My sense of style is just a tad schizophrenic. There is the free spirit that adores
Free People,
Gypsy 05 and
Jen's Pirate Booty; but then there is at the core always the
J. Crew,
Kate Spade,
Banana Republic girl. Case in point: the moment the temps here in Colorado took a dive all breezy maxi dresses remained glued to their hangers and suddenly it was all sheath dresses, sweaters and slacks. I can barely believe that it was just earlier this month that you could not get me to take off my Nation Ltd. Central Park dresses. Now, the thought of that t-shirt material, comfy as it is, is appalling. These days, I don't open the door without my fave Marc Jacobs moleskin coat (circa 2005) and a pair of mittens (Disclaimer: It's actually not cold enough for mittens, but I'm one of those people who hates even being cool. Yes, I did grow up in Chicago; why do you ask?).
I had planned on writing on an entirely different subject today, but after the fourth day of painfully dry, chapped, flaky lips, SPiCY's
Sugar Lips post came to mind. I ended up trying
one of the products she recommended in that post with some amazing results. It suddenly hit me that the vast amount of time I spend inside has led to me being a little slow to acknowledge the arrival of the cold weather
. Though I was wearing sandals last week, it is now time for boots. As I got dressed today I thought about each piece I was layering on to combat the not-quite-but-almost cold and decided to focus today on the fall accessories that we must all add to our outfits when the temps start to drop.
I'm sure this will only be the first of many posts, so I decided to focus on an outfit for the working woman that builds upon a very simple basic with various suggestions from previous posts. I centered it around a classic sheath dress in a basic solid color (gray, black, navy, red). If you don't already have one or more of these in your closet, here are some of my favorites at the moment:
J. Crew
Super 120s Emmaleigh Dress $188.00
Banana Republic
Winter Wool Piped Dress $150.00
Lane Bryant
Geometric Gem Ponte Knit Dress $69.50
Limited
Curved-Seam Sheath Dress $89.90
Banana Republic
Piped Sheath Dress $129.99
Lane Bryant
Ponte Knit Dress $69.50
Kate Spade
Raya Dress $395.00
Limited
Waistband Sheath Dress $128.00
The first must-add accessory is a pair of tights. Though stockings, especially skin-tone stockings are always a classy alternative, the comeback of tights this season gives you free reign to use them to add more spice to your wardrobe and keep warmer than you could with just a plain pair of hose. There were quite a few options given in the
Hang Tight and
Sweater Girls posts which would all work well with a classic sheath. I bought
4 pair from Banana Republic recently that I love. SPiCY recommended this awesome site to me called
We Love Colors that has everything you could imagine to add color to your sheath. For inspiration on how to pull it off well, study the way the
Kate Spade website flawlessly executes the look by pairing bright yellows, blues and reds on the legs with feminine open-toed shoes.
As shocking as the thought of tights and open-toed shoes are, the next piece to add is a pair of peep-toe heels. Whether they are pumps, slingbacks or booties, the key element is the little daring peep of tights at the toe. Some pairs ideal for this look:
Miu Miu
Open-Toed Pumps $295.00
Roberto Cavalli
Heeled Sandal $450.00
ALDO
Orpin $80.00
Kate Spade
Grand $298
Charles by Charles David
Curtsy $137.75
Kate Spade
Giada $350
ALDO
Pasquel $90.00
Barbara Bui
Open-Toed Ankle-Strap Pump $356.00
Kate Spade
Carly $298
ALDO
Vanliere $70.00
Nana
Open-Toed Pump $155.00
Kate Spade
Graham $325
ALDO
Vanis $70.00
I recognize that some of us cannot overcome years of training to the contrary and just cannot do hosiery and open-toed shoes. For these women, there is always the classic ballet flat or the again-popular kitten heel. If you opt not to go for the daring of the peep-toe, try to look for a shoe with texture (tweed, houndstooth, sequins, quilting) or embellishment (large bow, buckle, ankle strap). The idea is to push the envelope beyond the standard plain black pumps since the dress itself is pretty simple. Some truly perfect pairs for this look:
Tory Burch
Reva Woven Straw Flats $164.50
ASOS
Soul Kitten Heel $55.17
Donatella Lucchi
Ballet Flats $160.00
Steve Madden
Mitzie $79.95
Prada
Sequined Kitten Heels $314.00
Pour La Victoire
Ballet Flats $135.00
Steve Madden
Nitasha $69.95
Missoni
Ballet Flats $224.00
Les Trois Garcons
Ballet Flats $120.00
Juicy Couture
Alex Houndstooth Ballet Flats $157.50
Nina
Keesha Kitten Heel $19.95
Roxy
L'Amour Ballet Flat $34.00
Seychelles
Pretty Little Thing Kitten Heel $29.95
Finally, for the purposes of keeping those arms warm, a cardigan sweater is a definite must. My personal favorites are J. Crew's
Jackie and
Infinity cardigans. The cuts stay stylish from year to year and they come in a ton of colors. Don't clash the color of your cardigan with your tights and consider tying or knotting a belt around it as discussed in the
Belt It Out post. Try to add a pair of studs so that your jewelry doesn't compete too much with all of the other eye-catching accents. My three favorites at the moment are
Marc by Marc Jacobs Metal Bow Studs,
Kate Spade All Wrapped Up Studs and
Lauren by Ralph Lauren Braided Knot Earrings.
