Pieces & Patterns

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So yesterday I showed you how I layered a shirt over my dress, and while wearing that outfit, I bought this dress, then wore it with a shirt layered under. I’m so versatile it’s mind blowing, right? Right. No? OK. Well I think I’m at least a little bit versatile, and alternatively I’m really good at buying dresses.

 Dress // Shirt (on sale) // similar Shoes // other similar Shoes // Bracelet // Earrings

Being Practical

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20121201-190252.jpgA little over a week ago, I made a few online impulse buys from LOFT when they had a flash sale. If you bought 3 items, you got 60% off. Awesome, right?

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So I bought the sweater vest that you’ve seen here and here, the necklace you saw here, and the cute pink peplum dress you see on the right ——>

It turned out the dress ran rather large, so as cute as it was on the hanger, it was not so flattering on me. Unfortunately, the dress was already sold out in every size online by the time I received mine, so I couldn’t exchange. I thought about taking to get it altered, but first I went to my closest LOFT store on the off chance they still had some. No such luck.

But since I had already made the trip (a whole 3-minute drive), I figured I would look around to see if there was something else I might like for about the same price. See, I didn’t actually have a special occasion in mind when I got this dress. I just figured it was a steal for $24 and I would eventually find a reason to wear it.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this simple shift dress I’m wearing in the above outfit. On the con side, I would be spending additional money (This was a $79 dress, but it was 50% off that day). On the pro side, this dress was much more versatile. I tried it on by itself, and it looked great. Could easily be dressed up with some bling and heels. Could work in summer, or in winter with some tights and a jacket. Could also go casual, like I did here.

So my options were: Spend an extra $16 on a more versatile dress, or keep the party dress and spend probably at least $16 getting it altered. Well, you already know the end to this story: I made the more practical choice! I’m still a little bummed the pink peplum number doesn’t get to live with me, but I think I’ll live.

Turtleneck: Target, old (similar here and here)

Dress: LOFT (comes in regular, tall, and petite – I’m 5’3″ and wearing regular)

Boots: Steve Madden, old (very similar here)

Belt: Target (similar with bow here)

Bracelets: Forever 21