This creamy eyelet dress was one of the smarter purchases I made in 2012, thanks to its reasonable price tag (well under $100) and its versatility in straddling two summertime trends: the lace dress and the long-sleeved shirt-dress. Typically, I interpret this as a casual dress, pairing it with nude ballet flats, a cognac belt and a denim jacket. But yesterday, I conducted a closet experiment: Can this summer dress make a transition into fall dressing?
Frankly, I had my doubts. It’s cotton, it’s sheer and the long sleeves are purely decorative. But this blog’s mission is to maximize the versatility of everything in your closet, so I consider this a clinical trial before I recommend it for general consumption. It’s still too early for jackets, so I dipped my toe into fall, pairing the dress with heavier accessories that corkscrew the mood from breezy to emboldened. This is also a subtle nod to the color-blocking trend without all the blaring neon draping the department store mannequins this season.
Since it’s still summer, I straddled the summer/fall divide with jewelry and shoes that referenced the seaside. Note that the strands of glossy pearls are anchored on a moodier black leather palette.
Once the weather starts changing, I’ll really test this dress’ mettle with some more outlandish layering options, including textured tights, knee-high boots and a faux fur vest that’s just screaming to make friends with white lace. You’ll be able to keep track of these closet experiments by clicking the “Seasonal Shifts” category in the menu on the right-hand side of the page.
Everyone should expect their purchases to have a big payoff. When an item can do double-duty, it’s a winner.
And with that in mind, I’ll end with this final note: I picked up this Coach clutch on a deep discount last October, only to discover that Coach never marketed it as a clutch at all. (They deemed it an iPad case.) If you ever struggle trying to find an office-appropriate clutch that stashes tons of gear while easily tucking under your arm on a coffee run — the iPad case is IT.