Month: April 2017

Easter Funday

Dress & jacket, Anthropologie (thrifted); boots, Frye; bag, Coach (via eBay); necklace, J. Crew
Dress & jacket, Anthropologie (thrifted); boots, Frye; bag, Coach (via eBay); necklace, J. Crew

The kids was super excited about Easter this year, probably because they realized that it’s basically a license to eat large quantities of chocolate. What can I say? Our family is mostly secular, and the kids are opportunistic little creatures. I was excited about Easter this year because the kids are finally old enough to entertain themselves for an hour or two at a time, which meant that I could eat dinner and visit with family and friends in peace. Hey, I’m an opportunist too.

As for the outfit, that was fun too. It wasn’t what I had originally planned to wear, but after Mother Nature threw a wrench, errm, snowstorm into the works, I improvised. The dress was my first choice because it’s roomy enough to accommodate all the servings of Easter dinner I could (and did) ask for, but still cute enough not to scream “Joey’s Thanksgiving pants”. It also looks acceptable with tights and Chelsea boots, which was the other main practical requirement. The jacket was a fortuitous last minute decision. I was going to wear my leather jacket but the weather was a bit too cool for it; my second choice was my blue J. Crew wool coat, but the last time I wore this dress, I paired it with a blue sweater, and I decided that a repeat would be rather predictable. This jacket somehow jumped out as a possibility, and when I pulled it out of the closet, I realized that it matched some of the yellow accents in the pattern of the dress. An eclectic combo certainly, but a fun one nonetheless.

happy yellow
happy yellow
a glimpse of spring?
a glimpse of spring?

The Midi Skirt x Two

Jacket, Tabitha (via eBay); top, Gap (thrifted); skirt, Anthro (swap); shoes, Jimmy Choo (via eBay); bag, Coach (swap)
Jacket, Tabitha (via eBay); top, Gap (thrifted); skirt, Anthro (swap); shoes, Jimmy Choo (via eBay); bag, Coach (swap)
As I mentioned in my original post, this skirt was one of my favourite pieces from this year’s clothing swap. And here it is, in its inaugural outfit. I knew right off the bat that I wanted to pair this skirt with this marigold yellow blazer and, indeed, they are a great match. This is the kind of heat-to-toe Anthro look I can get behind; the twee factor is very low here. Midi length everything is my jam at the moment, and I have all the more reason to love this skirt because it is soft, stretchy and comfortable as pyjamas. The material moulds nicely to the body but has sufficient weight to it that it doesn’t highlight every lump and bump. Win-win.

midi skirt for the win
midi skirt for the win

side ruffle
side ruffle
I don’t often wear bright green, but when I do, I double down.

green earrings (House of Harlow)
green earrings (House of Harlow)

green rings (Swarovski)
green rings (Swarovski)
I was initially going to wear black accessories with this outfit (shoe & bag) but decided to save those for the next outing of this skirt; instead, I went with my go-to neutral bag these days, the monogram canvas Coach tote. Again, I wish it was plain beige or camel as opposed to a print, but that’s the only quibble I have with it. The colour is very versatile (it helps that the print is pretty faint) and the material feels pretty indestructible, which is always nice in a work bag. The shoes look almost black, but are in fact a green/black leopard print. They are as awesome as they sound, but I rarely wear them — because I’m hardly in green. Hopefully, I can start to remedy that now. You might say that this skirt came to me at a perfect time.

lah-di-dah
lah-di-dah

last one, I promise
last one, I promise

As a bonus, here’s another take on the skirt — I wore this to the office (leather? gasp!) on a stat holiday when no one was around to be scandalized:

Jacket, Joe Fresh (thrifted); turtleneck, Club Monaco; skirt, Anthro (swap); shoes, Calvin Klein; bag, Marc Jacobs
Jacket, Joe Fresh (thrifted); turtleneck, Club Monaco; skirt, Anthro (swap); shoes, Calvin Klein; bag, Marc Jacobs
leather & pencil skirt - opposites attract?
leather & pencil skirt – opposites attract?

Colour Riot

Blazer, Banana Republic (thrifted); dress, DVF (thrifted); shoes, Jimmy Choo (thrifted); bag, Coach (via eBay)
Blazer, Banana Republic (thrifted); dress, DVF (thrifted); shoes, Jimmy Choo (thrifted); bag, Coach (via eBay)

Some of you probably remember this dress from a few months ago and, yes, I did end up deciding to keep it. For now, at least. Wrap dresses are actually on my “never” list but I made an exception for this one. The silhouette is more A-line than the typical wrap dress, and somehow that makes a lot of difference in terms of how I feel in it. The neckline also doesn’t gape as much as usual with most DVF dresses, although I still have to pin it shut for work purposes. For anyone interested in hunting this dress on eBay, I would say that it fits more true-to-size than other DVF wraps. I’m a size 4-6 in most designer brands, and usually take an 8 in DVF dresses; this dress is a size 6 and fits well. Also, note that the top and bottom are made from different materials. The top is made from the same silk jersey material that’s typical for DVF wrap dresses, but the bottom is made from a stiffer cotton fabric. The dress has pockets, but they come sewn shut (I thrifted the dress new-with-tags); I haven’t decided if I’m going to open them up or not.

the wrap dress exception
the wrap dress exception

I know the blazer looks fairly red in photos, but it’s actually an orange-leaning brick colour. I had planned this outfit well in advance, as I typically do, and then realized on the morning of that it was very timely. Orange and blue are Oilers colours, and I wore this outfit on the very first day of the playoff season — the Oilers’ first playoffs in over a decade. I’m not a huge hockey fan (shh, don’t tell anyone, or my Canadian citizenship might get revoked) but I’m always game for showing some home team pride.

orange & blue
orange & blue for the (playoffs) win