The Easy Dress

Dress, Ralph Lauren (thrifted); blazer, Zara (swap); shoes, Jimmy Choo; bag, MbMJ

Dress, Ralph Lauren (thrifted); blazer, Zara (swap); shoes, Jimmy Choo; bag, MbMJ
The dress is the easiest of all outfits — one piece, you’re done — and Ralph Lauren jersey dresses are just about the easiest of dresses. Always flattering, always comfortable, pretty much indestructible. I fall in and out of love with them — they’re not particularly fashion-forward — but I always seem to come back for more … especially at thrift prices. This particular dress certainly did its job of keeping me looking polished with minimum effort and maximum comfort, and garnered a bunch of compliments to boot.

spotlight on dress
spotlight on dress
blazery
blazery
This Zara peplum blazer is a keeper too. It’s definitely more of a statement piece than a classic, but it creates a lovely silhouette. It’s also quite stretchy, which is a godsend on long days at the office (followed by, in this case, a late client function). And it works well with this dress, since they are similar shades of navy … despite my initial conviction that the dress was black. Thrifting goggles are strong, I tell ya. Still, all is well that ends well, right?

navy for the win
navy for the win

Blue & Brown

Skirt, Anthropologie (via eBay); sweater, J. Crew Factory; brooch, vintage; shoes, J. Crew (thrifted); bag, Mulberry
Skirt, Anthropologie (via eBay); sweater, J. Crew Factory; brooch, vintage; shoes, J. Crew (thrifted); bag, Mulberry

I wear blue and black together All The Time, but I frequently forget about the other classic combo: blue and brown. A big part of the reason is the fact that I don’t have a lot of brown in my closet. Strictly speaking, brown is not part of my wardrobe palette … but I had to make an exception for this skirt. I mean, you can’t blame me, right? It’s so lovely. I love the little details — including the ones you can’t see, like the teal lining hemmed with lace. Old skool Anthropologie is the best Anthropologie.

a statement skirt
a statement skirt
leopard print is a neutral, right?
leopard print is a neutral, right?

I was initially going to wear this with my blue Vince sweater, but it proved to be too loose and long in the back, so I subbed in an old J. Crew Factory one instead. Rather than a necklace, I decided to try something a little less expected and pinned a brooch. (I thought about pinning one to the skirt ruffle, but figured it might be a twee step too far.) Same deal when it came to the shoes: I went with the less obvious choice, leopard print. They say leopard is a neutral, after all. But, in this case, I think it works.

hip flounce
hip flounce
blue +brown
blue +brown

Comfort Food Outfit

Blazer, Theory; top, Nanette Lepore; pants, DVF; necklace & shoes, J. Crew; bag, Gucci
Blazer, Theory; top, Nanette Lepore; pants, DVF; necklace & shoes, J. Crew; bag, Gucci

I hate Apple. It is the paradox of my life that I can’t seem to make do without its products. For example, this blog is brought to you by my iPhone (which is what I use to take my photos) and my iMac (which is what I use to upload said photos and prepare my posts). Or at least, that USED to be the case. I made the mistake of caving in to the temptation of the shiny new Message features (hello, gifs!), and uploaded the iOS 10 on my iPhone. The result? My iPhone is no longer compatible with my 8-year old iMac. Ugh.

The past week has been a frustrating exercise in trying to cobble together a blogging solution while I figure out what to do about my desktop situation. I’ve been editing photos (poorly, as these pics prove) on a basic Photoshop app on my iPad and uploading to WordPress that way, but the results are screwy and since my website coding skills are non-existent, I had to do some damage control through my old WP plug-in on my (PC) laptop. Everything. Is. A. Mess. This post took about 5 times longer than usual to get ready, and I came *this* close to destroying every Apple product I own in the process. If I can’t figure out a solution quickly, I’m afraid this blog will have to go on hiatus. Sad face.

technical difficulties
technical difficulties
but the outfit doesn't suck
but the outfit doesn’t suck

Ahhhhhhhhhh. Sorry. Ok. I had to get that off my chest. I’m back, let’s talk outfit. I was not having a great week last week (generally), so naturally I reached for the outfit version of comfort food. My favourite top, old favourite shoes. I was originally going to wear a different blazer, but it didn’t seem to work, so I pulled out … what else, but a favourite old blazer. It’s the little things that make a difference, don’t they? Thankfully, this outfit formula is not something Apple can get its hands on. Yeah, I’m still mad.

close up
close up
comfort in the familiar?
comfort in the familiar?
winging it
winging it