This is an old outfit formula, updated with new (to me) pieces. I improvised it on the spot, and immediately loved how the palette came together. Blues and greys (with black and white accents) create the most soothing effect for me; when I look at this outfit, it just makes me go “ahhhh” and I immediately relax. It would probably become incredibly monotonous to dress only in these colours all the time, but it’s a formula worth repeating for sure. In fact, I wore it twice on the same weekend. Luckily, with Stylebook, it’s easier to keep track of favourite outfits like this one; I’ve created a separate folder for them and everything. That way, if I’m ever stuck for a quick outfit idea, I can have a peek at the app instead of trying to wring something out of my (terrible) memory.

Quite apart from how it looks, the other thing I love about this outfit is that it’s 90% preloved. More and more of my outfits boast similar statistics nowadays, and I’d like to think that my sartorial efforts have not suffered for it. If anything, buying secondhand (thrifting or consignment) is a great way to navigate style (and size) shifts, big and small, which have occurred with some regularity in my recent(ish) past. With that in mind, I figured this might be a good time to do another AMA on thrifting, since it’s a topic in which (judging from my blog inbox) a lot of you are interested. So, if you have any burning questions, shoot me an e-mail, and I will do my best to answer them all in a future post.

As you can probably surmise from the title, I wore this outfit for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a tricky occasion for me, since I look Irish even though I’m not, and know nothing at all about the tradition. I also don’t drink beer, which is something you should try to not hold against me. I’m still a fun person, I swear. Anyway, I do try to make an effort for St. Paddy’s, and since I don’t have a lot of green in my closet, I pulled out this J. Crew top that Nicole gifted to me earlier this year. I like it, but the fabric is hella itchy. Fair warning to anyone who might come across it on eBay, etc. (It also fits very large. I’m wearing a XXS, and it’s pretty roomy everywhere except the sleeves.)

I am also wearing a new necklace I got at Saks Off Fifth. It’s pretty great. I love all the different types of beads, and I think it looks more expensive than the $30 I spent on it. I can never find any good deals on clothing, shoes or bags at SOF, but I’ve had good luck with accessories. Speaking of which, I was really excited by the promised new Nordstrom Rack we’re getting in the same location, only to find out that it’s not due to open until Fall 2018. Why they’re advertising it more than a year in advance I don’t know, but it bugs me. It’s like advertising Christmas in June … times a hundred. I am impatient, why you doing this to me, South Edmonton Common?

Ahem.

On my way home from work, I realized that my commuting outfit was cuter than usual, so I asked my husband to take a photo when we met up. It’s in front of Superstore, because our Friday nights are cool like that. Try not to be jealous.

As Miranda Priestley would say: groundbreaking. But florals and spring just go together, so you can’t blame me for turning my attention to my collection of floral skirts this time of year. Not that spring has sprung around these parts, mind you. I’m just an eternal optimist when it comes to the weather. My decision to wear this particular floral skirt was also guided by a desire to revisit this Philosophy blazer, which kicked off the following train of thought: I already wore with pants, let’s try something new. Hmm, need something sleek on the bottom to balance out the peplum. Pencil skirt that goes with olive green? Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. And there you have it, folks.

Something about the style and cut of this blazer is challenging to me, from an accessory-picking perspective. I haven’t yet found a piece of jewelry (necklace or brooch) that perfectly complements it. I am not deterred; even so, on this occasion, I was really to call it a day and go accessory-free, but for one small, practical consideration. I had a mole-removal scar to cover, and the bandaid I used for the purpose was visible above the collar of the blazer. It wasn’t super noticeable, but it was bugging me (and I had a client function that day), so I decided to add a necklace. You can barely see it, so it works more like a sort of trim on the blazer (adding a crucial extra inch of coverage) than as an accessory. I was pretty happy with my improvised solution; I’ll revisit the accessorizing dilemma another day.