Sharp Floral

Non-Interview Version--Tuesday, 8/25/15

Focal item: Black/beige/grey short-sleeved floral blouse

I thought this combination of black skirt, white blazer, and dark floral blouse was very smart.  I decided to use my standby interview blouse (and black suit skirt) in my rendition of this outfit.

From mixmatchfashion.com

My blazer was an old-fashioned one that I got at Goodwill instead of a sharp modern collarless one (no doubt purchased at much, much greater expense), but I still liked the final result and felt that it was a pretty good version of this idea.

Black/beige/grey short-sleeved floral blouse (Kohls), $4.00/wear+
White blazer (thrifted, Liz Claiborne), $0.83/wear (!!!)
Black pencil skirt (thrifted, Calvin Klein), $2.50/wear
Grey pearl pendant necklace (Macy's)+
Light grey wedges by BCBGeneration, $8.75/wear

Outfit total: $16.08/wear

I'm thinking that with the end of summer upon us (and thus the wearable period for this very summery blazer coming to a close), I would like to start shopping for a new "winter white" blazer, in a more modern shape, that could be worn for longer periods of the year.  I think this would be even more useful than the "winter white" skirt that I was talking about yesterday, for at least two reasons.  First, in many situations, my light grey pencil skirt can substitute for a white skirt.  Second, I would get more use out of a topper piece that can be worn over dresses, skirts, or pants than a skirt (and I wear a lot of dark/bright dresses, skirts, and pants that would benefit from the pop of white).  If I start looking now, perhaps I will be able to find a replacement skirt and/or blazer by the time the Work the Wardrobe Challenge wraps up (or restarts????) in April.

I'm happy to finally be able to photograph my blazer outfits without it riding up all funny from holding my arms up high.  (And you will enjoy seeing my nice red sofa in these photographs all the time, too.)

Unfortunately I am running out of photographs from our vacation last month, but here is another queen butterfly among flowers shot.  I like the smattering of white dots along the edge of the wings.  That never goes out of style.

In other news...When my parents visited recently, my mom brought me a bunch of advanced reader's editions/uncorrected proofs of books they were getting rid of at the library, so I've been enjoying a sort of hodge-podge lately.  I just finished reading Vanessa and Her Sister (who is Virginia Woolf, back when she was Virginia Stephen), which I found to be a very entertaining and engrossing book.  (The story is told mostly through journal entries by Vanessa.  The Virginia portrayed is equal parts brilliant, insane, and creepily possessive about her sister.  I enjoyed this take on the character.) 

At the very end of the book, the author gives us brief paragraphs describing what happens to the characters after the events described therein.  It mentions that Virginia Woolf and her husband founded Hogarth Press, named after the house they lived in.  When I finished reading that and the next page or so left in the book, I picked up another book, If I Fall, If I Die.  I opened to the first page and lo and behold, the publisher was...yes, Hogarth, now an imprint of Random House Books.  A Baader-Meinhof synchronicity!