April 2017 – Page 5 – Blue Collar Red Lipstick

12
Apr
2017

Fancy Pansy

Dress, Paul Smith (via consignment); blazer, Zara (swap); shoes, Sam Edelman (thrifted); bag, Gucci (via consignment)

It is surely no secret that I love florals, but not all are created equal. In my hierarchy of favourite flowers in print form, pansies are pretty high on the list. They’re so lively and colourful. Needless to say, I was immediately drawn to this Paul Smith dress; there is no mistaking the flowers on it, although the print itself is somewhat abstract. As much as I love pansies, that is a good thing; it takes the dress away from whimsical territory.

Here’s a better look at it:

The dress is made from that uber-soft jersey that drapes nicely without clinging to jiggly bits. It feels like pyjamas, which is always a nice feature in a work dress. I am crazy about midi dresses at the moment (in case you couldn’t tell from my recent posts), and I like that this one has a slim silhouette on the bottom half to keep things from getting too dowdy. The sleeves are also a nice touch, since it means that (a) I can wear a topper without getting all bunched up in the arms; and (b) I can take off my topper in my office without worries.

For work purposes, I typically need to add a blazer to my dresses and I picked this Zara one to accentuate my waist. The slightly flared peplum is lovely, and the waist sits just right for a dress pairing like this. As I had to attend a client event in this outfit, I kept the accessories very understated, but I am looking forward to exploring the colour mixing possibilities of this dress.

11
Apr
2017

Ginger on Ginger

categories: Uncategorized

Dress, Maeve (via consignment); sweater, DVF (thrifted); shoes, AGL (via consignment)

Normally, I don’t do orange – especially when it’s a shade this close to my hair colour. I don’t think I am the only ginger who feels this way. Nonetheless, I made an exception for this Maeve dress. I remember seeing it at the Anthro store a year or two ago, and being charmed by its colour palette, orange and all. I was not charmed by the retail price, however, so I left it behind … only to rediscover it recently at Red Pony for a much more reasonable price. The silhouette is right up my alley — I love shapeless sack dresses, especially for casual wear — but I think what I love the most is the one-two punch of orange and blue in the (floral, natch) print. So, naturally, I played up the contrast by adding more blue; to wit: my newly thrifted DVF cashmere blend sweater. It’s a gorgeous you-can’t-miss-it cobalt blue, and it has pockets, people!

Since the dress and sweater were new, I decided to go all out and wear my new AGL flats as well. I’ve been wanting to try the brand for years now, after reading various bloggers rave about its quality and comfort, so I was stoked to find this mint condition pair of loafers at My Favourite Aunt’s (my other got-to consignment store in Edmonton). Loafers are a fairly recent discovery of mine, but after wearing my Kelsi Dagger pair to death last summer, I am a convert. This AGL pair lives up to the brand hype; it is insanely comfortable. The metallic leather looks to be fairly versatile as a “neutral” so I think it’s fair to say that these puppies will be getting lots of wear this coming season.

10
Apr
2017

What I Wore: March 2017

categories: Capsule Wardrobe, style

March was a long month, but seemed to fly by. It’s hard to believe that we are already in Q2 of 2017. On one hand, I am happy because it means that summer is almost here, and summer is my favourite time of year. Also, vacation time, baby! On the other hand, time needs to slow the heck down because at this rate my kids will be teenagers in the blink of an eye, and I AM NOT READY. I am still struggling to process the fact that we don’t have babies anymore. My daughter, the “baby” of the family, is very much her own person, with very definite Ideas about Things, which she is not afraid to share, invited or not. That includes clothes, by the way — her own and mine. I walked into her bedroom the other week to find a perfect flatlay of her choices for that day’s outfit. I haven’t actively encouraged her interest in clothing, so it’s amusing to me to see her develop it — presumably from observation. Well, not the flatlay part; that’s a skill she certainly didn’t learn from me, as my Instagram can attest.

Anyway, here’s some clothes I wore (and did not attempt to flatlay):

Although there are certainly some less successful outfits in the lot, I am quite happy with most of them. There was a lot of joy being sparked, KonMari style. Strangely (perhaps), I feel like some of my non-favourite outfits were the result of deliberate attempts to re-mix statement items a few times throughout the month. I think this might be a process issue; creating outfits based on “set” list of pieces is different than creating outfits purely based on what combination sparks joy at a given moment, and perhaps that affects the results. I’m tempted to abandon any and all attempts at a monthly capsule, and take a more free-form approach to outfit planning in the future — even if that means never re-wearing the same dress or skirt in a given month. After all, that should count as a perk of a large wardrobe, no?

For a fun comparison, here is what I wore in March 2015, and March 2016.

Month: April 2017