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, cardicoats, and coatigans

[wearing]
dress: loft
giant cardigan: cos
boots: loeffler randall

[three things]
1. Fall booooots!

2. Can I just keep the weather where it's crisp enough for big sweaters and boots, but not tights and hats?  Please, Midwest?

3. This cardigan is on the border between sweater and coat--which makes it perfect for a cold office since wearing a legit coat all day makes typing much more difficult.

dotty, crisp white, and...well, a bunch of dots.

[wearing]
dots top: catherine catherine malandrino
jeans: vince
flats: vince

Since any "three things" commentary would mostly be about how I managed to successfully not impale any toddlers at daycare this week while unfolding Maddie's stroller or how baby food bananas smell really good, we'll go with a little more structure for today's post.

creative: This top seems like the prefect combination of pattern and texture.  And yeah, I like me some dots.

young: This is essentially just jeans and a white top, but the longer sleeve length makes the top a bit more serious.

professional: This was a Friday outfit, but it could have been another day of the week with no client meetings since my office is pretty casual.  (Or I could just swap the jeans for some gray dress pants.)

dotty, fall colors, and summer nails

[wearing]
top: vince
jeans: vince
flats: vince
clutch: clare vivier
necklace: target

[three things] 
1. Oh hi, fall color!  This shirt should make a lot of appearances during pumpkin season!

2. After being pretty into dark nail colors (especially grays) it's nice to switch it up with some off-white polish for a change.  

3. I've got a long-term commitment to gray jeans.  This is my second pair and I'm hoping they end up being as prolific as my first.  

dotty, tiny dots, and helmut

[wearing]
jacket: helmut lang
dress: h and m
flats: justfab

[three things]
1. This long jacket with a long dress combination definitely makes me look shorter, but you just can't look taller than you actually are every day.  And really, I'm not tall, so there's that too.

2. This jacket is pretty awesome, but oddly hard to pair with my collection of more casual-ish dresses.  Whenever I pair it with a more tailored dress it gets an 80s vibe real quick.  #cutproblems

3. Flats with tiny dots on them have gotta be one of the happiest shoes out there.

dotty, pink, and pink

[wearing]
jacket: h and m
tunic: zara
jeans: vince
flats: vince

[three things]
1. I've been using a lot of blush pink lately to make my all-neutrals-all-the-time closet just a smidge more interesting.  I'm thinking that olive green might be my next foray into seasonal accent colors.

2. I've been really shying away from heels at work, so these pointy-toed flats have been dressing things up a bit.  It helps that I have two pairs of the same shoes in different colors.  And I might have my eye on a black pair to complete the trifecta.

3. Have we talked about my bangs yet?  They seem like old news to me now, but random co-workers still keep telling me how I look like a different person.  #giantofficeproblems

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, maps, and dresses

[wearing]
dress: Y.A.S.
flats: cos
bag: rebecca minkoff
watch: mvmt

[three things]    
1. I wore this dress throughout my whole pregnancy (even though it is definitely not maternity) and was wearing it the day that I was induced.  Oh, memories.

2. Is this dress supposed to look like a topographic map?  That might be why I bought it.

3. These flats are really more like leather slippers.  And I am totally okay with that.

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, 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, pink-ness, and leftover maternity clothes

[wearing]
jacket: h&m
top: asos
jeans: joe's jeans
shoes: vince
bag: rebecca minkoff 

[three things] 
1. Oh look, an outfit post! These might be few and far between, but here's one to start things off anyway.

2. I'm wearing a maternity shirt.  (Shhh!)  I cleared out 95% of my maternity clothes right after Maddie was born, but I kept a few tops that weren't obviously maternity.

3. Pink!  We painted the accent wall in the kiddo's room a pink pattern and ever since I've been more open to the more blush-ish pink tones.  And well, I definitely don't need any more black blazers in rotation!

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?

dotty, linen stripes, and casual days

[wearing] 
tunic: old navy
jeans: vince
heels: charles by charles david
bag: banana republic

[three things]
1. Things have been a little quiet for the interwebs version of me because the work version of me has been super busy the last few weeks with all sorts of (v. boring) midwestern travel and (v. exciting) Neocon festivities.  So yeah, hello again!

2. I'm also in the middle of some sort of wardrobe identity crisis.  Ugh.  I've been shopping less the last few months (which is good!) but I've been very unfocused in what I have been buying.  And it's been mostly super casual pieces.  Which totally doesn't work with the fact that I need to be dressing more professional-ish for work.  You can see where this disconnect would cause some problems!  Having a closet full of comfy/casual pieces is great for the weekend, but not so much when Monday morning rolls around.

3. In other news, I am loving this light neutrals color palette of grays, whites, blushes, and tans.  Now I just need to figure out a version of this outfit for meetings days.
    

dotty, tall day, and fun shoes

[wearing]
dress: cos
wedges: target
bracelets: j.crew factory, forever21, fitbit
necklace: forever21

[three things]
1. So tall.  Like really tall today.  Like I had to adjust the standing height memory on my desk to accommodate my tallness.  #sittostandproblemz

2. My Fitbit bracelet has paint on it...it might be due for replacement.

3. Comfy dress, tall shoes, and a pile of bracelets.  I am ready for you this year, Summer.

dotty, smidges, and stretchy pants

[wearing]
dress: rachel rachel roy
pants: j.crew factory
heels: vince camuto
bag: madewell
necklace: forever21

[three things]
1. I work with some very stylish designers, so I can't take any credit for this dress+skinny pants+heels combination.  This dress is just a smidge too short for work, but makes a great tunic-ish top.

2. I feel like this tote can work with any outfit because it matches the ends of my hair where old highlights have gone awry.  I'm just going to pretend I'm in on that ombre craze.

3. Word to the mother: Look, our floors totally look blue sometimes!





[previously on] cream dress