Challenging

I think this might be one of the most challenging color combinations I've tried to date. Here's how it all came to be:

The Goal: To wear this summery dress and summery shoes before the summer is officially over.

The Problem: It hasn't really felt very much like summer, well, pretty much all summer. And last week it took an even colder turn for several days. But damn it, I wasn't going to let that stop me.

The Solution: Tights, of course. And since I just love the way tights look with platform sandals, I was off to a good start.

The Dilemma: The only tights I had that worked with this pinkish-purple dress/brown shoes combo were a rusty orange color, making it exceedingly difficult to fill out the top half of the outfit. Compound that with the fact that the midsection of this dress has a see-through panel that absolutely must be covered up for work, and I was fairly well stuck.

The Fix: Since I don't actually have anything else in precisely that rusty shade of orange, I chose this busy patterned cardigan, which has several shades that are close. The mixed shades of orange and brown in the cardigan help to bridge the bright orange jacket with the brownish-orange tights. There's even a little purple in the cardigan as well, which helps to tie the dress in with the other pieces. I've discussed this cardigan at length before, because it seems to be a critical piece when I'm trying to pull off a difficult color combination.

In case you're wondering, that pink streak in my hair is an extension that my hairdresser put in just for fun when I went in for my most recent cut and color. It lasted a few days and then fell out because my hair is so straight and slippery. It was fun while it lasted though, and makes me want to do an actual contrasting streak the next time I go in.

Jacket: Tulle
Cardigan: Hale Bob
Dress: Betsey Johnson
Tights: Sock Dreams
Shoes: John Fluevog