I thought this was a nice little outfit, although there isn’t much credit to be had. It’s hard to screw up the patterned top + pants combo, you know? Especially when the top in that equation is this pretty. Love, love, love the colours, and the subtle floral print. If I need to get a little more serious, quickly, I can just throw on a blazer. Like so:

Do I look sassy here or what? I must have been in a good mood … and I can probably tell you why. Exhibit #1, my new bag baby:

She arrived 2 weeks ago from Japan, and I adore her. I have a post all about that saga coming up, so consider yourselves warned. Exhibit #2, my new Tai bracelet:

Last, but never ever least, Exhibit #3: a Good Hair Day, which is the best accessory of all. OK, that was basically a perfect day, sartorially speaking. I wish I could find the lesson to be learned here (so I could replicate the results) but I’m drawing a blank. Buy all the bags? Have a blow-out specialist on call? Tell me the secret, universe!

In case you haven’t heard me complain recently in the last 24 hours, let me tell you again: I haven’t had much fun lately. But that was not the case last weekend, when my husband and I (along with a couple of good friends) hit up Breakout. If you’ve never heard of Breakout, it’s basically a interactive, locked room puzzle game: you have up to 5 teammates, and 45 minutes, to figure out the code to “break out” of the theme room of your choice. It’s insanely fun, and I highly recommend it if you live in a city with a Breakout franchise.

What does that have to do with my outfit? Well, for my fun afternoon out, I wanted to wear a fun dress – and what screams “fun” louder than my pixelated rainbow floral sprinkles dress? Here’s a hint: nothing.

I usually pair this dress with cool tones (like teal), but I decided to switch things up and wear another one of my wardrobe palette-approved accent colours from the opposite side of the spectrum: burgundy. The final result may have been a tad too matchy matchy, but I love how the burgundy made the other colours in the dress pop.

I also went for some major red lips, because when you’re wearing the rainbow, you might as well go for broke. But here’s the truth, guys: I think red lips are too high maintenance for me. I don’t have time to constantly check and/or re-apply my lipstick (especially when I’m having fun), and I hate leaving marks on everything that touches my lips. [I know I’m irrational; indulge me.]

Kind of ironic, considering my blog name, huh?

I feel like I’m cheating a little bit with this post, because my outfit is more or less a straight repeat – minus the shoes. I basically wrote this post because of the shoes. Now, I have to confess that my choice to pair leopard print with this dress was not original; I was inspired by one of the stock photos of this dress I found online. Does it work? Ye …eeees. I think that, from a purely aesthetic perspective, it’s a nice, unexpected pairing. For my office, though, it may be a little bit too edgy, shall we say.

Nobody at work commented on the shoe-dress combo, mostly (I think) because everyone is still quite taken of this dress. Each one of my bosses has, at this point, commented on how nice it is. Some people might argue that, in a conservative professional environment, this is a double-edged sword; that having your clothes noticed and commented on – even in a positive way – detracts from your professional standing or whatever. I … don’t agree. I mean, I wouldn’t want my work attire to raise eyebrows, but I’m confident enough in my abilities (and my professional reputation) to not be afraid that a little flair in my wardrobe choices will undermine my perceived competence.

And, hey, I did wear a black blazer. That’s the epitome of corporate chic, right? Right.