Game Night Dress

As I've mentioned, I don't actually have to go into the office on Mondays, and so I have to admit that I never really got dressed in more than shorts and a tank top yesterday. The most dressed I got was to go to the gym, and I don't think anyone really needs to see that outfit! I was working to finish  a big project, and so I didn't really leave the house. I'm going to try and do better and have an outfit worth sharing even on my more home bound days.

This is another one of those dresses with a lot of details. It's not only got a crazy pattern, but also a tie at the neck and gathered sleeves. However crazy it may be, it's definitely one of my favorites, and I like to wear it both for more casual days at work and for whatever else I have going on in my life.

Although the dress is a couple of inches above the knee, in my experience it is so covered up everywhere else that I can get away with it for work. Today I am wearing it with a brown blazer and my loafers, but a cardigan is also a nice pair with this dress. I found it at Modcloth about two years ago, and it's been in heavy rotation since. It's sold out now, but you can see the pattern in better detail here (as well as request that they bring it back!) I'll admit, the fact that this was called the Morning Noon and Game Night Dress definitely swayed it a little more in my favor, and I've definitely worn it to game night with friends!

As an accessory, I paired my Michael Kors watch (check out this one too!) with some mint nail polish. I normally don't paint my nails very often, because I chip the paint incredibly fast, but this is the Sally Hansen quick drying polish, and I find that it lasts a little longer on me, which is awesome!

And as I Houston girl, I've definitely got to go along with the Southern link-up!  

A promise

One of my goals in starting this blog is to only show outfits that I actually wear in my daily life. I want to use this as a chance to push me out of my clothing comfort zone a little, but I absolutely want to focus on wearable looks that actually work for my own use. Because of that, you might see a little bit of repetition, or outfits that aren't quite as magazine ready as on some other blogs. However, I am going to try and challenge myself, and I hope you'll enjoy the journey with me!

 

This dress is kind of exactly what I mean about challenging myself. Normally, something this flowy, and honestly, this short, would be totally outside of my comfort zone. Although I think it's a very pretty pattern, it's not something I would have normally gravitated to. However, I bought it from Amazon at an extremely cheap price, and there were no returns, so I wanted to find a way to make it work. I found that adding a belt with some tougher hardware and tights helped to make me feel more comfortable with the length, and also help ground the delicate pattern a little. 

One thing I love about these boots is the fringe. It's such a fun little detail, and I'll admit I really like the boots with this dress. I also like the layered look of the hem.

 Really, for me it's amazing what a pair of tights and boots can do to anchor a look. In my opinion these pieces helped to keep the dress realistically wearable, and so I felt more comfortable wearing this entire outfit. The dress originally came with a much more flimsy belt, which I like for other dresses, but I thought it was important to change it out for this one. What do you think? Isn't it amazing how a change in belt can really alter how you feel about a dress?


Outfit Details: As mentioned, the dress is from Amazon, the tights and belt are from Target, and the booties were an awesome find at T.J. Maxx!

The beginning

                                             

This dress really captures everything I look for, green/blue, patterned, and pockets! What's not to love? I wore this dress to go see Gone Girl, which was a fantastic movie. The dress was perfect, super comfortable and the pockets let me hold my phone without worrying about dropping it at any point.

                             

I originally purchased this Mata Traders dress from Modcloth. My necklace is a lion from Forever 21, and the belt was borrowed from another dress. I love mixing up the belts that come with dresses, as I find this is a fun way to add color and detail without breaking the bank on accessories!

Can you believe this adorable lion was only $3.80? I promised you a zoo!