Playing With the Classics

Missoni dress; Marc Jacobs Kirsten bag
Dress, Missoni (swap); cardigan, J. Crew (via eBay); boots, Winners; bag, Marc Jacobs (via eBay)

Missoni is one of those iconic brands that that tends to find its way onto your wishlist, but never on your actual buy list. Because, uh, it’s stupid expensive. I recently got my chance to add it to my closet via a Kijiji swap. I had this pretty DVF wrap dress up for sale – because, let’s face it, my size 4 days are long behind me – and someone contacted me to ask whether I’d be interested in a swap. I took a quick peek at her listings and … hello, classic Missoni knit dress!

Now, this is not a dress that’s entirely within my style wheelhouse; it’s probably a bit too far along the boho-chic spectrum for me, at least as far as everyday wear. However. It is a classic, and pretty much timeless in its own 70s-inspired way. A knit dress never goes amiss in this climate. And I do sometimes like to get my boho on, come the weekend. All in all, I figured it wouldn’t make a bad swap for a dress I would never wear again, and wouldn’t make very much money selling. A classic for a classic, as it were.

Plus, I was intrigued by the colour palette. I rarely wear brown, especially warm-toned browns, so I decided to take up the challenge. And I thought it would pair nicely with this rust brown cardigan that’s been languishing in my closet.

Missoni dress; Marc Jacobs Kirsten bag
all the colours

Please excuse my scuffed up boots. Just look at the pretty purse instead. And all the (clashing) shades of brown here.

Missoni dress; Marc Jacobs Kirsten bag
all the brown

Rebel Without A Cause

Ralph Lauren purple floral dress
Dress, Ralpha Lauren (thrifted); blazer, Talula (via Kijiji); necklace, J. Crew; shoes, Ivanka Trump; bag, Marc Jacobs (swap)

OK, maybe not entirely without cause. I decided to rebel against the “Be Seen in Jeans” theme for Canadian Finals Rodeo week, and wear this floral schmatta instead, because, well, I’m just not that big a fan of jeans. One day a week, fine. Five days a week … I have my limits.

Speaking of this dress: thrifted, because that’s how I roll.  I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about the print (shocker, I know), but it’s growing on me. I bought the dress primarily because it’s incredibly comfortable and surprisingly flattering. This style of sheath dress is not always a good choice for me because it can make me feel self-conscious about my stomach; this dress, however, is very forgiving in this area – no constant sucking-in, thankyouverymuch. A good friend of mine swears by these poly-blend dresses from Ralph Lauren (machine washable and pretty indestructible, apparently), so I figured it was a good $12 investment.

Ralph Lauren purple floral dress
my hair, yikes!

P.S. Please note that I’m not wearing any black in this outfit. Yes, really. The dress and blazer are navy, and the shoes are dark green – scout’s honour. I’m always very proud of myself whenever I managed to avoid the lure of black. I guess I’m expecting you guys to be as well, hah!

Cropped Floral Sweatshirt, Take Two

J. Crew dutch floral sweatshirt
Sweatshirt, J. Crew; shirt, J. Crew (via consignment); pants, Adriano Goldschmied (via Kijiji); shoes, Tory Burch (via consignment); bag, Rebecca Minkoff

I said I would play around with the layering potential of this cropped sweatshirt, and I am a woman of my word. Do we like take #2 better than my first attempt?

J. Crew dutch floral sweatshirt
florals + plaid

I definitely think that the sweatshirt print “pops” more when paired with dark colours (or prints) than lighter ones. I initially tried grey jeans with this outfit, and it was a fat, big “nope”.

J. Crew dutch floral sweatshirt
getting closer with practice

I still do want to try it with a chambray shirt. And jeans. Not together, though. The Canadian tuxedo is ridiculous not my thing, and I don’t care what the fashion industry says. La la la la la, I can’t hear you!

J. Crew dutch floral sweatshirt
third time’s gonna be the charm?