TBMD

Wearing a spring-like outfit when it's clearly fall? It's not a head scratcher when I pause to recall that temperatures were almost in the 80s yesterday. 80! I'm seriously loving this weather.

Credit for today's outfit goes to an Anon reader who suggested layering my gray cropped top over my white strapless dress. Like I wrote in my reply, I had been pining over this dress for the longest time, but figured I could duplicate the look... if I owned a trapeze-style dress to experiment with. Anon suggested my strapless eyelet dress... and voila! I think the resulting outfit is quite cute, so thank you!

I'd like to give two shout-outs for today's look. 1) Gap for providing the inspiration outfit which I copied straight down to the bottom layer and switching it up only slightly with different colors/patterns. 2) Jean for sharing her leopard flats find. I wear flats quite often so I'm always happy to add new pairs to the rotation. I couldn't pinpoint why leopard printed ballet/round-toe flats, sneakers, pointy flats, and the like didn't call out to me until I saw this smoking slipper version. Just waiting for the right combination to come along, I guess.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Happy Monday! Cheers to a short work week and a long weekend to look forward to!

Sale alert: Take 40% off almost everything or extra 50% off select sale styles at Ann Taylor.

Closet favorites/recent purchases include:
- Eyelet scarf - $23.70 (outfits: here, here)
- Estate shimmer necklace - $44.99 (outfits: here, here, here)
- Modern classic skinny hinge bangle - $16.80 (outfits: here, here, here)
- Pearlized stone statement necklace - $59.99 (outfits: here, here, here)
- Pave cabochon stretch bracelet - $17.70 (outfits: here, here, here)

Other picks: $70 jeweled neck tweed dress (own and love, just haven't worn on the blog yet - TTS), $40.80 Gemma sandals (gorgeous yellow), $14.99 spritz citrus stone earrings (if only I have pierced ears), $80 jeweled shift dress (very J.Crew-esque).

Even if I wanted to, my office is too cold in the summers for short sleeves, let alone strapless tops/dresses. So a light sweater is pretty much an essential item year-round for me. If I was outside much longer for photos, I'd have been burning up in this outfit. As is, a few quick snaps to choose from meant this awkwardly hunched over pose is the best photo of the batch.

Summer humidity is back in full swing here at the Nation's Capital. That means it's time again to start wearing easy, breezy fabrics, such as this maxi dress. I wore this dress practically every week last summer, so I've since run out of new styling ideas... but that doesn't mean I can't try out different color schemes!

I bought this eyelet dress last year because I couldn't find a skirt version to my liking. I had every intention of eventually turning paying a tailor to turn the dress into a skirt with the sides slimmed. Umm, yeah... that never happened. All this time I've simply been tucking the strapless portion under and wearing the dress as a skirt. It's a good thing I didn't go through with a permanent fix because with a new year comes a new mindset. I suddenly felt the urge to wear the dress as, yep you got it, a dress.

Photos thanks to DH! I can't seem to smile normally whenever I don't take my own photos (aside from this one, but my shoes were hidden) -- cheesing too much, caught in mid-guffaw or mid-blink, so that's why I'm headless.

Today's outfit is a change of pace for me. Instead of dark colors, I wore pastels in airy fabrics to combat the summer humidity.

The last time I wore an all-white ensemble, Spiffie suggested pairing the eyelet skirt with a non-cropped top. I mentally ran through the tank tops in my closet and vetoed them all for one reason or another -- ribbed material is too casual, fabric is too thin, etc. Then all of a sudden I remembered a white sequined tank that hasn't seen the light of day in ages. It's the perfect middle ground of dressy-casual that I was looking for.

While Blair is the epitome of elegance in a black top and lace skirt, I went the opposite route. I kept my outfit casual and wore my summer whites. White is a color that I love wearing year-round, never mind the archaic no-white-after-Labor-Day rule. I just keep the weather in mind and choose fabrics accordingly. Linen is reserved for spring/summer and wool is better suited for fall/winter. I'll wear cotton anytime though, even thinner versions in the colder months because they're great for layering.

Sale alert at Bloomingdale's F&F event: Use code JUNEFRIENDS or STYLE20 for 20% off through 6/9 (designer exclusions apply). Shoot me an email if you'd like an in-store coupon. As always, Nordstrom should be able to price match.

There's a decent selection of sale items already marked 25-40% off, and most likely can be stacked with the F&F code for more savings.

Closet favorites include:
- Burberry Marystow trench - $876 (I'm wearing sz 2 - see outfits)
- Longchamp LM Metal tote - $86.80 - no longer online, check stores (read review / see outfits with bag)

Continuing with the black & white theme, today's outfit also features these neutral colors. Though the colors are easy to wear, outfits can become pretty boring rather quickly. An easy way to add life to safe outfits would be through the addition of accent colors, ie: using accessories. A more subtle approach is by mixing patterns. That's the route I took today by pairing bold stripes against soft eyelet.

Up until now, I've worn this eyelet skirt with flats only, and even then, it was mainly flip flops. Today's non-midriff-baring outfit called for something dressier... heels felt like too much, so I settled for low wedges as a compromise.

Writing a post is the hardest part of blogging, especially when I'm wearing repeat items. There's only so much I can reiterate about color pairings or the weather before boring myself (and you) to death. Kimmie and Caroline both recently wrote about a Blog Every Day challenge, complete with a list of topics for each day in the month of May. No need to pick my brain? Sign me up! I already know I won't be able to keep up with daily posts, but when my mind's drawing a blank, I'll turn to the topic of the day. I'll try to keep my thoughts semi-fashion-related as much as I can.

Day 7, Tuesday: The thing(s) you're most afraid of.

Being in debt would be my serious answer. I don't worry about "normal" debt like a mortgage, but am scared about circumstances out of my control. Say, medical bills from an illness.

On a lighter, fashion-related note, I'm scared about body changes post-pregnancy. Some women worry about hair loss, weight gain, and/or stretch marks. I'm scared that my feet will grow in size during pregnancy and not shrink back afterwards. I'll be so sad if I can no longer fit into my favorite shoes, not to mention designer pairs that cost a pretty penny. Um, Valentino Rockstuds, should I return you?

What are your fears, irrational or otherwise?

After wearing pants practically all winter long, I'm embracing going bare-legged in anything feminine. A shopping spree as of late that includes an eyelet skirt, a casual lace dress, a pleated paperbag skirt, and now I can add a shirtdress to my wardrobe. Spring, I heart you.

Sale alert at Gap: Use code GAPSHOP for 30% off today 4/12 or 25% off tomorrow 4/13.

Two old, but much loved items from my closet are:
- Broken-in straight khakis (retail $54.95): I'm wearing size 00 - outfits: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight
- Pure longline tunic (retail $32.00): I'm wearing size XS - outfits: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight

I placed an order for a few items to try: printed crossover maxi dress in yellow print, luxlight crew cardigan in extremely green, and moss stitch striped cardigan in true indigo.

Continuing my love affair with all things romantic, I wanted to add an eyelet/voile skirt to my wardrobe. I was looking for one that hits around the knees, with a handkerchief hem, and isn't too poofy. I came across many that were on the shorter side, too poofy, and/or had an even hem.

When I saw this Old Navy eyelet tube dress, my creative side went into overdrive, imagining all the potential it held. The strapless top worked in my favor because I figured I could tuck it down and inward. Converting the dress into a skirt meant the bottom portion of the bust area would sit at my waist, therefore giving me the longer length I desired. The skirt works for the time being, but I'm considering slimming the sides and/or shortening the length just a tad. For today's look, I balanced out the longer skirt with a cropped top and jacket.

Every time the weather warms, I realize how complacent I've been throughout the colder days because I can randomly choose a public spot for photos and there would hardly be anyone milling about. I usually have to ease my way back into thick-skinned mode come spring, but this time around I dove in head first. Well, I had a little push. I figured I only had a few days' window before the rain washed all the pretty flowers away, so there I was, taking photos with my tripod next to an intersection with fairly heavy traffic. Well worth the few minutes of awkwardness, I'd say.

Have a good weekend, everyone!