dotty, denim, and almost denim

[wearing] 
jacket: banana republic
chambray shirt: old navy
jeans: joe's
heels: bcbgeneration
bag: everlane

[three things]
1. Caaasual Friday for the win.

2. Jeans with heels seem to feel like the right combination of looking like you tried on a Friday.

3. I've had a string of Fridays with no client meetings and boy, it is super nice to finish the week by checking a bunch off things off my to-do list!

dotty, wool blankets, and shiny pants

[wearing]
cardigan: vince
top: loft
leggings: ross
flats: cos

[three things]
1. I bought this cardigan a size up when I was preggers and this winter I am very happy that this giant blanket exists in my closet.

2. Is it too much if I'm wearing a blanket cardigan and flats that look like slippers?  I told a co-worker the other day that I only buy clothes that feel like pajamas.  I was kinda kidding, but really not so much.

3. Big stripes and tiny spots would definitely make the pattern mixing all-star team.

dotty, grown-up dotty, and young dotty

[wearing]
top: rebecca taylor
pants: old navy
flats: vince
clutch: clare vivier

[three things]
1. Lace crop tops are probably not usually intended for thirty-somethings.  I made an exception for this particular fancy and especially cropped one.

2. After wearing skinny pants pretty much exclusively, these pajama-like pants feel amazing.

3. Sometimes black pants and a black shirt are the perfect combination.  Man, if you had told me this ten years ago I would've said that that sounds like the most boring wardrobe ever.  I also was big on this idea that I should never wear black, just dark brown, because my hair was brown.  Oh, young Dotty, you had it all wrong.

 

dotty, shoppies, and pants problems

[wearing]
tunic: zara
pants: j.crew factory
shoes: vince camuto
bag: rebecca minkoff
necklace: maslo jewelry

[three things]
1. I was sorting through my work pants and I need to do some serious pant shopping.  Ugh.  Shopping for work pants has got to be one of my least favorite types of shoppies.  I might just wear dresses all the time if I didn't have to do site visits.

2. This tunic is from the Zara Woman line.  What am I?  A grownup or something?

3. I am super tempted to order this necklace's lighter colored cousin.  The only thing stopping me is that it's a rather distinctive/memorable necklace, so I probably don't need two versions of it.

dotty, monochrome dressing, and a white moto jacket

[wearing]
jacket: banana republic
dress: eliza j
flats: vince

[three things]
1. I bought this dress for my birthday last fall and considered wearing it to my baby shower in March, but then I wiggled my eight months pregnant self into it, looked in the mirror, and instantly thought "sixteen and pregnant."  It was pretty short with my bump and I couldn't shake the reality show association.  Luckily, without a bump it is an appropriate length for someone twice that age.

2. I've realized that over the last few years I feel most comfortable in primarily monochromatic outfits.  I wore a whole heckuva lot of black with black this past Winter, so I need to balance that out this Summer before I unpack my snowboots again.

3. This jacket gets soooo dirty.  It has a texture that somehow attracts all the dirt to me.
 

dotty, pattern questions, and bonus points

[wearing]
dress: loft via thredup
bag: rebecca minkoff
flats: vince

[three things]
1. Patterned dresses are by far the easiest way to get dressed for work in the summer.

2. Bonus points for also wearing patterned shoes.

3. What is this print supposed to be?  Smushed moths?  Abstract chromosomes?  Sad bowties?

dotty, gray tees, and black pants forever

[wearing]
tee: old navy
pants: banana republic
flats: cos

[three things]
1. These tees have become such a staple in my closet.  They're soft, available in tall sizes (for when you get pregnant but think side ruching is just the worst...or if you're just a tall person), and are pretty much always on sale.

2. I think if I had to pick one outfit to wear forever this would be it.  Serious though, can I?

3. Just kidding.  I could never give up my scarves.  Soooo, this plus a scarf.

dotty, geometric peplums, and summer parties

[wearing] 
dress: tibi via thredup
shoes: vince
cuff bracelet: h and m

[three things]
1. I feel like I'm always trying to find dresses for work events that are the right combination of festive and conservative.  Last summer it finally dawned on me to start using ThredUp since I have a hard time investing in dresses that I will only wear a handful of times.  Luckily there are a whole bunch of other people that routinely clean out their fancy dresses from their closets!

2. A peplum!  I'm pretty sure this is my first one.  I've tried numerous times to find a peplum top to no avail when really I just needed a dress.

3. I wore this to my firm's summer bonus party even though I'm still on leave.  And man, going to a work event is way more fun when you haven't seen your co-workers in a few months!
 

dotty, linen rompers, and clock habits

[wearing] 
romper: old navy
scarf: old navy
sandals: gap
bag: skip and hop
watch: mvmt

[three things]
1. I've added two rompers to my collection this summer to bring my closet total to four.  I'm going to blame this on spending a good chunk of the summer on maternity leave.

2. I got bored with my maternity wardrobe at one point and instead of buying more shirts I bought a few new scarves (including this triangle-tastic one).  It was definitely a good idea.  One size accessories for the win.

3. I'm trying to become a watch person because I want to break the habit of checking my phone during meetings just to see the time.  (I think it's rude, but I do it all the time even when there's a clock in the room!)  We'll see how this works out.

dotty, matchy mcmatchface, and such

[wearing]
dress: cos
necklace: maslo jewelry
bag: rebecca minkoff
sandals: old navy

[three things]
1. I re-discovered this dress in my closet and have been wearing it so much.  I definitely need to be on the lookout for more midi length dresses!

2. These sandals match the beach print on our wall.  #socoordinated

3. This necklace is totally baby-friendly.  Way to go, a year ago me for thinking ahead!
   

dotty, fancy pants, and tunics

[wearing]
tunic: h and m
leggings: ross, a bajillion years ago
shoes: vince camuto
bag: rebecca minkoff

[three things]
1. I had a sad realization a few weeks ago that my amazing collection of silk tops is amazingly not baby-friendly.  Since then I've been on the hunt for more practical (i.e. buttons and machine washable) tops.  This tunic definitely fits the bill and is super soft.

2. I wore these faux-leather leggings an inordinate amount of times while I was pregnant due to the stretchy waistband and I was wearing a lot of longer shirts and big sweaters (like here on instagram.)

3. The last time these leggings showed up on the bloggity-blog was with a very work-ish ensemble back in this post.

dotty, easy peasy, and summer outfits

[wearing]
dress: cos
heels: charles by charles david
bag: madewell
necklace: forever21

[three things]
1. I had a big bruise on my calf last week from a run-in with a very heavy suitcase of material samples and couldn't wear dresses.  Putting together pants outfits when it's hot out is way harder, but this bruise was seriously icky-looking and I didn't really want to explain that I'm not capable of getting myself to meetings without my luggage injuring me.  #grownupfail  #dressesfolife

2. In the past I've tended to belt this bag-like dress, but lately I've just been wearing heels with it and ignoring the shapelessness.

3. Whoa hey, August is almost here.  How did that happen?  #sneakybugger

 

[previously on] cos knit dress

dotty, black pants, and stapling

[wearing]
jacket: banana republic
tank: old navy
pants: banana republic
flats: justfab
bag: madewell

[three things]
1. My next desk neighbor at work bought this same jacket last week.  This could get awkward.  Or just like a grownup twin day.

2. Comfy black dress pants are definitely the foundation of my whole work wardrobe.  And my weekend wardrobe too.  Funny how that works.

3. We spent our weekend Pitchfork-ing, so the transition back to desk life is extra tough.  Blergh.

dotty, whitewashed, and monochromisity

[wearing]
dress: rachel rachel roy
jacket: banana republic
heels: charles by charles david
bag: banana republic

creative: All white instead of my typical all black.  (Monochrome still wins though.)

young: This dress is a smidge short for work, but for a day with no big meetings it's fine.  As long as I stay away from spaghetti and paintball guns.

professional: This is definitely a more pretty than professional combination, but it's Summer and I found two off-white pieces in my closet that work well together!

dotty, triangles, and comfy pants

[wearing]
pants: old navy
top: vince
scarf: marc jacobs target collab
flats: justfab
clutch: marc jacobs target collab

[three things]
1. Weekend brunches are pretty amazing.  And brunches with our friends and their babies are just the bestest. #babieswhobrunch

2. I bought these as light lounge pants for the summer, but um...yeah, they've started leaving the house with me too.

3. If I wear a silk top with comfy pants do the two even each other out?