You know those days when you wake up and your hair magically looks amazing in that “just rolled out of bed” way that usually takes a huge amount of effort to create? Yeah, that almost never happens to me either. It did, randomly, a couple of weeks ago, and ever since I’ve been trying to recreate the effect minus the usual huge amount of effort. I’m pretty sure one of the key ingredients is sleeping on wet hair. Easy peasy; I usually do that. The other key ingredient(s) … well, that is where I struggle. I have no idea what it/they are. I’ve tried combing, and also not-combing my (wet) hair before bed. I’ve tried spritzing my hair with sea salt spray. I’ve gone back to using a non-silk pillowcase and rolling around on it for extra measure. Sometimes my efforts pay off; sometimes they don’t.

This was one of my more successful efforts.

I’m struggling with this because I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I’m not hugely fond of my current haircut/length anymore, so I need to decide whether to go shorter, or grow it out (a bit or a lot). I’m currently leaning towards growing it out, but that option requires me to learn to live with the current follicular situation as best as I can — and this intentional bedhead/tousled style may be my best shot. If I can master it.

Some days, I am definitely tempted to just cut my hair and be Done With It All.

Anyway, the outfit. I pulled out this old Anthro dress which hasn’t really seen the light of day since last summer, and now I’m worried that I may have jinxed us all. If it suddenly snows tomorrow, don’t blame me, OK?

The last time I wore this dress, I was in Mexico. Sadly, this time, the beach was nowhere to be seen, although it was at least a sunny spring day — a rare commodity in Edmonton this year. I love how comfy this dress is — with the chiffon layer conveniently camouflaging one’s mid-section — which is why I’ve kept it in my closet for the summer rather than relegating it to my vacation capsule. It’s perfect for a Sunday when I want to be lazy, but I also have to go in to the office for a few hours of work. Whomp, whomp.

The topper is a different colorway of my fave Cartonnier Dashes blazer. I picked it for this outfit because it’s very soft and stretchy, and therefore appropriately comfortable for the occasion, and right on the line between casual and business-casual, and therefore appropriate for a working Sunday. It also happens to go with the dress, which is a small miracle; I have found this colorway to be super non-versatile for my closet. So my advice to anyone still hunting for this blazer on eBay: buy the dark grey/heathered black version instead. There are also two additional colorways (purple and a teal-ish blue), but I can’t speak to their versatility yet; I may have to hunt them down yet (I’m thinking the purple in particular) just so I can provide you a complete report. In the interests of science or something. Ahem.

This dress was a total impulse buy on eBay, and while it was a great deal, I’m not sure it was a great idea. I *think* my thought process was something along the lines of “I need to refresh my work dress line-up, and I should branch out from floral prints”; all fine and good, and this dress certainly meets those criteria — it’s new (to me), and it’s got a non-floral print. I like the colours, I like the artsy geometric print … and yet, somehow, I’m not sure this dress is very “me”. [Edited to add: on further reflection, I think it’s the colours that are “off”. I like them in principle, but I’m not sure they work all that well with my wardrobe palette.]

Still, I have to make it work, right? I did my best, you guys. Luckily, I just thrifted some cognac pumps (after many years of searching) and they go well with the burnt orange/brown colour in the print. I was initially stumped for a topper; between the vibe of the dress, and its shape, most of my go-to blazers looked “off” when paired with it. Thankfully, I noticed the grey-blue of the dress matched my Tabitha wool jacket, and the two pieces didn’t seem to totally clash. I left the dress unbelted, so as not to cover that critical bit of blue. I don’t like making outfits inspired solely by necessity but when you’ve got a “closet orphan” on your hands, you often don’t have a choice. Note to self: step away from the eBay after 10:00PM. It’s Bad Decision Central.