dotty, necessipants, and a few patterns

[wearing]
sweater: vince (similar)
dotted pants: old navy (exactly)
scarf: forever21 (similar)
loafers: zara (similar)
bag: phillip lim for target

[three things]
1. scarves are making so much sense right about now and i am loving it.

2. i was down to one pair of site visit pants, so this stretchy pair that is basically the non-denim version of these pants i own, were definitely a good addition to the closet.  they were cheap enough that when they inevitably get ruined by some sort of construction adhesive it will all be okay.

3. can i just wear stretchy pants and an oversized sweater every day to work?

dotty, a cozy sweater, and scarf weather

[wearing]
dress: rachel rachel roy (exactly)
cardigan: forever21 (similar)
scarf: ebay (similar)
belt: thrifted
flats: zara
bag: phillip lim for target

creative: pattern mixing!  and all these layers helped me adjust to all the different conference room temperatures i deal with on the daily.
young: um...about that leopard print.  and the bedazzled flats.  yyyyeah.
professional: belting this dress to make it less sack-like (not that there's anything wrong with being a sack) makes it seem more grownup.  oh, and a baller black purse.

p.s.
find more posts like this one over here.

recap: september

[wearing]
my conversion wearing mostly neutrals is pretty obvious this month.  my big goal is to keep things visually interesting with textures and patterns rather than saturated colors.

[going]
we took a big trip to vegas earlier this month which was a fantastic break from work and i got to see my sister and her family for her birthday two years in a row.  (recap post here)

[buying]
in looking back on my spending history for the last few years (i've only kept track on the blog for about a year, but have a spreadsheet of all the clothes i've bought since the end of grad school) i've noticed that i oscillate between being way under my budget one month and then being a wee bit over the next month. last month was a way under month, so this month was destined to be a bit of a disaster.

bookhou triangle tote (bookhou on etsy): $88 shipped. (seen in this post)
marc by marc jacobs wallet: $185.  oh, brother.  this is a monthly budget-ruining purchase, but i've got no regrets about it.  i was definitely overdue for a grownup wallet.  (seen in this post)
zara marled tee: $20.  i bought this in vegas because i didn't bring enough comfy tees with me and the zipper makes it a smidge different than all the other ones i have.  (seen in this post)
rachel rachel roy white dress (macy's) i bought these next three macy's items with a giftcard and assorted discounts, so my total ended up being $29.  my goal for shopping with the giftcard was to buy a few things that pushed me out of my comfort zone.  i usually am pretty good about thinking about possible outfits before i buy something, but that sometimes stops me from buying more interesting things.  (seen in this post)
rachel rachel roy black laser-cut top (macy's) (seen in this post)
vince camuto ren sandals (macy's): i posted these sandals as part of my fall wishlist, but they're more for next summer at this point.
old navy diva skinny ankle pants (old navy): $11.  (seen in this post)
phillip lim for target medium black satchel: $45  (seen in this post)
phillip lim for target leopard print dress: $30  (seen in this post)
phillip lim for faux leather zipper dress: $50 (seen in this post)

total: $458.  oh boy.
(link up with franish over yonder.)

wishlist: weekend

sources:
one, two, three, four, five, and six.

what's in dotty's bag

i haven't done one of these in awhile and two new purses in the last month has led to some nicely clean space at the bottom of my bags!


[carrying] left to right-ish
phillip lim for target medium satchel with a vintage scarf
an almond&coconut kind bar.  these taste like samoa girl scout cookies, but are socially acceptable to eat as breakfast.
a simply balanced pomegranate fruit strip from target.  mmm...snacks.
marc by marc jacobs wallet.  i posted about this a few weeks ago as part of my fall wishlist because i finally bit the bullet and bought the perfect wallet instead of picking up a random one at target because my previous one from target started to fall apart.
sunnies case with my raybans inside.
a silly bracelet that i can't actually do any work whilst wearing.
headphones.  since i've decided to blatantly ignore the company policy against headphones.  i sit next to a loudtalker and do some very tedious work, so it's gotta happen.  also, they play light rock on the radio all day long.  and it's the same light rock songs every single day just in a random order.
aluminum business card case from muji.
leopard loafers in a shoe bag.
kleenex, lip goo, oil-absorbing sheets.
polka dot umbrellie.
iphone.

p.s.
have a good weekend!  i am pretty excited about friday finally showing up this week.  it's been a doozy.

dotty, spots, and brie

[wearing]
jacket: michael michael kors (similar)
dress: phillip lim x target (exactly)
bag:  phillip lim x target
flats: old navy (exactly)

[three things]
1. i wore this out to dinner the other night to a fancy cheese market.  oh em gee, cheeeeeese!  i already knew that i like me some cheese, but we had this baked brie with figs that was just amazing.

2. this dress is assymetrical ruched on one side, so i kept tugging at it to even it out, but there's extra fabric on one side to keep it even for me.  doh.  hopefully i'll get used to this eventually.

3. jacket weather!  i bought this pretty three years ago after eyeing it at nordstrom rack for weeks.  i almost bought a cream-colored one instead, but methinks black was the right decision.



[previously on] leather moto jacket

dotty, standardization, and leather jacket season

[wearing]
dress: rachel rachel roy (exactly)
jacket: michael michael kors (similar)
bag: bookhou
heels: target (exactly)
necklace: light in the box
sunnies: ray-ban (exactly)

[three things]
1. i think this dress was destined to be paired with a leather moto jacket.

2. i just posted about this dress last wednesday and it's definitely been on constant repeat since then.  i've been building up a collection of what i call "every week dresses".  they're all neutrals and work appropriate lengths, so it makes things much less frustrating on monday morning if there are five dresses hanging front and center just waiting to be worn.  so far the collection is this stripey dress, this marled knit dress, this gray&white dress, this black trapeze dress, and this crackle-print dress.  i thought this would make things kinda boring, but i think i might be finally stumbling across my style.  say what?  yeah, i said it.  so maybe i'll stop buying random pieces that i only keep for a few months before donating.  dude, that would be awesome!

3. having two shiny new bags to choose from is pretty fun.  this one is super good at carrying umbrellas, extra shoes, and all the snacks i need for a typical work day.