Twelve years is how long this dress (now skirt) has been in my closet. I know, because I remember clearly the day I bought it. It was June 2003, and I was on a Contiki tour of France. (Anyone else remember those? Are Contiki tours still a thing?) I saw the strapless version of this H&M dress worn by another girl on my tour, and fell in love immediately. Something about that Georgia O’Keefe-like print just spoke to me. And I don’t even like yellow!

This was long before H&M came to Canada, but I was already familiar (and smitten) with the brand after a previous trip to Switzerland; it was a revelation – cute, trendy, and affordable, like a “grown up”, European version of Forever21. Anyway, back in France, I lucked out. I spotted the dress (in a halter-neck style) at the H&M store in Paris on my second last day, and immediately bought it even though it was kind of expensive for my budget at the time. It’s 100% silk, which may have had something to do with the price.

For years, I held on to it, even after I stopped fitting into it, because it was just too beautiful to give up. (Side note: this dress is proof of the vanity sizing madness that’s taken over in the last decade. This dress was labelled a European size 36 (US 6) and truly fits like a current size 2 or smaller. If I hadn’t converted it into a dress, there is no way I could fit into it.) I never really liked the halter style, though, so a few years ago, I asked my grandmother to turn it into a skirt, hoping the alteration would make it more wearable. The top part of the dress was just plain yellow anyway – no loss.

Sadly, it was not to be. After my second pregnancy, I bid adieu to my size 6-wearing days, and the skirt got pushed into the deepest recesses of my overflow closet. I almost got rid of it, on more than one occasion. But then! In a twist of fate, the skirt fits again once more. If that’s not some kind of sign – that I should be wearing it! – I don’t know what is.

I kept the rest of the outfit here pretty simple, so as not to compete with that gorgeous print, but couldn’t resist throwing in a couple of sparklies. I love me some brooch-on-scarf action. Almost as much as this skirt, and its long history.

Let’s ignore my crappy photo set-up, and just look at how strong my blush blazer is still going. Summer wardrobe staple? I think not. I’m going to call this one an all season MVP. I was going to pair this animal print dress with my black blazer, but mentally went “ughhhh” at the thought of it. The whole thing was just too dark for my mood at the time. Sometimes when I’m stressed, I like to wear lots of black; other times, I want anything but. This was a great alternative.

As I was looking at these photos, I realized that a tan/cream blazer would probably work in much the same way, in terms of lightening up the outfit, and briefly considered whether I should be looking to add one to my closet. I have a sneaking suspicion, however, that this blush colour is more flattering to my skin tone than tan. A cream version remains intriguing, but I can’t remember the last time I saw one anywhere.

On an unrelated note, I love House of Harlow jewelry, like these pyramid earrings. A lot of their pieces have a subtle Art Deco-ish vibe, yet look modern at the same time. Looking at their display at Holt Renfrew is always dangerous, because I end up lusting after multiple pieces.