Bustle

With this outfit I decided to take my own advice and wear something I'd normally consider to be reserved for special occasions, or at least for outside of work. You might remember this dress from last December, when I wore it to my company holiday party. I haven't gotten around to trying it out as a work outfit until now, and I was inspired to do so because I feared that if I didn't do it now, I might have to wait for cooler temperatures to don a wool-blend dress with a boiled wool back panel. As it turns out, I shouldn't have worried -- a thick blanket of fog has since descended on the upper peninsula and it feels pretty much like winter in San Francisco. Still, I'm glad I finally pushed this dress through the work barrier, because it's just too pretty and unique to let sit in my closet until another holiday party.

The first thing I did to dress down the dress was to remove the wool wrap, which attaches via elastic loops to the small buttons that are visible around the neckline. Adding a simple t-shirt and low-heeled, equestrian-style boots gave it an even more casual look. Finally, I selected simple accessories and kept them to a minimum. The dress's fabric has a flat finish, which makes it easy to wear it during the day without having to hide most of it under additional layers. I love the tailoring around the waist and the gathered back hem, which gives the back an almost bustle-like appearance. I found this dress at a very cool shop called 2026 in the Marais neighborhood of Paris; I wish I could've brought half that store home with me, but I settled on just this one piece.

Dress: 2026
T-shirt: H&M
Tights: Hue
Boots: Bata