Risky Business

First off, new template!! I'm having so much fun playing with backgrounds, colors, and headers that I might be changing these more often than not. At least until I settle on one that is totally "me," anyway. Tell me what you think!

Friday was a gorgeous day in these parts. Chillier than I would like - as in, time for a winter coat and gloves - but still gorgeous. We had a wonderful noontime event planned at work, which meant lots of hustle and bustle first thing in the morning, but I totally loved all of that. It certainly made the day go by in a blink of an eye, and it was a great success, too! What a great way to end a work week.

Where my outfit was concerned, I'd been wanting to wear this for a few weeks. The skirt is one I'd had for ages, but only wore it once. I even tried to consign it, but no one else wanted it either - it's just such a bold print that it's hard to work with, I guess. I mean, sure, wear some kind of white or cream top and you're done, but how boring is that?  It's also a tricky shape for me - an a-line. I have such a short torso that A-lines don't work well for me unless I do something to emphasize my waist. A belt is a go-to accessory in this case, and often is all an outfit needs to help spruce it up, but that just wasn't enough with this skirt.

It wasn't until after I had delved into the fashion blogosphere that I started to learn how (and that was it totally okay) to mix prints. I was bashful about doing so, however - it's not something that I see often where I live, so I knew I'd be taking some risks. With that in mind, I wanted to choose the day I debuted this outfit carefully. It was a dressier ensemble, so I didn't want to just wear it on any old weekday, but I didn't think it would have been a good fit for a conservative event night, either. When Friday rolled around, however, I knew it was the perfect day for it.

Printed cardigan - The Limited / Printed A-line skirt - Anne Klien /  Wide black belt - LOFT / Black herringbone tights - Banana Republic / Black "Caiiro" flats - Madden Girl (via DSW) / Earrings - Lane Bryant

Now, I'm still a novice when it comes to this, but a good rule of thumb is to keep the prints in the same color palette, and you really can't go wrong. The wide black belt helped break up the prints, too, while still working with them. I even went with a printed tight in black herringbone, but it's subtle enough that it doesn't compete with the rest of the outfit. I'm pretty darn pleased with the results here, especially the retro vibe of the whole silhouette.

Honestly, I still felt a little self-conscious yesterday, but I knew I was taking a risk, and I'm glad I did. Will I wear it again? Who knows....but I do think I'll try mixing prints again.

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