Alternate title (courtesy of my friend, K.): Victorian librarian chic. Either way, I kinda loved it. This dress is one of my fave recent buys, and I love it layered over this jewel collar blouse. The vibe goes really well with the mid-century gothic novel I’m currently writing. In fact, I can totally see one of the characters wearing something like this.

Sidenote: one of my fave things to do is fantasy cast my books. I used to do it all the time with the books I read, but this is even more fun. Archer and Bell? Scarlett Johansson and James McAvoy (although a friend suggested Jack O’Connell, and I’m totally digging it). I haven’t got anyone figured out for my two current heroines (yet!), but I have a few ideas for the male protagonists.

Such as:

And:

And also:

Tell me I’m not the only one who does this.

Do you guys remember Corey Hart? Have I just dated myself like whoa? No need to answer that. Suffice it to say, Mr. Hart would have been well equipped to deal with this outfit — any time of day — despite it being quite, um, retina searing. It looked really nice in real life, I promise. The colour of this blazer is impossible to photograph, but it leans slightly more orange-red than coral, and it does match rather nicely with this skirt.

Speaking of which, this skirt is so, so good. Definitely worth hunting down on eBay if you are so inclined. Just wait for a good deal — they come up regularly (especially if you’re in the US and don’t have to deal with an abysmal exchange rate). I paid about $40 CDN for mine, shipping included, and it’s totally worth that money.

Oh, and the shoes. I found this pair of *cough* Ivanka Trump *cough* gold pumps at Winners for $40 as well, and have been wearing them — to work! — non-stop lately. (Ok, not non-stop. More like 3 times in 2 weeks, but still — 30% of the time ain’t bad.) Turns out, gold substitutes for pretty much anything in a pinch. For example: no navy shoes? No problem! Gold’s got you (or, in this case, me) covered. Yay.

… from this terrible pun. Is this colour even mauve? That’s what I’m calling it, anyway. I think it pairs nicely with navy, although the whole effect is a bit … subdued. Oh well. Let’s hashtag this one #adulting.

Can you believe this skirt is a 10P? It fits very similar to my size 4 version, although it does sit about 2 inches lower on my waist. I don’t get J. Crew sizing, I really don’t.