I feel like I’ve shown you this dress a million times, and let’s face it, there aren’t a million different ways to wear it. But I still love it, and this particular outfit does feature new shoes and bag, so you will forgive the unoriginality repetitiveness, yes?

I’ve typically worn this dress with flats before, because the hemline is a wee bit short for the office. I think it’s passable in this case because the cut of the dress is quite loose, and the neckline is very conservative, so the overall look is not particularly provocative. (Also, I have seen colleagues rock the shorter hemlines, so maybe I’m just the old fashioned exception.)

Speaking of old fashioned preoccupations, how do we feel about nylons? I’ve never been a huge fan of nylons – I refuse to say the “p” word – and that hasn’t changed, but I’m starting to feel quite strongly about their usage in the office. I know that some of you guys will vehemently disagree, but just as yoga pants have no place in the conservative office so, conversely, I feel like there is never an appropriate time to not wear nylons. If that rules out cute sandals in the summer, so be it. Go ahead, tell me that I’m hopelessly behind the times.

In other news, I hate my top knot/bun situation, but I’ve been struggling with work-appropriate up-dos for my current length of hair. Suggestions? Keep in mind that I have two left hands, limited time, and an aversion of excessive bobby pins (they give me major headaches). Oh, and also: tiny insect head syndrome.

Note: Thanks to a lovely reader, I finally managed to figure out how to add a Like (and Share!) button to every post. Hopefully this will make it easier for everyone to say “hi” without, well, actually having to say anything. Of course, comments are just bomb awesome, so keep ’em coming. Thanks, gang!

Sooooooo … I wasn’t a fan of this outfit. This is going to be a little bit difficult to explain. I think it actually looks very nice in the photos, and I think it worked in real life as well. The colours are flattering, the silhouette is beautiful (we all know how I feel about this Zara skirt), and it all looks nicely put-together. So why this face:

It just wasn’t comfortable. Having two layers tucked in made the outfit feel (if not look) bulky and fussy. And then there was the cardigan aspect. I used to love cardigans, but I’ve been gravitating towards blazers lately as they feel more professional, and I’m wondering if that also influenced my feelings about the outfit. It all felt a little … too girly. I’ve been doing the retro red-lips-and-big-waves thing lately (I blame Taylor and Lana, by the way), and while I think it can work at the office, it requires dialing down the girliness factor of everything else – i.e. the clothes.

In other news, I’m still obsessed with Rimmel Color Rush lip crayons, and have bought a bazillion new ones. Including my new favourite red; it’s much easier to apply than my old go-to (the Stila Stay All Day lip gloss/lacquer/whatever) and it has pretty decent staying power. If you haven’t’ already tried these crayons, what are you waiting for? Go now! Thank me later.

Bona fide cute outfit alert. I loved this, you guys. It’s way too casual to count as business formal, but the reality is that, 99% of the time, my job doesn’t really require that much formality anyway. And I’m okay with that if it means I can wear cute things like this. A friend of mine called this “old English professor chic” on Instagram, and then texted to assure me that she liked the outfit. And I was, like, “Are you serious?” Because “old English professor” is totally a compliment in my books. All I’m missing is the elbow patches and the accent.

I did compensate with a wagon-load of bling, most of it on my collars. What’s the consensus on non-matching bling? Wait, don’t tell. It doesn’t matter. I’ll never not love this whole damn outfit. Cheerio!