6.17.2010

An Outfit (Deconstructed) ...





Pretty much all of my clothing falls into one of two categories…

The work stuff -- wholly unexciting black skirts and black dresses and, well…black tops (let’s just say there’s a lot of black involved) + the occasional cardigan and then the “weekend clothes” – the jeans and sundresses and wedges and the necklaces.

And with the exception of the aforementioned cardigans, the clothes from these two categories never meet.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I kinda love this separation of my work and home “selves.” I like putting on that black dress and heels and going into the office a few days a week. It makes me feel supremely grown up, I have to admit. I also like having that sort of Mr. Rogers moment if you will…that swapping out of the work clothes for my “cardigan and slippers” is immensely satisfying.

But such a highly compartmentalized wardrobe does present some gaps. Specifically, that elusive (to me at least)”slightly more formal weekend outfit” -- ideally a dress. This is something I’d wear to say the ballet last weekend or a piano recital, or maybe a baby shower. It’s not “conservative” in the business sense, but (and this is hugely important to me, as I’m a big fan of wearing my clothes to death) I want to be able to wear it to work.

In other words I need some cross-over clothes. (Wow, this post could’ve been way shorter had I just wrote that sentence and left it at that…)

So I’m kinda psyched about the dress I’m wearing in this week’s outfit. It’s new -- the kind ladies at Shabby Apple asked me if I would like to pick out one of their dresses to try out, and as I was perusing their site, I had this need for cross-over clothes guiding my decision. I also wanted to step out of my comfort zone a bit, so I completely avoided the LBD section, which was a huge step for me…huge.

I ended up going with this magenta ruffled bodice number…and I should note that magenta and ruffled are two words I never expected to write in the same sentence in regards to something I’m wearing (especially the "ruffles" part). I’m just sayin. But it works. Case in point, I wore it to the ballet with Audrey last weekend and felt girlie and festive, and I’m sporting it at work today and feel completely, appropriately “workish.” Amazing what you can pull-off with some magenta ruffles, no?

The Details:

Me
Audrey
  • Dress – Gap Kids
  • Shoes – Target
  • Headband – Little Bean

25 comments:

My family Begins said...

I love that dress, it looks great on you.

P.S. I love your blog

www.myfamilybegins.blogspot.com

Jane Flanagan said...

Pretty dress!

Unknown said...

I do something similar! My dresses are the most likely to cross over. Dresses and cardigans, but that's about it. I mostly keep them separate because I do not want to wear my work clothes out too quickly. You know what they say: You wear 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time.

Kate said...

i love that dress! it's so perfect for work. your blog is great. where do you live out of curiosity? xo
kate

Danielle (elleinadspir) said...

Love it. I just looked at their site. Great stuff!!!!! I have the cross-over issue too.

AbraCat said...

Wow, that's a great dress!

Sarah Bradley said...

Love that dress! It looks fabulous on you!

How did it run?- true to size?

Joslyn said...

Sarah -- On their website they say it's very generous, but I think it's true to size.

You'd definitely wear a small...maybe an XS.

p.s. i still owe you an e-mail about the necklace. I didn't forget ;-)

xox

Fish Food Tees said...

Love your dress! Such a pretty color!!!

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

I have a sneaky suspicion that your cardigan closet is much more exciting than Mr. Rogers! You totally rock the "L'Opera" dress!

Melissa de la Fuente said...

I LOVE this dress & It looks absolutely FANTASTIC on you hun! Great choice and the two of you are so beautiful.
xo
Melis

Lizzetta said...

I love the dress!

Fern and Feather said...

okay so I am loving this little weekly!

paula said...

ha! love your pick. I did the same thing on my blog today, just different dress:) now I want that one too.

Estelle Hayes said...

Love the dress. Looks fantastic on you. Totally get the two wardrobes thing. I'm struggling with that these days. Feeling like the work outfits are just too conservative and a holdover from my corporate life. Now you've got me thinking...

Sarah Bradley said...

Thanks for the f/u Joslyn.- I'm always torn regarding sizing. I appreciate it! :)

P.S. Look forward to your necklace email!

Elle Sees said...

Lovely dress on you. I always adore your outfit posts!

torrie said...

simply lovely...

Kayla Poole said...

Hi Joslyn! Lovely outfit, as usual. Random question: Where is the chair in these photos from? I am obsessed with it and would love to know where you found such a beauty :) please and thank you.

Karena said...

A favorite color and beautiful design!!

Giveaway is on my site!! Come visit!

Karena
Art by Karena

Joslyn said...

Hi Kayla -- the chairs are from Pottery Barn...we got them a few years ago.

Oh, My Darling said...

What a striking dress!

nicole said...

i love it!

modernhaus said...

I had to break out and comment...this dress was made for you! Seems to be a great color with your skin tone, too.

Bows and Sparrows said...

Ok, so I totally bought this dress after I read your post. I wore it on my birthday - still, I think it looks way better on you. If you're interested, you can see my pics here:
http://bowsandsparrows.blogspot.com/2010/07/happy-birthday-to-me.html