[outfit: Mijeong Park hooded cardigan (gifted for review); old zara top; Elizabeth Suzann twill clyde pants, Vionic orthaheel surin flats, Baggu crossbody bag; *Cluse watch]
I’m wearing one of my favorite color combinations here: gray, brown, and black, inspired by my Australian cattle dog’s beautiful coat. Cheesy wardrobe pearl: you can always look to nature (or your pet’s coat) for style inspiration!
I gave my second presentation at the big psychiatry conference today. Here I am with my poster in hand, ready to head out the door.
It was the perfect temperature today (around 70 degrees). What a treat! When I got back from the conference, I decided to take Freddy (the dog) out for a mid day walk in Central Park. On my way, I witnessed a man almost get run over by a taxi and then a verbal altercation ensued in the middle of the intersection. NYC can be pretty intense sometimes.
I’m wearing my old Vionic orthaheel flats today. They are more comfortable than your average flats but not nearly as comfortable as Vionic’s proper comfort shoes. The perforations in the leather offer some degree of ventilation (which is why I purchased these shoes in the first place), but my feet still feel a bit swampy in them as they do in all leather ballet flats. When it gets really hot in the summer, I can’t deal with closed toe flats at all and must wear open toe shoes.
In other news, I decided to give Need Supply another try in my dress hunt. This time I looked in the above $100 category and found a lovely purple linen dress by Paloma Wool.
I was able to use a promo code that NS gave me with my last purchase. NS shipping is pretty fast to NYC. I usually get my order within 2-3 days with standard shipping. If this dress doesn’t work out though, I may get desperate and have to settle for something fast fashion. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, but maybe that’s what fast fashion should be. Like fast food, you’re not supposed to eat it all the time, but if you’re in a rush and just need something quick, it can serve that purpose well.
After I wrote about ironing last week, a lot of you guys suggested I get a steamer. After a little bit of research, I decided to get the one from Black & Decker. The newer version is gray and blue and costs almost 50 dollars, but the older version which is essentially the same steamer except it is white and blue is going for around $30 at certain retailers. It’s a solid, very powerful steamer. My only complaint is the machine is heavy and my arm did feel a bit tired after steaming 3 items of clothing. This is not a deal breaker though as I doubt on most days I’ll be steaming more than one thing at a time. Steaming is so much easier than ironing. Thanks for the recommendation guys!
Dr. it girl 
I love that dress! It’s not my favorite color but that’s entirely personal. Beautiful cut and silhouette. Linen looks lovely. I hope it works!
LikeLike
I love that dress, too!
LikeLike
Hope it works! Thx.
LikeLike
The cut is definitely its strong point. Would have loved to see this dress in lots of different colors too. Thanks! Fingers crossed.
LikeLike
That lilac dress is beautiful! I hope it works out. I still buy from Target and Old Navy when I am in a pinch or really constricted by my budget (status quo until my CC is paid off). I have had great luck with white blouses from Target and just bought a pair of mustard Pixie chinos from Old Navy that I need for our family photos this weekend (I wanted the colors to work together and shopping at one spot makes that so much easier). I was happily surprised with the cut and quality of the pants (and price at $35) and expect to wear them to work and beyond after our photo shoot, too. Knowing my size and what cuts work for me helps a lot, too, as I used to shop at both places extensively before I knew better.
That’s the way I do fast fashion as much as possible – it’s there for a pinch hit, but I try to slow that purchase down as much as I can once I own it: make sure it’s a cut and quality that should last, and try to use it a lot. With a changing post-partum body, it’s been a godsend. So many things fit for a few months and then utterly cease to work for my figure any longer. i also try to snag things secondhand, but when I need things that fit right now, it can get really tedious.
LikeLike
I’m glad you bring up budget considerations too. I don’t think anyone who is on a strict budget should feel bad for buying fast fashion, within reasonable limits. One can always do secondhand but that’s not always feasible and you can’t always rely on that when you need something quickly. When I was in school, not earning an income, I certainly relied on fast fashion primarily to build up a professional wardrobe quickly as I had little time and had to dress professionally for clerkships.
LikeLike
The outfit today looks great. I think it’s really cute that you based the colors on your dog. I’ve always really liked Australian cattle dog coloring. It is a very pretty mix of warm and cool colors.
LikeLike
Thanks! Not many people have even heard of the breed. They have such nice colors. Even the red ones.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was debating getting the same dress! It looks so classic, but the color and silhouette details provide just the right dose of quirk. I look forward to hearing your impressions!
LikeLike
Oh wow what a small world. Too bad the fit of it was bad. Even if it fit right it looks better on a tall flat chested body type I think.
LikeLike
I buy a fair bit of fast fashion (well, I think all of the typical “mall brands” for workwear really are fast fashion, even if they’re a step or two up from price compared to Forever 21 or H&M) and have generally been a longtime believer in the idea that, as long as one shops fast fashion carefully (looking for things that should last and with the intention of wearing them for as long as possible), in large part because of budget concerns, that it has to be fine.
I personally feel a little bad about it because I’m definitely at an income level where I can afford to make more ethical shopping a priority, but, well, it hasn’t proven to be for everything in my closet. There’s lots of reason I haven’t cut it out completely (the main one being that I’m not ready to spend that much more per item at this time). Most recently I bought some summer cardigans from Uniqlo. The pricier mall brands make sweaters that hold up terribly to normal wash/wear, and I actually did a cursory search for cotton and cotton-blend sweaters online at Bloomingdales, and didn’t see anything suitable so… back to Uniqlo I went.
I’m in the market for a handheld steamer. I own a full size steamer, which I bought with the best of intentions and… proceeded to use it a whopping total of one time. Though setting it up doesn’t take too long, probably only around fifteen minutes max, that’s just too much for me. (I’ll give it away to someone who will hopefully put it to better use.)
LikeLike
You’re probably being financially responsible. My money coach recently looked at what I budgeted for clothes per month (300) and made a half judgemental comment lol. If you’re in the market for a smaller steamer the black and Decker has a lot of power compared to most in it’s category. A whopping 1400 watts!
LikeLike
Good tip about the steamer! How long does it take a handheld to get a dress done? I had a standing steamer that died a while back and need to replace… any caveats?
LikeLike
Umm maybe 2-3 minutes. I never tried a standing one but I like this one so far.
LikeLike