I loved all of the styles of shirt dresses popular this summer, and wanted to find a way to extend my wear of them into the fall. Tights are the obvious choice, but soon its all but a requirement to wear them in Minnesota, so I was looking for an alternative to bridge the gap. I love the shape (tunic) and weight (light) of this sweater, and decided to go outside of my comfort zone with the color. I know, pale pink is hardly an adventuresome choice, but I find it tough to pull off outside of the summer months.

Gap dress (similar here) | Banana Republic sweater | Tory Burch purse | Tory Burch sunglasses | Banana Republic earrings and necklace | Michael Kors watch | Melly bracelets | Banana Republic booties (more…)

Ella has a gray stripe romper that has “FUN” splashed across the front. I’m not sure what it is about this particular romper, but it makes everyone smile.  It also makes every woman who has seen her in it say something along the lines of “I could never pull off something like that.”  That is my overriding thought when I see any romper/jumper.  A few months back I convinced myself (with some help from the lovely ladies at the store) to buy this basic black jumper. It sat in my closet for quite a while, but I thought I would give it a whirl on a recent date night. I highly recommend date nights (see “Checking In” post here) but admit that they can be tough to pull off – rushing home from work, getting the babysitter set up for some level of success, and heading out to a dinner reservation leaves little time for prep. A jumper is a nice alternative to a dress but has the same time-saving benefit of not needing to figure out a top to go with a bottom.

Michael Kors jumper (long sleeve version here, and similar here) | Tory Burch sunglasses | Anthropologie earrings | Banana Republic necklace | Ann Taylor belt | kate spade new york purse (similar here) | Banana Republic shoes | Michael Kors watch | J Crew bracelets

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I don’t have the type of wardrobe – from a budget or space perspective – where I can purchase an item and wear it just one time. Particularly when I splurge on something, I need to make sure it fits the bill from two key perspectives – it can be worn in a number of different settings (work and social alike) and can span between the seasons. By changing up the accessories that I paired with this Tory Burch dress I was able to extend my wear of a summer dress into the early fall.

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