WIW 08.27 [sweet utility]

Another hot day, and probably the last of the truly hot for us. *sob* So today I pulled out a linen-cotton blend summer dress, and brought it closer to fall with an old olive utility vest.

Over the past few years, I've passed on all of my military/utility inspired clothing save for a few pieces, although they don't much get worn. I've had this utility vest for several years (LA Shoptoberfest fabbers may recognize it), but haven't worn it in the past two. Not sure I'm ready to bring it back into rotation but for today I enjoyed pairing it with the sweet dress (plus my hair is extra wild today so I thought it was fitting ^^). Yes it would be more traditionally flattering with the drawstrings tightened up, but I rather liked the very voluminous and long lines this way. It actually looked pretty fun zipped up too, though it's waaaay too warm out for that.

Initially I put my olive oxfords on, but felt they skewed the look too utility for me so I swapped to gold slipper flats; lower contrast, and a bit prettier but still tomboyish. Added a little cream snakeskin belt for a touch of safari (with the buckle swiveled around for a cleaner look; also, it's sparkly!), and giant gold hoops plus a few dainty rings for a touch of glam. Kept it semi-tonal with a taupe clutch, and a swipe of cherry pink lipstick for a sort-of-sweet-sort-of-retro finish -- the light pink I tried first was too sweet, the plum I tried next was too dark.

This dress didn't end up getting worn as much as I'd expected this summer. Despite the high linen content, the weave is really tight and thus not nearly breathable enough for a truly hot day (which is what I wanted it for) although I did wear it on a few of those. And that is how I came to this conclusion ;) I think for our normal, milder summer temperatures it's quite perfect. It's also thick enough (and self lined) that I can wear it through fall, which is great for extending it's wardrobe usage.

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.

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13 Comments

  • pil replied 9 years ago

    Aida, my ipad is about to run out of battery but I wanted to say how much I like this. What great pieces individually, but especially nice combined. Your outfits are so inspired.

  • maraxcee replied 9 years ago

    Lovely outfit.  You look beautiful!

  • replied 9 years ago

    Sweet indeed!  I'd totally wear that - in fact, I was a little incensed that you don't wear your utility vest much :)  I have a rather large selection of army and utility vests and jackets - and love them!  That is a great dress too and love your styling with makeup and jewellery too, as usual!

  • Suz replied 9 years ago

    I really like the juxtapositions here. And look how rich the gold is with the olive! Amazing. 

  • Jaime replied 9 years ago

    I love the unexpected contrast between the delicate tonal look and the utility vest and giant hoops. I would say gorgeous tomboy but pretty tomboy also works!

  • Tanya replied 9 years ago

    Love this Aida!  I have a similar dress and vest and will try to copy, weather permitting. 

  • kellygirl replied 9 years ago

    So nice! I've been wearing my vest a lot lately. I even tried it with a bucket of white! Yours looks much better than mine though. You look so fresh!

  • Neel replied 9 years ago

    That is truly a sweet dress! White+fit and flare! And you did a fantastic job toughening it with the utility vest. Perfect juxtaposition of tough and sweet! The gold slippers are too cute! Tomboy Cinderella ^_^

  • jackiec replied 9 years ago

    I think this looks fab. Seriously first thing I noticed was the lip colour and how great it works with it all. I am noting all of your comments about lip colour and why you pair each with each outfit! I am SO not there. I just swipe on whatever is closest at hand - choosing either corally or pinky. I like to read your analysis. Sorry for sounding nerdy (hey I am :) )
    Another great outfit for a hot day. Looks like those days are gone as of this weekend. I really like how you toned down the shoes/clutch and went with gold accessories as well.

  • Aida replied 9 years ago

    Thanks for all of the comments! I did feel a bit out of my wheelhouse in this outfit because of the vest (so definitely not quite ready to bring those style elements back), but still liked it.

    Pil, thank you for your very sweet comment <3

    Neel, hah Tomboy Cinderella sounds about right since I'm usually fancy at the feet, and any tomboy will be up top. Although wearing sneakers has changed that a bit! I still need to post my weekend outfits, much more tomboy there...

    Jackie, I won't complain about any nerdiess, I'm the same ^^ I generally wear a red, orange, or pink lip color. My reasoning changes a bit depending on the outfit but often there are several shades that would work, so I really go with what I'm feeling for the day. Sometimes it's to give a extra color boost to either a particularly strong or muted outfit, sometimes it's to combat a less-than-ideal color I'm wearing, sometimes it's to stylistically go against something else in the outfit. It's always a rather subtle thing though, because all the colors I wear are sheer so it's just skewing my natural color.

  • catgirl replied 9 years ago

    Tough and tender - great combo! Love the utility jacket so much.

  • K. Period. replied 9 years ago

    I recognize that dress!  I have it in blue.  It has a zipper in the back, right?  You look great in it! I love that you've styled it a little tougher.  Fabulous! 

  • Aida replied 9 years ago

    Una, yes! I don't do overly tough or overly tender usually so this was a little more extreme than what I'm used to wearing.

    KP, good eye that's the dress. I ordered both the blue and white; the blue was straight up linen, but the white has some cotton to it which I liked more. It's really very sweet looking on its own! I wore it only once that way and felt very self-conscious ;)

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