I think my obsession with Meghan Markle is pretty apparent now. I've loved her since her early Suits days; and now that she's in the spotlight practically every day, my interest has grown exponentially as well. I give her 100% credit for bringing the boatneck-style neckline to my attention. I wouldn't have given it another glance otherwise. It's such a feminine look, especially paired with the peplum hem of this top.

A lot of words come to mind when trying to describe today's outfit. Not quite athleisure? Wearing all the trends? At least everything is color coordinated in neutrals. Definitely looks comfortable. I will take all of the above because this outfit was born out of my determination to make the most of a regrettable purchase.

The item in question is this sweatshirt with wrist bow ties. Looking back, I was so excited to jump on the wrist bow ties bandwagon that I didn't pay enough attention to the shortcomings. While the wrist ties may be pretty to look at, they sure got in the way of everyday life. The ends would get wet after washing my hands normally. Bows come undone too easily. The sweatshirt was also a bit too short on me.

To fix the first two issues, I ended up wearing the sweatshirt with 3/4 sleeves. No more consciously restricting hand movements throughout the day! For the last issue, I simply wore layers. In hindsight, can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. A longer layer underneath worked well proportionally with the nearly cropped length.

Today's outfit was thrown together with the hot and humid summer heat in mind -- a 3/4-length cotton cardigan that I do not mind sweating profusely in, a silky sleeveless tank that is cool to the touch, and a pencil skirt because legs need to breathe too. There's no practical reason for the accessories chosen other than they are simply some of my current favorites.

As I was trying on a white cardigan with today's outfit and debating whether it's a good addition, I heard DH say, "That's an interesting... leisure suit?" Guess it wasn't a hard decision to leave off the cardigan after all.

I ordered a handful of items during the Zara sale a few weeks back (still ongoing, but selection is probably better in stores now from returns). The only item that I loved enough to keep? This pair of black ballerina flats with beaded straps (coincidentally, a friend also bought and kept! Great minds especially since we didn't coordinate beforehand).

I was afraid the flats may be too big, but Kefee heel inserts to the rescue once again. Since my initial post about them, I do think the heel inserts work much better than the toe inserts. With more weight pressing down on the toe inserts, they seem to lose their cushion fairly fast.

Am I the only one who thinks we pretty much went from winter straight to summer? I'm happily pretending it's still spring... and will continue to wear jackets until it becomes unbearably hot (or officially summer), whichever comes first.

Today's outfit looks boring at first glance. Black and white? It's only a step up from all black, imo.

Look closer though... the colors may not draw attention, but the textures sure should. A hint of fringe along the hem of the white sweater tee? A smooth leather jacket contrasting against an "eyelash" fringe pencil skirt? Nope, not a typical black and white outfit anymore.