Shift

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One summer during high school, I did a dance program at North Carolina Governor’s School. At our very first performance, we did this piece where we all posed in a clump in the middle of the stage. The lights came up, there was no music, and we just stood in stillness for 3 minutes. Then the lights went down, and during the blackout we stayed in our same poses but took one big step to the left. The lights came back up and we stood there some more. And that was the end.

It was actually pretty fun to perform because you could feel the tension in the audience. They weren’t sure if there was a technical difficulty with the music or what. When the lights went down the first time they all cheered (keep in mind these are all high school kids), and when the lights came back on you could hear confused whispers. (Wait…Did they move? I swear there’s something different…)

Why am I telling you this story? Mainly because the name of the dance was “Shift,” and I thought of it when I was wearing this shift dress the other day. But also because I started off the day wearing black suede shoes, then changed into these brown sandals when I went home for lunch because it was starting to rain. So the shoe change was like my subtle step to the left during a blackout. I wonder if anyone at my office noticed that my shoes in the afternoon were not the same as my shoes in the morning. (Hmm…Was she wearing those all day? I swear there’s something different…)

similar Dress ($20) // similar Scarf (on sale) // similar Shoes // Sunglasses (on sale)

Speaking of shifting, see how I’ve changed up the look of this dress over the seasons:

shiftremix

4 Tips for Proper Print Mixing

Today’s post is dedicated to my mother-in-law (congrats, Cindy). As a regular reader of my blog, she tries to up her style quotient by following my lead. Recently she showed me an outfit she wore after seeing all the times I’ve worn different prints together. It wasn’t pretty, people.

Apparently I had not given enough step-by-step guidance on how to choose two prints that actually look good together.After recoiling in horror at the bad outfit I had inspired, I decided I just couldn’t live with this on my conscience. So for Cindy and anyone else who needs tips on how to pull off the print mixing trend, here are a few tips and handy visuals to get you on the right track.

Note: Since this blog is all about real-life style, I’m taking a conservative approach with these tips. If you live in a fashion-forward city or work in a non-traditional office, feel free to scoff at my silly little rules!

Tip #1: Look for corresponding colors

Print Mixing Tip 1

Tip #2: To play it safe, don’t put prints side-by-side

Print Mixing Tip 2

Tip #3: Start with a neutral-colored print

Print Mixing Tip 3

Tip #4: Consider the scale of the prints

Print Mixing Tip 4

 

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