What I Wore: Ice-Cream Date

A while ago, a reader asked to see this Anthropologie dress sans one of my ubiquitous cardigans, and I aim to please. Also, any excuse to wear this dress is welcome. The construction of the bodice is incredible; it fits and drapes beautifully. It’s totally worth the wearing of a strapless bra, which is an entry level instrument of torture in my books. (FYI, you can adjust the sashy bit in front so it doesn’t look like a boob divider. Oops.) My only caveat is the material; while it has a nice feel to it, it does tend to cling to the body, particularly around the stomach area. If that’s not a concern for you, I hate you. Just kidding. (I merely dislike you, and your washboard abs.)

But, look! It has a nice swishiness to it:

More swish:

Look who’s getting in on the swishing action:

So, this was one of those days when nothing seemed to work. The baby woke up too early. I came down with a cold while still recovering from a previous one. My son threw himself off the couch, nearly getting a concussion for his trouble. And it rained all day. Seriously, it looked like this all day:

This would have barely warranted a mention, except it happened to be the day of the boy’s year-end playground party at his daycare program. Thankfully, we didn’t get completely rained out, but the weather did put a damper – literally – on the fun.

It also messed with my outfit plans. I was stoked to show you guys a black, white, and grey outfit (so chic! so restrained!), but I had to concede defeat and throw on the stupid vest. And swap out my cute, black ballerina flats for Chucks. Gah! My thought had been to wear something practical – being around a gaggle of pre-schoolers and toddlers kind of mandates that – but still put-together – the latter for the sake of my kid’s social life, really. I mean, no one wants to be the kid with the sloppy, awkward mother, right? If his future (play-date calendar) success depends on it, I can fake it with the best of them.

If only the rain didn’t cramp my style.

*Note: keeping the mini-remix theme going, this makes it 3 in a row for this top. I promise I stop now.

I won’t lie: finding these AG Stevie cords at a consignment store was extremely gratifying. I luuuuurve these pants, but I just can’t bring myself to pay what Anthropologie wants me to pay for them. This is why second-hand shopping is da bomb – I can eat my cake, and not rue the calories. (Or, you know, buy the pants and not bust my budget. #analogyfail) Red pants might not seem like the wisest wardrobe investment, but they can make an outfit when mixed with a simple colour palette or, better yet, stripes. Red + stripes = always a classic.

And here’s another style epiphany: I think I might just feel more comfortable in streamlined, simple-verging-on-boring outfits like this one. Yes, your erstwhile magpie, lover-of-all-grandma-floral-prints, accessory addict just wrote that. Can you believe it? Perhaps in my dotage I can finally give those Frenchwomen a run for their minimalist chic money.

Better late than never.

Note: I just realized that I posted back-to-back outfits featuring the same top. Not my intention, you guys. I’m pretty sure I didn’t wear this top on consecutive days, but anything’s possible. Let’s call this one a … mini remix challenge. Yeah, let’s go with that.