Xerox, Starbucks, and Arizona State

It's the last week of the MMM Style Challenge and the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  Whew.  By accident, it's also Blue Week.

MMMSC Day 10: Metallic

I loved the sophistication of this all-neutral professional ensemble from Polyvore.

Have you heard about Polyvore?  It's a nifty site where people can put together individual images (of stuff that's available for sale) into a collage--clothing outfits, home decoration ideas, cosmetics sets, etc.  It obviously does a lot to drive shopping (oooh, look at that pretty dress!) but you can also use it as a source of ideas for how to put together things you already own.

From uniqueimage.polyvore.com

My office is more business casual so I stepped things down a notch in my own rendition, but it's still a really close match.  I'm loving how useful this black sweater vest is both as an extra layering piece in winter and as a transition piece in spring.

*Dark grey skirt with black embroidery (thrifted, Point Zero-Nicole Benisti)+
Black sweater vest (thrifted, Foxcroft)+
Blue button up shirt (thrifted, Kohls)+
Gold chain necklace (Ann Taylor)+
Black sweater tights+
Black smoking slippers by Clarks

Choosing a metallic necklace might not be the most original way to meet the challenge, but I like this necklace and am happy to wear it.  I'll leave my 80s/Madonna style shiny gold or silver bustier for another time.  (When you own both gold and silver bustiers, it can be hard to choose which one to wear.  Analysis paralysis might lead to neither of them showing up on this blog in the near future.)

The first light blue button up shirt I tried with this skirt is one that kind of drives me crazy.  It's made of very stiff cotton fabric (I think it's been treated to be stain-resistant, among other things) and it's wrinkly and it has a knot under the bust that means the whole front of the shirt is a big-ass swirl of wrinkly, stiff fabric that's just very annoying.  But then I remembered that I had bought this other light blue shirt in a simple style made from softer fabric (poly/nylon/spandex), and when I put it on, it looked and felt so nice that I immediately put the first awkward shirt into my Goodwill bag.  Aaaaahhhh, that feels good.

I'm a bit embarrassed by how long it took me to wear this skirt for the first time; I've had it for so many months that it's probably close to a year old.  But this outfit was like the perfect context for its debut, so I'm not sad.  The brand is an unusual one.  Point Zero is a Canadian brand, and the Nicole Benisti collection is their premier line.  They are not currently selling any skirts in this line, but the dresses run from $80-$115, somewhere in the range between Lands End and Ann Taylor pricing.

I would not have thought to put this grey skirt together with a brown leopard print shoe, but I'm digging it.

Your think-piece for the today is this article in the Atlantic about Starbucks' new college education initiative for its employees, with coursework provided by Arizona State's online function and counseling services provided by contractors such as a woman at Xerox (who does not herself have a college degree).

Sure, the Xerox connection is a bit tenuous, but it's an interesting article.  Oh, did you really want to read about xylophones or x-rays?  Knock yourself out.

A to Z Challenge Day 24: X is for Xerox, Starbucks, and Arizona State