A Leg Up

It was so nice to have a full day off all to myself yesterday. I was happy to spend Sunday with my BF, of course, but sometimes a girl just needs some solitude, especially when it involves a mani/pedi and a little shopping. I also successfully avoided work email! The best part, though, was that I got to see the start of the fall foliage while driving about. Total and complete bliss. =)

I managed to stick to my guns and do more returns than shopping, at least. I just don't NEED anything right now, and I certainly don't have the money for it. I did, however, finally cave in to leggings. I recently purchased a cute grey shirt dress from Ruche, but I was horrified how short it was when I received it. I don't do short, and short = anything above my knees. I just think a longer silhouette looks better on me. But, before I would decide to send the dress back, I thought I'd give leggings another try. (Ironically, I bought a pair of leggings super cheap a few months ago, but returned them because I was sure I'd never wear them.)  Well, they were of course just what the dress needed, and I'm now (somewhat reluctantly) on board. I feel a little like I'm posing as a twenty-something college student, but in the interest of stepping out of my comfort zone (or totally into it, whichever way you want to look at it), I'm going to hang on to these. 

The leggings in question are from Lane Bryant, and much to my surprise, they also come in purple and teal in store! Weeeeee! I bought the purple and black (both of which I knew I'd wear with this dress) - one for fun, one for basics. They are terribly comfortable - nice wide waistband to prevent the dreaded muffin top (they provided a nice amount of all-over control, actually), soft material to prevent scratching, and they can also stretch to full ankle length, or kept loose somewhere at the calves without excessive bunching anywhere. I'm pretty pleased! (And I'm wearing them now with a tunic tee as I write this.) I also pretty much LOVE wearing flats all of sudden. Might have bought a few (or more) pairs at the Payless BOGO sale...

Grey shirt dress - Ruche / Black leggings - Lane Bryant / Fucshia camisole - NY&Co / Grey wide animal print buckle belt - Banana Republic / Necklace - local boutique / Black  mini wedges - Payless

The dress has its own tie-belt, but once again I swapped it out in favor of my own. This look just needed something a little more substantial at the waist, but I didn't want to add any more another color (especially one that might compete with an accessory I'll reveal in a moment), so I kept the belt in the same color family as the dress.

Please also forgive the wrinkly-ness of the dress - I took this picture at the end of the day (of sitting at my desk), and I really wasn't up to the task of ironing it again...  You'd think it was linen by the way this thing wrinkled!

Necklace - local boutique / Pink intertwined bangles - NY&Co /
Silver hammered metal ring - The Limited 

Oooh, mixing gold and silver together!! Bad girl alert! Whatevs... =7

I'm actually quite excited to wear this outfit with the purple leggings and some fabulous animal print sandals. Probably going to save that for weekend wear, though. Just a little too feisty for daytime work wear...maybe?

The OTHER main factor in this outfit was the fact that I desperately wanted to showcase my new handbag today!

Blue Handbag,"Carmen Zipper" - Furla

Incidentally, I didn't initially love the color combinations when I first put the outfit together, but now that I've had a chance to digest these pictures, I really do. The pink cami and accessories complement the vibrant blue of the bag, and the total package is a nice treatment of neutrals with striking pops of color.

GAH! I love this bag. I'm actually renting it - does anyone else out there do Avelle? I don't rent that often, and I haven't yet rented any super high-end bags (danger), but I've been pretty happy with the bags I've borrowed, often even purchasing them! I don't know if I can justify an eventual purchase with this one, even if it's everything I've been wanting in a blue handbag and more. DROOL.

The pictures I took with my outfit make the bag come out lighter than it is. It's actually a much richer blue - like a royal blue, so I thought I'd include the Avelle stock picture (which is more accurate) here...

You can expect a number of outfits to incorporate this bag over the next month! =)))))))

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