Wednesday, August 18, 2010

One Dress, Multiple Seasons

Being mid to late August, we're coming up on my most favorite time of year: Fall!  More specifically, early fall.  I love those first few weeks where it's still nice out here in Chicago (as in, not beastly hot/ungodly humid like our summers, but not snowy/icy/horrible like our winters), and I can dust off my sweaters, scarves, boots, etc.  It's still more or less summer here, with our days being in the mid-70's and significantly less humid.  But if you go outside at around 6am (after all, my fashionable dog doesn't walk himself), it's clear that summer is on its way out, albeit slowly.  The mornings are cooler, and that's definitely got me in the mood for fall.

So here's what I wore to work today.  I thought it'd be fun to transition this simple black dress into a couple of looks perfect for fall.
Here I lost the cami, changed necklaces, swapped out the sandals for heels (my very first pair of Tsubos!) and added a cardigan.  This would be perfect for work.  I'd probably pair tights with this for fall too, but I found that black tights looked kind of horrible with the shoes, so I'll have to figure out what color tights might go better.  Suggestions?  I've never owned grey shoes before (I tend not to venture away from black, as sad as that sounds), so this is new territory for me.  Here's a close-up.  I am that excited about them.
The second look isn't really my style for the office (though it'd probably fall under our casual dress code with no problems), but I'd definitely sport it on a weekend.  Adding a jacket, scarf and boots makes the dress a lot more casual.  This is actually a tribute to Rad, since I often see her with a dress, tights and tall boots.

What's your favorite season to dress for?  And how do you style your summer pieces for fall?

Dress: Target
Cami: Old Navy
Necklaces: New York & Company
Sandals: Aerosoles
Cardigan: LOFT
Shoes: Tsubo
Denim Jacket: Old Navy
Scarf: LOFT
Boots: RSVP via 6pm
Sunburn: Lake Michigan
Just to keep the blog honest about our showcasing of cute animals. Jude can pull off the corporate look too.

18 comments:

  1. Since black and gray are both neutrals, I think a pair of fun colored tights would be great! I really love how you re-styled the dress. All of these options look great on you!

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  2. I probably like dressing for summer the best, but I'm getting a little tired of it right now. I wear a lot of cardigans and tights with my summer dresses to transition them to fall.

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  3. Hmm. I posted a comment that seems to have gotten lost. It said that I have a very similar black dress and I am now super inspired! So, if fall ever comes to my sweltering city, I am so imitating the crap out of you!

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  4. The passing of hot, humid days (they HAVE passed, if I just keep saying it, I know it'll work eventually....) has me looking forward to cardigans & boots as well. I have a couple of pairs of gray shoes/booties and wear them with gray tights. Black shoes, black tights. Gray shoes, gray tights. It works!

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  5. I like all your remixes, and those Tsubos are really, really great. Just out of curiosity, what size are your feet? I'm a 10, or 41.

    Also, I do pretty much exactly what you've done here to take summer things into fall. But I also rotate out a good portion of my wardrobe each season, and bring a portion out of storage so it feels like I've got new clothes without the shopping.

    And finally, I read in a style book that when in doubt, match your tights to your shoes. I believe such stylings have something to do with leg lengthening strategies. So probably you don't need to worry. But just in case you're interested, there you go.

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  6. Melissa: I'll have to check out some fun colors. That would be so easy with black and gray - thanks for the tip! :)

    Rebecca: I'm in the same place - I love summer, but am SO ready for fall.

    AFtK: Wow, no one has ever imitated me! I'd love to see how you style your black dress.

    Charlotte: Gray on gray does make sense. Now, to find the right shade of gray...

    A-Dubs: I wear a 10 too! If only you lived closer, I could borrow those lovely red Fluevogs. But my feet look smaller in the Tsubos (at least I think they do), which is pretty amazing. Those are the Kolias, which I got for 50% off on 6pm.com (just checked, and they still have 3 pairs left in a 10!). I probably don't need to lengthen my legs, but I am a fan of black shoes with black tights, so it makes sense with gray.

    I'm doing my rotating in a couple of weeks, since I probably don't have the time to do a thorough closet cleaning until then. I have bags and bags full of fall stuff hiding in my basement that I can't wait to bring back!

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  7. Yay Tsubos! You're gonna LIVE in those heels, lady, I guarantee.

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  8. Sal: I thought of all of your Tsubos when I got mine! I could definitely live in these shoes. They fit great right out of the box!

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  9. I love the Tsubos with this dress!

    Haha! Jude is hilarious!

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  10. Anne, I love the dress and all the remixes. Those Tsubos are crazy amazing. Now I want a pair too (but I will just admire from afar)!

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  11. Yay! I own the same dress. What does A-Dubs say, I'm doing this (the two fingers between the eyes thing). Alas, she says it better.
    I am a big fan of grey shoes. Most times, when an outfit calls for a black shoe, I throw in the grey ones to throw it off a bit. Shhh, that's a secret of mine.

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  12. Don't ask me about tights, because I get mine here. And you probably aren't that crazy. But, I admire your Chicagoan sense of black dress restyling.

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  13. LHdM: Thanks! They're my favorite shoe pairing too, by far.

    Rad: I love that you're checking in from Frankfurt. Don't worry, I'm taking good care of le blog :)

    SU: Thanks for the secret tip! We can be black dress/grey shoe twinkies!

    Cynthia: Wow, that's quite an array of hosiery! I can't wait to see you sporting all of your designer tights once the weather cools off!

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  14. Wow. You are bringing it with the photos and the remixing. And the gratuitous dog-wearing-clothes shots. I love all of these outfits.

    I think I would go with grey tights with the grey shoes. Maybe a subtle pattern, like a tone-on-tone herringbone or argyle would rock with this dress and those shoes.

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  15. I've saved the image of you in the dress with the scarf and jacket in my "inspiration" file, and will be shamelessly copying you as soon as the weather cools down. You look terrific!

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  16. LHdM: Thanks! They're my favorite shoe pairing too, by far.

    Rad: I love that you're checking in from Frankfurt. Don't worry, I'm taking good care of le blog :)

    SU: Thanks for the secret tip! We can be black dress/grey shoe twinkies!

    Cynthia: Wow, that's quite an array of hosiery! I can't wait to see you sporting all of your designer tights once the weather cools off!

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  17. I love the Tsubos with this dress!

    Haha! Jude is hilarious!

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  18. I like all your remixes, and those Tsubos are really, really great. Just out of curiosity, what size are your feet? I'm a 10, or 41.

    Also, I do pretty much exactly what you've done here to take summer things into fall. But I also rotate out a good portion of my wardrobe each season, and bring a portion out of storage so it feels like I've got new clothes without the shopping.

    And finally, I read in a style book that when in doubt, match your tights to your shoes. I believe such stylings have something to do with leg lengthening strategies. So probably you don't need to worry. But just in case you're interested, there you go.

    ReplyDelete