This feels like such an old school combo — blue pin-stripe button down with pearls — but as soon as my mom asked me if I wanted this shirt, I knew I had to go there. I have no idea why my mom (who has been retired since 2012) would have a shirt like this in her closet, but I am happy to benefit from the mystery. It’s not a style I would have picked on my own, as I tend to find button downs generally more restricting than other types of blouses, but I quite like the fit of this one. The neckline in particular is nice: it shows just a hint of necklace. Full-on pearls feel a bit costumey to me, but I enjoyed this understated, preppy way of wearing them.

Of course, because of the hearing, I added a blazer — partially as a concession to the dress code, and partially (a large part) as a concession to the weird temperature dynamics in the hearing room. It made my evening commute extra boiling, but c’est la vie. As we move ever closer towards August (and then, gulp, September), I feel the urge to hang on to the warm weather with every ounce of determination I can muster … even if it means perspiring in a most un-preppy way on the train.

By the way, if you’ve got any burning questions (see what I did there?) and forgot to ask them yet, you have one more day to get them to me — via email or comment here — before Friday’s AMA post.

Is gold, floral brocade minimalist? Well, it’s all relative. In this case, I made a conscious effort to keep things very neutral to compensate for the eye-catching bottom half of this Moulinette Souers dress, and I think the result is understated chic. Is it presumptuous to declare myself chic? Probably. At any rate, I loved wearing this outfit.

This cropped Tabitha blazer was a recent thrift find, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a keeper. It’s hard to find cropped blazers that don’t look twee or “junior department”-esque, but I think this one manages to pass the test. Which is a good thing, because cropped blazers looked great with sheath dresses as well as high waisted skirts. This greige-y colour is versatile too, so I’ve got lots of remixing ideas. Stay tuned!

On an unrelated note, this month’s book club post (coming up this Friday) is an Ask Me Anything edition so don’t forget to send me your questions, or leave them in the comments.