In Triplicate

Behold, three typical work outfits, two from June, one from this month, all atop red-shoes-of-legend. Despite a decade of heavy rotation, I'm still on my first pair of these sporty Mary Jane pumps: scored for $14, and yes I did go back and snag another - further reduced to $11. Beyond outrageous durability and comfort, they strike a lot of exactly-right balances: all-season wearability, dressy vs. casual (good with jeans too), quality yet not over-the-top fancy-lookin' (as you know, left to my own devices I'd wear nothing but the latter), and colour, colour, colour.

vintage stylized fish skeleton necklace: a gift from my mother, worn here
vintage oversized blouse: Al-matari Top Fashion, thrifted
black leather obi belt: Elizabeth Kelly London, etsy, worn here
favourite red skirt: Odille, thrifted, worn here
favourite red shoes: Kenneth Cole Reaction, Winners ~10 years ago, worn here

With perfect colours and awesome pattern, this blouse has lots going for it too - light, soft, non-wrinkling weave, full-range-of-motion fit, and buttons with sparkly guitar-pick shapes. Plus I found it while shopping with the Forest City Fashionista. I think I often wore red in June to coordinate with my grotty rash, or was perhaps aiming for it to pale-by-comparison, which kind of worked:

Next up is some of my usual functional layering, all stuff I've had for years. We got a bit of hot weather this year, but since my office's micro-climate tends toward February, I keep temperature-adjustable measures on hand:

sunglasses: Ray Ban, worn here
goes-with-everything striped scarf: Gabii's (Progreso, TX), worn here
antique silver and mother-of-pearl necklace: a gift from my mother, worn here
sleeveless blouse with ruched waist: New York & Co., thrifted
silk recycled sari skirt: Alchemy Eco-fashions, The Circle Game (local shop)
cropped denim jacket: Smart Set, worn here
baggy grey leggings: can't recall

This is a go-to combo in melting weather - without the scarf, jacket, and leggings, even with a closed shoe, this top and skirt are airy and don't do that horrible sticking-to-the-body-with-sweat thing. I like how the gathers and knots create shape from a loose fit.

And here, finally post-rash-and-droopy-posture-and-exhausted-grimace (hooray!), is another combination of more wear-all-the-time old stuff that I had on just last week:

jointed leaf necklace: Tradewinds (local shop), worn here
bolero cardigan: River Island, Colours, worn here
shark-bite hem tank top: Bellini, Winners, worn here (another de-layered glimpse here)
black / ivory sofa-print cotton skirt: Triangle, Winners 7 yrs. ago, worn here

All extremely comfortable outfits, soft and easy to move in, lots of simple-care fabrics that don't wrinkle - or if they do, not badly - and practical for long days. I do find all this practicality lends itself to over-frequent wear and dulled enthusiasm (except for outfit #1 which I still love - a new-to-me top, and I save my favourite red skirt for when I really-really need it), but functional is functional.

Okay, that last collage is gratuitous except for capturing my morning side-eye sneaking out through incomplete caffeination. Though not following the rules, *because I am such a rebel* I'm linking with Anne's Triple Play round-up over at Spy Girl. Thanks for dropping by - hope everyone's week is off to a great start!