Grey x Grey x 2

Pants, BR; sweater, Ralph Lauren (via consignment); shoes, Stuart Weitzman (via consignment); bag, Louis Vuitton (via consignment)
Pants, BR; sweater, Ralph Lauren (via consignment); shoes, Stuart Weitzman (via consignment); bag, Louis Vuitton (via consignment)

This Ralph Lauren Blue Label (fawncy!) sweater has sold me on the merits of cashmere. Italian cashmere at that, in this case. I mean, it wasn’t going to be an uphill battle or anything. Even though it’s sleeveless, this sweater is quite cozy even in our (mild) winter, so I’ve been wearing it lots.

close-up
close-up
vintage brooch via eBay
vintage brooch via eBay

With pants … which might be my fave combo …

check out mah bag
check out mah bag
grey on grey
grey on grey

… but also with skirts or, here, my ubiquitous grey tube dress. That thing is, as I’ve said before, the perfect blank canvas, but it’s clear that this peplum sweater is no slouch in the versatility department either.

Dress, Joe Fresh; shoes, J. Crew; bag, Gucci; necklace, Winners
Dress, Joe Fresh; shoes, J. Crew; bag, Gucci; necklace, Winners
more grey
more grey

Dark Jade

Skirt, J. Crew (via consignment); top, Elie Tahari (via consignment); cardigan & necklace, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Calvin Klein; bag, MbMJ
Skirt, J. Crew (via consignment); top, Elie Tahari (via consignment); cardigan & necklace, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Calvin Klein; bag, MbMJ

I rarely wear black tights to work, though it’s not because of any prejudice against them. Black tights are a godsend in the winter. My problem is that I can’t mentally reconcile black tights with anything other than black shoes … and I love me a bright coloured shoe. Anyway, I figured that there was enough colour going on with this outfit that I could safely forego any punchy footwear, and give my nylons a break.

I love, love, love this shade of jade (or teal, whatevs) from J. Crew, and it works so unexpectedly well with other colours, like purple. It’s definitely one of my “power colours”. Are power colours still a thing? Who knows. Another thing I didn’t know until after I got dressed in this outfit? That this skirt is a size 10, rather than a size 6. That’s what happens when you change sizes as often as I seem to do. The waist now sits at my hips, which brings the outfit dangerously close to “sad sack” territory – though I think it manages to skirt it (ha ha!) juuust barely thanks to the fact that it’s a petite size. The hem is a little bit shorter so that, even sitting low, it hits a little bit above “middle-aged schoolmarm” length. Realistically, though, I will have to retire this skirt for the time being – which is extra sad considering that I only just bought the matching colour pumps. Matchiness defeated *sad face*

whomp, whomp?
whomp, whomp?

Work Christmas Party, 2015

Hotel MacDonald, Empire Ballroom
Hotel MacDonald, Empire Ballroom

Merry Christmas Eve, you guys! I hope you are enjoying a lovely time with family and friends tonight … and in the meantime, here’s a look at my office Christmas party this year. Hey, this blog is nothing if not timely, right?

So, this is my 7th Christmas party at my current firm, and the first one that I helped to organize. In case you couldn’t tell from that header photo, this event is kind of a big deal on our office’s social calendar, so organizing it brought back flashbacks of my wedding planning, um, adventures – the good and the bad. Luckily, everything went off without any apparent hitches, and everyone seem to have a good time. The theme this year was Japanese tea garden, by the way. We basically wanted an excuse to use those gorgeous, pink blossom table overlays – and lots of orchids.

chandelier treatment
no one swung from the chandelier 🙁

Oh yeah, I wore stuff:

Dress, Lela Rose for Target (via eBay); belt, Anthropologie; shoes, J. Crew
Dress, Lela Rose for Target (via eBay); belt, Anthropologie; shoes, J. Crew
wearing my grandmother's jewelry
wearing my grandmother’s jewelry

This was also the first year we reserved a hotel room for the night of the party, which meant … that we could finally partay, baby!

no lipstick :(
2 am … hassling the hotel decorations

It was all a lot of fun … until the next morning, when we had to get up early-ish to go home and rescue the grandparents from kidlet duty. C’est la vie. Seize the prosecco, and make merry!