Is gold, floral brocade minimalist? Well, it’s all relative. In this case, I made a conscious effort to keep things very neutral to compensate for the eye-catching bottom half of this Moulinette Souers dress, and I think the result is understated chic. Is it presumptuous to declare myself chic? Probably. At any rate, I loved wearing this outfit.

This cropped Tabitha blazer was a recent thrift find, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a keeper. It’s hard to find cropped blazers that don’t look twee or “junior department”-esque, but I think this one manages to pass the test. Which is a good thing, because cropped blazers looked great with sheath dresses as well as high waisted skirts. This greige-y colour is versatile too, so I’ve got lots of remixing ideas. Stay tuned!

On an unrelated note, this month’s book club post (coming up this Friday) is an Ask Me Anything edition so don’t forget to send me your questions, or leave them in the comments.

I’ll be honest: I mostly posted this outfit because I was having a Very Good Hair Day in these pics. You guys know my stance on VGHDs — shout them out from the rooftops or, as the case may be, all over one’s blog. Consider it SHOUTED.

Ahem.

The outfit was ok too. At least 8/10, solid effort. I kinda got lazy with my choice of footwear, but it was mostly practicality-driven. I knew I’d have to stand a fair bit that day, and these CK wedges are, bar none, my most comfortable non-flats.

Yup, another new dress. Sorrynotsorry. Did I mention that this dress was still selling on the Nordstrom website (for over $70) when I thrifted it? It cost me $14. Yup, definitely not sorry. The print is, admittedly, a bit … um, vivid, shall we say? … but the silhouette is lovely and not remotely twee. So I think it passes the rules, even though it’s not very minimalist. I did get a ton of compliments on it when I wore it, so I’m guessing there’ll be someone out there who will be happy to take it off my hands if and when I decided to pass it on. Hashtag: thinking ahead.

For the time being, I’m happy to have it in my rotation. I kept the accessories to a minimum this time to compensate for the wild print, and I think the result is pretty good. I’m excited to try different styling options too, so I think it’s safe to say that you haven’t seen the last of this dress.