Oh, Olive! Workwear Look

Tuesday I showed you a casual look with olive pants and today I am showing you a workwear look that might be doable for the office. We are looking at the color olive as a neutral. I know many of us have olive in our wardrobes and are becoming more aware of what a great color it is. Tuesday, I showed you how well it goes with orange and white. Check out today’s outfit, which combines dark florals and black for a sassy look.

I found this fabulous dark floral Time and Tru dress while thrifting on one of our trips. I had started really looking over the dress racks at thrift stores recently after seeing Instagram gal, jbowenandcompany using a button up dress like a kimono. It makes a piece like this so much more versatile. When I decided to do this series on olive pieces, I knew this dress as a duster would be a perfect topper for a fun workwear look.

Once again, my olive Gloria Vanderbilt skinny pants are the focal piece. This time I paired them with another neutral, black. My black v-neck polo is a sleeveless piece that I found thrifting a few weeks ago. Black and olive has always been a classic combination. Throwing the dark floral piece over the top really makes the outfit pop.

You’ve seen these Clark peep toe shoeties on the blog before. They are great shoes, I just really have no place to wear them right now. I know many bloggers and Instagram babes who post outfits they are actually wearing, but some of us have a more laid back approach. I would wear these and this whole outfit if I had an office job, but right now I don’t. Still, it is fun to have choices, and to be able to show you all a few of my fun wardrobe pieces, even if I don’t wear them as often.

I thought adding the light blue bag would pull out the light blue in the duster and with the dark florals it still gives the outfit a summer feel. You could have done the same thing with the light pink, yellow, or white. For the same reason I went with the light blue pendant. Just that little extra pop of color adds more interest to the outfit.

What do you think of this outfit? Have you ever worn a button up dress as a duster or kimono? It is a great way to extend the use of your dresses. If you are like me, you don’t have too many excuses to wear a dress. I know some ladies wear them all the time, and if my legs were less blemished by veins, I probably would too, but using a dress in this way still gives me an excuse to get more dressed up.

I hope you enjoyed this post. I am going to include a few shopping links for you to look over. These are affiliate links. All opinions are my own.

Have a great weekend. I will not be posting next week once again, as I am going to spend the week with my mom while my brother and his family are out of town. I’ll be back the following week. Until then, take care.

Spring Transition - Floral Dress

When dressing for spring in the mid-west, one must think in terms of layers. Either the layers need to be in the form of things like jackets or sweaters that can be taken off, or they need to be in the form of light weight fabrics that will be easy to wear even as the day warms up. My first two posts in this series centered around outfits with jackets. The first was a light weight quilted jacket from Christopher and Banks. You can see that post here. The second used a light weight bomber jacket for the top layer. You can see that post here. 

For this post, I am leaving the jackets behind and wearing a light weight, long sleeve floral tunic. The dress/tunic is from H & M, but I found it in a thrift store. I love the navy blue back ground and the orange, blush and light blue print. I am pairing the tunic with my pumpkin orange pants from JC Penney. I wore my same blue SO flats that I wore in my Outfit Inspiration post from last Thursday. For jewelry I kept it minimal since the top is so busy. I'm wearing a beaded choker. My bag is from Kohl's last summer season. A large woven tote, it is perfect for the beach or for travel, when you want to throw in a book or magazine. 

When the weather warms up just leave the pants behind and throw on a pair of flip flops and use this as a swimsuit cover up. I could also see this paired with white cropped pants and a pair of Keds or Converse sneakers. There are lots of options when you have a dress/tunic like this and it will cross seasons. I'm sure I will be wearing this often. 

Would you wear a piece like this? Do you have a dress in your closet that you are not sure how to wear? Try thinking outside the box, by pairing it with jeans or leggings. 

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull. 

I've included a few shopping links for other pretty tunic type dresses. This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.