Bright Friday

Blazer, Theory (via consignment); top, Theory (thrifted); pants, LOFT; shoes, Calvin Klein; bag, Marc Jacobs; necklace, Lulu Frost
Blazer, Theory (via consignment); top, Theory (thrifted); pants, LOFT; shoes, Calvin Klein; bag, Marc Jacobs; necklace, Lulu Frost

It’s no secret that I’m not a huge fan of pants, and have struggled in the past with my lack of desire to wear them. I simply don’t get as excited about pants outfits as I do about dresses or skirts. Add in my minimalist experiment, and the struggle is all the more real: how to to make a pants outfit interesting? Well, this attempt turned out ok. One bright piece, a simple print, a little bit of sparkle. Definitely makes black anything but boring, right?

bright, bright, bright
bright, bright, bright
through a windowpane brightly
through a windowpane brightly

I haven’t worn these Loft pants nearly as much as I thought I would, and they’re now a little loose (and oddly itchy — how have I not noticed that before?) so I don’t think I’ll be wearing them much going forward. It’s a shame, particularly as these are an example of a very intentional (as opposed to impulsive) purchase. Has that ever happened to you — finding that you’re not wearing an item nearly as often as you anticipated you would?

TGIF!
TGIF!

Once More, With Extra Dress

Dress, Maggy London; shoes, Manolo Blahnik; bag, Arcadia (all thrifted)
Dress, Maggy London; shoes, Manolo Blahnik; bag, Arcadia (all thrifted)

Yup, another new dress. Sorrynotsorry. Did I mention that this dress was still selling on the Nordstrom website (for over $70) when I thrifted it? It cost me $14. Yup, definitely not sorry. The print is, admittedly, a bit … um, vivid, shall we say? … but the silhouette is lovely and not remotely twee. So I think it passes the rules, even though it’s not very minimalist. I did get a ton of compliments on it when I wore it, so I’m guessing there’ll be someone out there who will be happy to take it off my hands if and when I decided to pass it on. Hashtag: thinking ahead.

blazer, J. Crew (thrifted)
blazer, J. Crew (thrifted)
lotsa print
lotsa print

For the time being, I’m happy to have it in my rotation. I kept the accessories to a minimum this time to compensate for the wild print, and I think the result is pretty good. I’m excited to try different styling options too, so I think it’s safe to say that you haven’t seen the last of this dress.

blues & purples for the win
blues & purples for the win

Black & Green

Blazer, DKNY; top, Theory; skirt, MaxMara (all thrifted); shoes, Jimmy Choo; bag, Gucci; necklace, MaxMara
Blazer, DKNY; top, Theory; skirt, MaxMara (all thrifted); shoes, Jimmy Choo; bag, Gucci; necklace, MaxMara

Black and blue is my default colour combo, but I realized I hadn’t worn this green MaxMara skirt in a long time, so it was time to switch things up. I added extra hints of green with the necklace and shoes, but kept things pretty simple otherwise. The faint pinstripe of this DKNY blazer also added a subtle bit of visual interest. I really loved the resulting outfit, even though it doesn’t photograph quite as well as I think it looked in real life.

bet you didn't see this color combo coming
bet you didn’t see this color combo coming
did I mention ... pockets?
did I mention … pockets?

Did I mention my thrifted Theory top has pockets? How cool is that? Actually, my entire outfit (top, skirt, and blazer) is thrifted and it cost under $20. Pretty cool. Who says you can’t build a work wardrobe on a budget? People have been asking me if I would be interested in opening a resale shop as a thrifting side project, and the answer is … honestly, no. It’s rather time-consuming, and I don’t enjoy the administrative aspects which make up a good chunk of that time. But if I ever won the lottery, I would definitely love to have a small, local studio — and pay someone to run it, so I could spend my time sourcing cool finds and doing style consults. How much fun would that be?

details
details
very profesh, yes?
very profesh, yes?