florals week (day 2)

old navy dress & flats
chaps blazer {thrifted}

today is day 2 of andi, brynn, and kate's april flowers week!  i've worn this floral dress from old navy one another time and thought this link-up was a good opportunity to wear it again.  the fabric is really sheer and thin so i felt more comfortable layering a blazer over it, even though i wear this particular blazer at least once a week... it is just what i always reach for to complete an outfit.  i will force myself not to wear it next week!

get the look:  similar dress / similar blazer / similar belt / similar flats

button-down love.

merona dress   ·   chaps blazer {thrifted}

gap button-down {thrifted}   ·   dexter wedges

i haven't worn this dress very often, but i think about it often and was trying to come up with a different way to wear it aside from just with a cardigan layered over it since i wore a cardigan yesterday.  i like layering button-downs underneath just about everything and thought the printed collar peaking out underneath the dress worked, but something was just off... it needed one more layer!  enter the navy blazer (sorry it looks black; my tights are also navy).  since i love layering so much, i didn't mind the cuffs showing past the bracelet length sleeve of the blazer and of course you can never go wrong with a basic cognac colored shoe. 

here's a spread of different ways i like to layer button-downs:

short sleeves / a cardigan / a knit tee / 3/4 sleeves / a sleeveless dress

{click to enlarge... but don't look too closely or you'll realize i 

was wearing the same necklace in three of these five pictures, oops!}

how else do you think i can layer a button-down? 

koi.

​talbots blazer {thread-upped}
ab studio chiffon dress   ·   lela rose for payless heels

welcome to day 3 of the patnone-inspired fall color challenge marissa & i have been hosting this week!  today through friday we'll add our links here at my blog.  check out day 1 and day 2 at marissa's blog - the link ups for both are still open if you are a little behind but still want to participate!

today's color is koi, a subdued orange.  although i love the two orange dresses (1 & 2) i own and have a couple blouses that are orange, i was most looking forward to wearing this talbots blazer i received in a recent threadup order (click here to join through my referral link and receive $10 off your first purchase!).  i placed the order before marissa & i had finalized our plans for this challenge, so i was pleasantly surprised when it arrived last week and i realized it was a perfect koi orange!  what wasn't so great was the sizing - bigger, boxier, and longer than i prefer my blazers to be.  i'm pretty stubborn about returning items i purchase online unless i can do so in a B&M store, so i decided just to keep it even though i'm not satisfied with the fit.

while i continue to ponder the fate of this koi-colored blazer, link up below and show me how you're wearing this shade of orange this fall.  and feel free to leave me a comment with any advice!

get the look:  similar blazer / similar belt / exact dress / similar heels

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An InLinkz Link-up

march 28th {5D5W: dresses}

eshakti dress {c/o}   ·   merona cardigan

mix no 6 otavia wedges

is it crazy to think that an orange dress can be one of the most versatile items in my closet?  it's definitely true!  give me color over black any day, and i'll show you it's just as--if not more--versatile.  i featured three ways to wear this dress in my initial review after receiving it from eshakti and wanted to share another option as i'm wearing it today for fran & whitney's 5 days, 5 ways challenge.  i have worn the dress one other time too that you can check out here (it's similar to the middle picture below).

oh, and please ignore the tear in my tights... i slipped on ice (again!) this morning and skinned my knee through my tights.  what am i, 6?  who skins their knees?!  at least the shoes were unscathed, that's all i can say.  i mean, how awesome are these shoes!  thanks for visiting!

wednesday (argyle & pink)

eshakti dress {giveaway win} ·   dexter kylie wedges
j crew merino wool cardigan {thrifted}

last week i was in georgia for thanksgiving but i only ended up going to one goodwill while i was there.  i suppose it was a successful trip though as i picked up two cardigans (including this one) and a simply vera wang skirt.  a couple of the things i bought were even a part of the colored tag sale for the week, so i felt that was a success!  this j crew cardigan is definitely my favorite find though - i like the cut of the cardigan and the argyle print much more than a couple other argyle cardigans that i have.  i think the pale pink and mossy green pair surprisingly well together.  i really love how this outfit came together today.  thanks for visiting!

here's a close up shot to see the argyle pattern!

thursday {painterly}

j crew sweater {thrifted}   ·   talbots painterly floral skirt

 thrifted belt   ·   dexter kylie wedges

it's kind of chilly outside but i'm determined to get at least one wear out of this lovely skirt before we're really feeling the fall--err--winter-like weather.  i love the great deals at the end of the season, but i don't know how i would feel about wearing this bright floral skirt in the dead of winter.  i might have to try it on with tights and a darker top to see how it looks.  but for now we're still on the cusp and if i can brave it out with bare legs i'm saying that bright florals are a-okay (the high today is expected to be in the mid 60s, so that's really not that bad)!

i picked up this skirt and two others during a spontaneous late-night online shopping venture last week after apples & pencil skirts posted a promo code that offered 25% off and free shipping (clearance pickings are slim, but the code only works for free shipping now for some reason - 029353545).  you know i love my free shipping, and when i saw the prices of some of the items in the clearance section i ran to grab my wallet!  i had never ordered from talbots before, but overall i'm really pleased with the quality, print, and most of all the price of this skirt!  speaking of my friend at apples & pencil skirts, she picked up the same skirt... see how she styled it today as well over at her blog!  we're in different time zones, so her post may not be up quite yet depending on when you're reading this, but i'm looking forward to seeing how she styled it as well!  thanks for visiting!

friday {adventurous}

adventurous / if there is ever a day to be a tad more adventurous with your outfit, let it be on a friday!  for me, the atmosphere is a little more relaxed and i steer clear from home visits or meetings where clients/colleagues may look at me and think, "are you sure you're a professional working lady?!"  okay, that's a big extreme but i would never wear this to a home visit with a client.  i have also never worn tall boots {these ones are available here!} with bare legs before so this was definitely a new look for me (and only manageable as the mercury didn't inch past 70 and i was chained to my desk inside all day), but hey... like i said on tuesday, it's good to tweak at least one routine aspect of your outfit once in a while to keep feeling creative about putting outfits together - you may come away with a look that you really do like!

have a great weekend!

friday {still dressy}

still dressy / if there were ever a day to wear a great pink dress & the highest of high heels {especially after the week you've had}, it should be on a friday!  and yep, wearing the same blazer i wore yesterday... didn't make it into the office at all yesterday so no one is seeing me wear it two days in a row except you guys.  but you don't mind, right?  have a restful weekend - i aim to!

tuesday.

banana republic dress turned blouse {thrifted}   thrifted belt

isaac mizrah for target skirt {thrifted}   lauren conrad hadley flats

this is the dress that i showed you yesterday how i turned it into a blouse!  i'm really happy with how it turned out.  other alterations that i think would make a big difference would be slimming the sides slightly or adding bust darts.  for now i'm just happy to have another short sleeved, fun printed blouse to add to my summer wardrobe.  since the blouse has an all-over floral print to it, i didn't add a necklace to distract from that and instead added some simple gold bangles.  this is definitely the way i hope to dress all summer when the temps start getting hotter and it's just too warm or sticky to add another layer like a cardigan. 

if you work in a professional environment, do you notice your dress changing when it gets warmer outside?  any other tips for making your outfits still have some visual interest?