Go Sparkly or Go Home

I feel like every year, holiday dressing gets more and more sparkly. Five years ago, I wore some glittery chandelier earrings with my black New Year's Eve dress; five years from now, I'll be wearing a long-sleeve hooded full bodysuit made up entirely of Swarovski crystals. This is a trend I heartily approve of! Nothing in the world can be that bad when, at least one month a year, it is socially acceptable to dress like a disco ball.

Case in point:

Eliza J Sequin Drape Neck Dress, $79 at Nordstrom. Please, please, someone invite me to a NYE rager (a classy rager, if possible) so I can wear this.

Countdown to Paycheck

I just started a new job (yay!), but it is going to be a looooong two weeks until I get my first paycheck.  So while in real life I may be struggling to turn a can of chickpeas I bought six months ago into a satisfying and filling lunch, in my fantasy life I've already got my hard-earned cash already spent. Thank god I don't have a credit card, because I would on a steep, slippery slide into debt.

That's why I have this blog--I get almost as much satisfaction of writing about pretty things as I do about buying them, and writing is free!  Here's what's making me want to freeze my wallet in a block of ice:

Sanctuary English Boyfriend Blazer, $158. I've been obsessed with this blazer since I saw it in InStyle Makeovers; it took about a month, though, for it to show up online, and it quickly sold out at Piperlime (where it was a few bucks cheaper, I believe). But ShopRobertson.com has it, so now I can make my sexy-professor dreams come true. I'm especially in love with the elbow patches, which I think are out-of-control charming on women's blazers.  On men's blazers, they're insufferably twee and/or pretentious, unless you look like Christopher Gorham and are legitimately both brilliant and absent minded.

I have to give Sanctuary props for taking a stock costume, such as the professor's tweed jacket, and girling it up; they do the same thing for the boy's prep school blazer. 

 

The Military Schoolboy Blazer, $148, would make me feel like I'm in some sort of teen comedy that's a cross between The Dead Poet's Society, Just One of the Boys, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landeau-Banks. Yeah, this is definitely the sort of thing you want to be wearing while coming of age, confronting gender stereotypes, and pissing off your parents.

The temperature has been falling very quickly here in New York, and I'm trying to be prepared by pulling out my jackets from under my bed and buying new buttons for my staple wool coat. I could also get ready for freezing cold mornings with this Knit Sweater Hood from Land's End Canvas, $39.50.

How freaking cozy is this? And a hood is much less danger than a hat to your carefully-styled hair, and on harried mornings I'd be able to grab this, instead of untangling a scarf from my coat rack and finding a matching hat.  I'm tempted to search for a similar knitting pattern, so I could make this instead of buying it, but first I need to make the Olympic hat I vowed to knit last winter.

Yes, it is undeniable that I shouldn't buy any more jewelry until I start wearing the stuff I already have; I tend to wear the same one necklace and watch every day, and maybe on Friday night I'll throw on a pair of dangley earrings. I'd love to be the sort of woman who is constantly playing with her accessories, and maybe if I had better toys I would--let's pretend that's logical. Available at Piperlime, the Hive and Honey gold and peach drop necklace, $28, is the sort of statement necklace that is eye-catching but not distracting. In fact, I bet it'd look great with this Banana Republic dress:

I've extolled the virtues of the grey work dress before, but they haven't gotten any less essential to one's office wardrobe. And yet, I don't have one! BR must have sensed this and came up with the perfect version in order to tempt me. The wool fabric is clutch in a winter dress, and the girly details (cap sleeves, v-ncck, defined waistline) will definitely get you hit on by guys in blue striped button-downs at Tuesday night Happy Hour. The winter wool v-neck dress is $150.

I'm also eager to make some upgrades in my apartment.  Let's start with my crappy Ikea couch, whose beige cover has gotten many mysterious food stains over the course of the last year.  Yes, I need to take the cover off and just wash it, but would it be easier to throw it out and get a fun, brightly colored cover?  I like this vivid blue, $49 (PS to Ikea: it's totally bullshit that the bleh beige cover is $19 and the colored ones are thirty bucks cheaper. Dye cannot possibly cost that much!):

 

A big upgrade would be getting a sparkly new Tivo Premiere. My current Tivo is almost five years old, and it can't even record two things at once! It makes our lovely hi-def TV look like an old home video, and forget about accessing Netflix Instant or YouTube. But my current Tivo has a lifetime subscription, which isn't transferable to another machine, so that makes a big purchase even bigger.  I know it'll be worth it (especially so I can record Community while my roommate is watching Bones), I just need to save for a few more months before I go for it.

Old Navy, for seasons both sweaty and chilly

There are some outfits that are so easy that you almost feel like you're cheating, and when it's so hot outside that I break a sweat just thinking about going outside, I could use some shortcuts. My favorite? The faux two-piece dress.Sure, it is not that tough to tuck a tank top into a cotton skirt, but Old Navy knows that in August everything needs to be easier. Enter the Mock Two-Piece Tank Dress, $24.50. You don't need to worry about matching or bunching--dedicate that brain space to finding as many air-conditioned buildings as possible.


But while the cool temperatures of fall seem eons away, fall dresses are already here. We're only 35 degrees away from cozy sweater dresses like these:

Boatneck Sweater Dress, $36.50, in Goodnight Nora (seriously, that's the name of these stripes--I don't even know where to start with that. There's also a nice dark green shade called "Pining Away," which I'm much more on board with).





Argyle V-Neck Sweater Dress, $36.50.

What do bikes, turtles and ropes have in common?

Last summer I was all about the bike t-shirt; a year later, I'm in love with the bike dress.

From Anthropologie, naturally, the Two-Wheeler Shirtdress,$128, is parked happily at the intersection of whimsical and appropriate. You have a very modest, business-like shirtdress silhouette, and from afar you might this is a simple navy fabric with a white circular print. But get closer and...
Penny-farthings as well as classic bicycles! Penny-farthings, if you're not up on your antiquated methods of transportation, are the bikes with the giant front wheel that the rider perches atop, with a smaller wheel behind. The Penny-farthing has been on my mind Cafe Deville, on the corner of 13th and 3rd Ave, was just replaced by a restaurant called The Penny Farthing. My first year in New York (almost five years ago!), I used to walk by Cafe Deville on my way to the gym and was also impressed by the young, attractive, interesting-looking people drinking wine at the sidewalk tables. I thought, "When I'm an attractive and interesting New Yorker, I'll drink wine at a sidewalk table at Cafe Deville." But I never ate there--if The Penny Farthing has sidewalk tables, though, maybe I can fulfill the spirit of my dream if not the letter.

Anyway, the dress--it's exactly the sort of thing Anthro does exquisitely. It reminded me of another dress that Anthro is sadly now sold out of, the Turtle-Print dress.
If you had asked me a month ago if I would ever wear a dress with turtles on it, I would say, "What do you think I am, some kind of manic pixie dream girl?" And, let's be honest, this does look like something Zooey Deschanel might wear while singing old-timey karaoke to a boy whose heart she will eventually break. But hey, it's summer: maybe I want to break some hearts while singing old torch songs at a karaoke bar (no, I definitely don't want to do the latter--I want to sing "Oops I Did It Again" in Koreatown). The dress is designed by Moulinette Soeurs, and while it may no longer be on the Anthropologie website, I will definitely be keeping an eye on Ebay to see if it pops up.

So there's a dress that I can't buy because it's too expensive and a dress that I can't buy because it's sold out. Anthropologie is all, "Ok, you've done a good job resisting thus far, but what about this?"

Also by Moulinette Soeurs (a name I'll clearly need to keep an eye out for in the future), the Know the Ropes dress is on sale for $69.95. Really, the reason I want it is because it looks like Burberry plaid--so much classier than regular hipster or lumberjack plaid. But the asymmetrical neckline is hot, especially for showing some unexpected skin in the summer. The nautical name alone is enough for me to get out my credit card, but then I realized what the "ropes" were referring to...

The "plaid" is actually coiled ropes! Man, if I ever get invited to a party on a yacht, I'm going to be prepared.

Wrapped in Plaid

I think I found my new go-to summer work dress. You know, for when it's 86 degrees and completely muggy, and the thought of wearing pants makes you want to crawl inside your fridge and hide from the world.

It's casual, yes, but I think it's just dressy enough to pass at the office (especially on Fridays). Since Target has the worst models in the world, it looks really unflattering and bulky, but I swear the Converse One Star Ruffle Sleeve Dress, $27.99, is actually very flattering towards your curves. I felt a little Sofia Vergara (Gloria from Modern Family and, for my money, the hottest woman on TV right now) in this dress--wrap dresses are famous for creating the perfect hourglass figure. And what I love about this dress is that the wrap portion isn't too meager; the two sides overlap enough so that if a breeze comes and blows up the top portion, the bottom portion will still keep you covered. I tend to favor the faux-wrap dress for this reason (and I always wear a slip, just to be prepared for when I walk over subway grates), but this dress has the benefit of being totally adjustable. I also dig the tiered ruffles at the bottom, which keep this from being just another plaid dress.

While at Target I also tried this dress from the Zac Posen collaboration. FYI, the Atlantic Terminal Target in Brooklyn had a surprisingly good selection of Zac Posen stuff, and a lot of sizes, but it was a bit weird because they didn't have the words Zac Posen on any of the displays. I'm going to make a wild guess and say that they sold out, took down the promotional stuff, and then unexpectedly got another shipment. Not that it benefited me, because the dress I was hoping to score didn't fit right in either a medium or large.
The Snap Tape Dress, $69.99, just wasn't flattering to my boobs in either size, and with that neckline, you have to make sure your decolletage looks its best.
If it were cheaper I might have done that really, really stupid girl thing of buying something that doesn't fit but telling yourself, "I can totally lose enough weight to zip this up in a few weeks!" But I don't plan going up or down a cup size, so, alas, I had to leave without it. I just wish there was some stretch to the fabric--instead, it's a very unstretchy polyester that reminds me a bit of a raincoat, but it works for the design. Sigh. I love the "sailor by day, dominatrix by night" associations of this dress. Maybe in a few months I'll add it to my regular Ebay search rotation, along with a Proenza Schouler for Target dress (the aqua and white palm tree one) and a Vena Cava for Gap dress (the zip-up tank dress; for some reason, the other dress they did pops up on Ebay every day, but the zip dress is much more elusive).

Alice + Olivia + Foley + Corrina

I very rarely browse ShopBop, because everything is out of my price range and it's a bit depressing. But I got an email from them this morning advertising a Friends and Family discount code (use INTHEFAMILY15 to get 15% off), so I thought I might torture myself by looking at Alice + Olivia dresses.

The Lexis Strapless Ballerina Dress, $495, is so Charlotte York, am I right? At least in the earlier seasons of Sex and the City--it's a pretty youthful dress, so I doubt we'll be seeing it in the sequel. And yes, I will be seeing the movie opening weekend just to find out how Charlotte's perfect family is, and what adorable outfits she's wearing in Dubai, and also because Aiden looks better every time they bring him back, I mean seriously, goddamn. Anyway, the dress: the colors remind me of ice cream or cotton candy--it's like what the world's loveliest candy shop clerk would wear. I'd like to see it with a belt in a more contrasting color, like a deeper shade of purple or navy blue. A skinny black studded belt might even work, for a badass ballerina (like Zoe Saldana's character in Center Stage) look.

The Clara '20s Bugle Beaded Dress, $440, could so easily veer into costume territory, as it has a very distinct flapper vibe. But instead, the simple shape and art deco beading keep it from going over-the-top, and it looks like the model just threw it on, walked out the door, and was effortlessly stunning. No jewelry, just a little makeup, simple shoes; let the dress take the spotlight.

Foley + Corrina is another label that I like to browse on ShopBop--there must be something about that plus sign that draws me in.
The Origami Dress, $460, is in the same vein as a lot of gowns we saw at this past season's awards shows (someone with a better memory then me could supply some names--I'm thinking Anne Hathaway but could be wrong). But in many red carpet cases, I found those dresses to be so architectural/sculptural that they looked wrong on a human body. But this dress manages to put that very structured design on a dress that's flattering and looks fun to wear. The ruffle up the skirt is flirty and a bit bohemian, while the gathering on the bodice looks more deliberately shaped (it reminds me a bit of the tissue paper roses you made in kindergarten, but done in a high-fashion way)--no matter where you wear this, no girl in the room will be able to compare. I also adore the rose pink silk peeking out from the nude fabric, which prevents the dreaded washed effect that often happens with neutral colors.

Amanda Seyfriend and Zac Posen

Amanda Seyfried has officially replaced Rachel McAdams as the celebrity I most wish I looked like. Sorry Rachel--you're still gorgeous, and you made a real run at regaining your title in that sublime Oscar dress.......which reminded me of a Barbie I had with a dress inspired by Monet's waterlilies (I used to be really into collecting the fancy Barbies, and would get a new one every Christmas. My favorite was the one with Eliza Doolittle's white racetrack dress from My Fair Lady, because it had a ginormous hat that reminded me of Kate Winslet in the opening of Titanic). On Oscar night, Rachel McAdams completed topped Amanda Seyfried's cake-icing gown, but besides that, it's been a while since anything Rachel McAdams wore made me go, "Ugh, why is she so perfect? (I hear she does car commercials in Japan. One time she punched me in the face. It was awesome.)

Amanda Seyfried, on the other hand, makes me react like that every time I see her, and I can pretty much guarantee that I will go see Letters to Juliet just so I can ogle her shiny, shiny hair (I'm also interested to see her stick her whole fist in her mouth and predict the weather with her breasts, two things that I don't think she does in that movie). And I've had an old issue of Vogue sitting on my desk for a week, open to this page, just to remind myself that perfection is possible:
So gorgeous, right? She's perfectly walking the line between classic and fresh--she has the loose screen siren girls and curvy figure, but looks clean-faced and wholesome. It's like when you see photos of Dita von Teese and think, "She looks amazing, but not quite human..." but here Amanda took that over-the-top look and translated it into an everyday, just hanging at Coney Island outfit. I adored it even more when I saw photos of the dress online. On Amanda, it looks like a staple of your fantasy wardrobe. On this model, it looks like something you'd see at a thrift store and think, "Oh man, if only this were a little less weird..."
Those sleeves! Why are those sleeves ripped open?! It ruins everything for me, because it's one of those really unnecessary designer-y things. It doesn't help that the model has very strange proportions--her neck, in particular, is freaking me out. I should mention that this dress is from Zac Posen's new lower-priced collection, Z Spoke. Of course, "lower-priced" is relative, as this Silk Polka Dot Flared Dress is $495, and then it'll be an extra $15 bucks or so to get your tailor to fix those god awful sleeves. The solid version is a little less offensive to my eyes, since it's in a gorgeous merlot red.

In the Vogue article that the Amanda Seyfried photo is from, Zac Posen does a lot of patting himself on the back for having this new "affordable" line. But it's such a joke, just like every "Steal of the Month" feature. A 500 dollar dress is not affordable! It's not a steal! In New York, it's half a month's rent; in Phoenix, it's 2 months rent. I know that complaining about how Vogue is out of touch with the real world is as old as complaining about bad weather, but I still see red when I read, "Posen is keen to come up with prices that won't break the bank ($78 to a bit over $600). 'T-shirts at T-shirt prices' is how he puts it." Zac Posen obviously hasn't been to a Gap ever in his life, because T-shirt prices should be somewhere between $20 and $30 (if you're too impatient to wait for that v-neck to go on sale). This Z spoke t-shirt--cotton, jersey, and ugly as sin--is $98.

But hey, Zac Posen is doing a collection for Target that comes out on April 25th, and hope springs eternal! Sure, his pieces seem to be at a higher price point that previous Target collaborations, but maybe that'll translate into higher quality. I'm intrigued in a few dresses, but as always, I won't know until I see them in person if they're hideous or awesome. This first dress is so weird that it just might work--it's like sailor meets punk:
And this dress is just pure glam fun:

Wow, this post meandered a bit. Shall we bring it all back with a final appreciation of the late Lily Cane's perfect hair?

J. Crew, the agony and the ecstasy

Oh, J.Crew. How can you swing so wildly from "What the hell are you thinking?"....

Silk Linen Jumpsuit, $148

...to "Why the hell don't I own that?"

Cotton Organdy Galette Dress, $285

My love for pleats is only rivaled by my hatred for jumpsuits, so I guess I'm left shaking my head, thinking, "Oh, J.Crew, I can't stay mad at you!" I also want to mention that I was in the store over the weekend, and the mannequin wearing the pleated dress was styled really well--with a studded belt in a similar shade of pink, and a woven straw tote bag. This is a fabulous dress, totally appropriate for a warm weather wedding, but J.Crew styled it for a brunch and lazy errand Sunday.

I also want to point out two more things that caught my eye in the store. First, the world's most versatile dress, the Super 120s Andre dress, $188:
It's from J.Crew's office collection, and also comes in navy, black and grey--but the bright plum could definitely be smartened up for work. But the real power of this dress is that it can become that essential go-to for "I want to feel awesome tonight." You know, that one dress that you know is insanely flattering and hides ever sin, the dress that you want to wear on your birthday and a first date and to your high school reunions (since all the popular bitches will be wearing black, to hide the fact that they've gotten fat, while you're all, "Look at me, in bright purple! Aren't you jealous of the fabulous life that I must be living in order to wear this dress?"). It's not too revealing but couldn't be dowdy if it tried. Oh, if only it were machine-washable: then it truly would be the perfect dress.
The flutter flower clutch, $122, is not versatile at all. In fact, it's sort of silly and girly and too expense for something that you'll get so little use out of. But goddamn if I didn't squeal with delight when I spied this on a J.Crew mannequin. The gold chain and clasp look exquisite against the purple silk flowers, and wearing it would make me feel like a heroine in a high-quality chick lit novel.

By the way, the reason I was in the store was to return that white cable knit sweater I bought only. The fabric was a nightmare--so itchy and completely synthetic feeling. And, it was so loose-knit that it was totally see-through. It's gone even more on sale to $19.99, but ladies: do not be tempted!

Flowers and stripes and plaid at Lulu's

Want to stop shopping. Need to stop shopping. Can't stop shopping.

But if I'm gonna keep shopping, I might as well shop for holes in my closet. And right now, I'm sensing a distinct lack of patterned dresses. I am saying no to solids for at least a few months! And I'm saying maybe to these cheap but adorable patterned dresses from Lulu's:

Lucky Break Dress, $35. I'm a big fan of solid bands to break up a pattern; it helps get the dress from getting overwhelming, while also highlighting your banging curves. And that back! It's like bondage meets garden party.

Home Sweet Home Dress, $45. Could this be any sweeter and more charming? It's like if Betty Draper weren't such a spoiled princess. But it has all these great modern details, like a gathered belt and buttoned cap sleeves. It appeals to the part of me that wishes I could just make sugar cookies all day instead of working under florescent lights in an office.

Picnic in Plaid Dress, $57. Are you sick of all the hipster-Brooklyn-type plaid? I'm not quite, but I'm still in favor of dressing outside the L Train platform in something like this. Bright colors for spring? Pleated skirt with tulle underlay? Perfect fit and flattering cut? It's way more 4/5 Uptown.

Neopolitan Sundae Dress, $31. I will admit that colorblock is not a pattern. But who wouldn't want a dress named after an underappreciated flavor of ice cream?

Emma Watson for People's Tree

I always think it's funny how 55 degrees in March means "Woohoo, let's play shirts versus skins basketball!" in New York, and "Holy shit, I might need to wear two hoodies" in California (or Arizona, where I grew up). I celebrated this beautiful day by wearing my cropped running pants--for the past few months, I've been layering running pants under thick sweatpants when I exercise outside. But the warm weather is making me long even more for the days of bare legs and no scarves, and of the lazy t-shirt dresses I'll wear to celebrate.

Make no mistake, I'm a proud American--America, fuck yeah and all that. But I would be very hesitant to wear the old Stars and Stripes on a dress. The Union Jack, on the other hand, looks so very cute and fresh on a plain old white t-shirt dress. It's like Ginger Spice on the weekends! This dress is from Emma Watson's line for People Tree, so not only does it have some of that Harry Potter magic, but it's organic, fair trade, and all that good stuff. The Union Jack dress is 30 pounds--someone with better knowledge of conversion rates will have to tell us how much it costs in real American dollars.

Here's another photo from Emma Watson's line:

I really like this photo because the stripe of the blanket makes it look like EW has a wand in her hand, and, well, I just like everything remotely related to Harry Potter. The cardigan is cute, too.

Steal of the Day

Remember when Rodarte's collection for Target came out, and we were all, "Oh my god, it's going to be so cute! I can't wait to check it out!" And then we went to Target, tried everything on, and were like, "Eh, the dresses that aren't already sold out isn't that cute. Especially not for $45 when I can buy a more practical Mossimo dress for $19.99."

Flash forward to two months later, and there's just a few pieces of the collection left on Target.com. Happily, one of those is the Lace Halter Dress for just $15.74!

Very versatile, classic Little Black Dress. The skirt is a little poofier in person than in this photo, but I like a little poof in a party dress. The lace overlay looks very high-quality and the satin ribbon bow at the neck adds a whimsical note. I would recommend ordering a size up, especially if you have a decent-sized rack.

I'm happy to see that a lot of the other Rodarte for Target dresses are on Ebay for under $50. If you want a LBD with more of an edge than the sweet lace halter dress, bid on the sequin skeleton ribcage dress. This dress is also good if you're sort of anti-Halloween, don't want to wear a real costume but don't want to be a that killjoy at the party. Wear this dress and be a sexy skeleton!
Very quickly, let's look ahead to the next Target Go Collection, designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. The lookbook features a lot of very suspect layering (dude, tattoo shirts do not go with sweet floral dresses. They don't go with anything, because tattoo shirts are fugly to the nth degree), but there are a few pieces I have my eye on. Number one is this trench coat with a nautical twist.

Don't Tempt Me, Urban

Ok, so I tried to put these pieces into a Polyvore set, but I couldn't quite make it work. So instead, I'm bringing you 4 covetable things from Urban Outfitters in a lazy list form.

Silence and Noise Faux Leather Biker Jacket, $128
How long have I been wanting a leather jacket? A really long time. The other weekend I borrowed my friend's badass leather motorcycle jacket, and I felt totally unstoppable all night. If there had been a bar fight, or a particularly competitive dance battle, I would have jumped right in. I love the asymmetrical zipper on this jacket, and that the leather is a little broken in.

Kimchi Blue Suede Boot, $88
It's strange--when it comes to leather boots, I can't stay away from cognac brown, but when it comes to suede boots, I'm all about grey.

Chain Knot Cloche, $28
A girl would need a certain amount of joie de vivre to pull this off--the saturated blue, the gold rope, the old-fashioned cloche shape--but I'd like to think I'm up to the challenge. The color would look killer with my blonde hair, too.

byCorpus Long Sleeve Wrap Dress, $39.99
I've always wanted to be a ballerina! This veers a little close to American Apparel, but I think with some classic accessories (and no lame leggings) you can avoid looking like a victim of corporate hipsterism.

Grey Work Dresses

I've been doing some temp work this week, and I have to confess that I've been enjoying the challenge of dressing for the office. I am sure that I won't feel this way when I have to work five days a week, but for now I'm having fun trying new combinations of pencil skirts, button-down shirts, and heels.

But in this office, there are all these devastatingly fierce women strutting around in power suits and perfectly tailored dresses. Today, it seemed like everyone was wearing grey dresses, which is a smart way to bring feminine fashion into the workplace, without offending any dress codes. A Little Black Dress at work can, with the wrong accessories (too high heels, too glittery a necklace), look too fancy or sexy--as if you don't know the difference between cocktail hour and lunch meetings. A Little Grey Dress, however, is just right: more conservative than a colorful or print dress, but still with enough personality. Here's how I want to imitate the look when I'm a corporate HBIC.

You can't do much better than this Magaschoni Wool Dress, $129. The bateau neckline is sexy/modest in that Jackie Kennedy way, and the pleated skirt with pockets makes this more interesting than your typical shift dress. If you have buff arms, the cap sleeves are insanely flattering; if you'd rather cover up, add a cropped cardigan or jacket and then layer over a thin belt in a statement color like red or yellow.

Speaking of belts, this Banana Republic Wool Sheath Dress, $149, is the ideal blank canvas for a hot corset-style belt or a trendy double-wrap leather belt. The slightly exaggerated shoulders also give you an hourglass silhouette (without going full-on 80's, which, I don't care what the fashion press says, is not a good idea). This dress is good for offices that are a little more creative--it's a big short, especially if you're on the leggy side. On the other hand, it gets colder everyday, and once it's tights season you can get away with a little bit more, length-wise.

Now for a slightly cheaper option, if you're more of a cubicle-dweller than mistress of the corner office. From Modcloth, the Hold My Calls Dress, $84.99, practically screams, "I'm young, I'm ambitious, and I'm not afraid to look good while I work harder than anyone else." This dress is a bit of a combo between the two previous: the pleating and pockets of the Magaschoni, with the shoulders and wasp waist of the Banana Republic. In the Modcloth lookbook, they added a brightly-colored pin to the shoulder--that's the perfect excuse to spend an afternoon combing through vintage and handmade brooches on Etsy!

At this temp job I'm currently in, I spend the entire day sitting behind a receptionist desk. It's a mixed blessing--since I'm not running around, I can wear uncomfortable-but-hot heels, but since I'm sitting, no one ever sees them but me. But sometimes that's enough, as I expect would be the case with these Chunk of Change mary-jane heels, $56, from Lulu's. The grey suede body will match your dress quite nicely, while the teal heel and oversized strap adds a lot of personality. These shoes deserve to be shown off--maybe I can answer the phones and greet guests standing up?