

I really do wish the fabric was nicer (the polyester feels cheap, to be honest). I rarely say this (because I’m an inveterate bargain shopper), but I would happily have paid double for this top if it came in a better fabric. Such a shame that the manufacturer cheaped out.

Hey, I said there would be a lot of photos, didn’t I? #sorrynotsorry But hey, before you run off, tell me: when was the last time that you fell head over heels for a piece of clothing? How did the love affair end up? Fingers crossed for a floral blouse happily ever after …