What nice things can I say about August? The weather mostly didn’t suck. And I went on vacation, which was fun. Um, that’s about it. Here’s a short list of other things that happened in August that were not so nice: I turned 35 (and had a lot of angst about it), stressed out about a lot of things (my birthday, work, creative blocks, working mom guilt, you name it), and came down with a bad case of end-of-summer sadness. Basically, August was one of those months when I felt like I was consistently failing at life. Slight hyperbole? Very slight.

If that’s been reflected in the blog in any way (ahem, sorry for the tardy replies), then I apologize. I try to keep this space a strictly fun/frivolous environment because, really, nobody is here to read about my typical suburban, working parent problems. With that said, if you’re interested in reading posts about things other than OOTDs, secondhand shopping and the usual BCRL fare, then let me know. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) post, but I honestly don’t know if you guys have any truly burning questions for me. (Other than wanting to know about my lipstick, which you can read about here). So I would love to hear from you in comments, if that’s the case.

On to the outfits:

August was a short work month because I was on holidays for a week, so you get only 15 examples of my remixing prowess (sarcasm font engaged). I actually liked most of them, though. If I had to pick, my favourites were #3, #6, #13, and #15, with honourable mentions going to #2 and #10 for being two of my best “old standbys” – I will never not feel great when I wear these dresses. Least favourite outfit was probably #1, and mostly because I feel like this skirt needed hemming; that has now been fixed, and I’m excited to re-try this combo at some point in the future.

Happy Labour Day, peeps! Appropriate, I think, that today’s post should feature a light (but not white) coloured blazer. I certainly plan on continuing to wear this Topshop number well into the fall – and winter! – since it’s proven to be such a wardrobe All Star. It’s not just the colour that is versatile; the cut of it is pretty fantastic, notwithstanding other quality issues. It gives SUCH good shape, you guys. Here’s a slightly weird pose that kinda shows that better:

Here’s a close-up of my nails, which ended up being unintentionally matchy matchy. Since I’ve finally managed to grow my nails (after quitting my decade long gel nails habit, and my even older habit of biting my nails), I’ve rediscovered my love of nail polish. I love switching out my polish colour every few days, and it makes me feel less guilty about the ungodly collection of polished I’ve amassed over the years.

You may be wondering: why the title? Well, I don’t know if people still care about the whole hi-low mixing thing, but it was a big trend for a hot minute back 3-4 years ago, and I am nothing if not on top of all things fashion. [Sarcasm, all the sarcasm.] Anyway, it pretty much describes my approach to wardrobe building, and this outfit is a good example of that – and of how I get the “hi” portion of the equation for a very “low” price. In this case, the answer is consignment. I found this new-with-tags Hugo Boss silk skirt for $28 at a local consignment store (Red Pony), and it certainly spiffs up my cheapie Joe Fresh camisole (Hallelujah, I finally found one that works!) and eBayed Topshop blazer. My shoes and bag are also fancy schmancy, but I didn’t pay full retail prices for either. I was lucky to score the Prada shoes on sale at Holt’s using a gift card (paying nothing out of pocket), and the YSL bag on eBay for a very deep discount off the original price. And that’s how I do hi-low.

So, yes – we are those lame people who out go for “date nights” in the afternoon, and have dinner at 5. Secret’s out, peeps! I mean, it wasn’t much of a secret, but now you have confirmation. Since we rely on the kindness of our parents when it comes to babysitting (and are lucky enough to enjoy it on the regular), we try to minimize the number of late nights that we spend frolicking around town. And by “frolicking”, I mean grabbing some sushi at our fave joint down the street, and puttering around in my husband’s 1974 Beetle. Have I told you lately about my glamorous life?

Ahem.

Getting dressed up for the mid-afternoon is a dicey proposition, but fortunately, I’ve never had too many qualms about being over-dressed. Throwing a snazzy hat into the mix makes things (like this silk Ted Baker dress) seem more casual and laid back, no?

And speaking of the dress, wasn’t it a great find for $18? I’m loving the black, white, mustard yellow colour palette going on (I must have fall on the brain already), and the vaguely Art Nouveau-ish print is interesting too – and a nice departure from my usual print suspects (stripes, florals, repeat). Pairing it with leopard print flats was kinda bold, but I’m digging the results.