Paisley Princess

Skirt, Zara; top, Loft (via eBay); shoes, Ivanka Trump; bag, MbMJ (via eBay)
Skirt, Zara; top, Loft (via eBay); shoes, Ivanka Trump; bag, MbMJ (via eBay)

I don’t have much to say about this outfit, save that it was probably a little too princess-y for the office, but I liked it anyway. I tried toning it down by removing the sparkly necklace from the equation, but the result felt a little, um, bare so I put it back on. It’s kind of difficult to accessorize a print this busy, but I think this necklace actually does a pretty good job.

this skirt is so pretty
this skirt is so pretty

I still adore this Zara midi skirt, and have never regretted paying full retail price for it. The shape is so pretty! And, let’s be real, incredibly flattering. Considering that a midi hemline can be tricky on the vertically (somewhat) challenged, that’s a huge bonus. I do still struggle to find the right kind of topper to go with it, since so many of my blazers are on the long and/or slouchy side, but it’s almost summer now which means the struggle can wait a few months. #TheStruggleIsReal

necklace, J. Crew Factory
necklace, J. Crew Factory

Oh look, close-up of mah joolz. Sometimes, the Crewlet really hits it out of the ballpark. It almost makes up for all the other times when I end up with loose rhinestones after 2 wears. #TskTsk #StillGonnaGoBackForMore #NeverLearn

no twirling at the office, sigh
no twirling at the office, sigh

Repeat Offender

Jeans AE; blazer, Elie Tahari; top, Gap Outlet; necklace, J. Crew; shoes, Ferragamo; bag, YSL
Jeans AE; blazer, Elie Tahari; top, Gap Outlet; necklace, J. Crew; shoes, Ferragamo; bag, YSL

I’m breaking a cardinal rule of fashion blogging by showing an outfit I’ve worn before. The. Exact. Same. Outfit. Give or take the shoes and bag. And I’m giving it to you in photo overload to boot. Here’s hoping you guys have short attention spans, or forgiving hearts.

The truth is that I rarely re-wear the exact outfit (unless we’re talking about dresses), and I blame the blog for that. I’ve been (style) blogging for 5 years now (omg, that’s equal parts impressive and embarrassing), and I got into the habit early on of mixing things up to “keep things interesting”. Don’t get me wrong: I use the same outfit formulas over and over, but I usually try to switch up the pieces every time. And it’s fine. That’s part of the creative aspect of dressing up that I love.

stuck on repeat
stuck on repeat
still looking good
still looking good

But you know what? I’m getting to a point where, if I find an outfit that really, truly works for me, I just want to … keep wearing it, without changing a single damn thing. Groundbreaking, I know. It doesn’t make for good blog fodder, no doubt, but I feel like it’s actually an achievement. After all, the goal of all that experimenting was to hone in on and refine my style, right?

Call it mission accomplished.

#FashunBloggerPose #Mandatory
#FashunBloggerPose #Mandatory
OK, we're done
OK, we’re done

Famous Thrifted Manolos

Dress, eci; shoes, Manolo Blahnik (thrifted!); bag, Ferragamo (via eBay)
Dress, eci; shoes, Manolo Blahnik (thrifted!); bag, Ferragamo (via eBay)

Hey, remember this dress? Yeah, I almost didn’t either. The funny thing is that I love wearing dresses, and own my fair share of them, but they don’t turn up in my outfit rotation nearly enough these days. Nope, don’t know what that’s about. With summer just around the corner, it’s time to rectify the situation. This dress still nets me lots of compliments, which is pretty good incentive.

red, white & black
red, white & black

The stars of this show, however, are my white Manolos. They’ve become a sort of running joke on my Instagram, which is amusing and oddly appropriate: upstaged by my footwear. Hashtag: Should Have Seen That Coming. Coincidentally (or not?!), my boss told me that these are his favourite pair of my shoes. And they say that men don’t pay attention to details.

Moral of the story? I would never have thought that a pair of white pumps would turn out to be the superstars of my footwear collection, but life (and style) takes funny turns sometimes.

matchy everything!
matchy everything!