MyShingle Fashion: Styling a Pretty Blazer

Last time, I talked about wearing a pretty dress with a blazer. My procedure was simple:

  1. Pretty solid or printed dress
  2. Blazer in a solid color (black, grey, navy, brown)
  3. ???
  4. Profit

Whoops! That was my other plan. My secret plan. As you can now see, it needs a little work. Here’s what I really meant:

Pretty solid/printed dress + solid blazer = professional ensemble

Math is fun!

But what about a pretty printed blazer, instead of a solid one? I have this one blazer from Nordstrom that I’m using in today’s outfit, and I absolutely adore it.

If I were to wear it to court (and I’m new to your neck of the legal woods, so I’m not all that familiar with the judges in my area yet, although I do know that Judge Anderson is a sweetheart who doesn’t care for formalities in his courtroom, and as a 1L I taught him how to use Twitter and he extended an open invitation for me to drop by his chambers and hang with him and his clerks whenever I wanted, which was super sweet), I would play it safe in case I got a judge that still wasn’t cool with women not wearing pantyhose, or with women wearing peep toe shoes (they exist), or even women not wearing skirt suits (!!!).

What does ‘play it safe’ mean when you’re wearing a blazer in a non-standard color (purple, green, etc) or a pattern (plaid)? Simple: a conservative dress in a conservative color. It keeps the look together and polished and professional, even though you might have dared to deviate from the standard black/grey/navy blazers.

Speaking of which, doesn’t Gloria Alred wear red blazers? And, like, red suits in general? I would never do that. I’d worry about looking like … well, Gloria Alred. But then again, I don’t really look to her as a role model for anything in my professional career, so … yeah.

Anyway, here’s what I put together, using my pretty plaid blazer. (My mother is horrified that it’s so short. Because, you know, it hits at the hip bones. Scandalous!)

Pleat Neck Knit Dress in Black ………. $39.99
Eight Sixty Plaid Shrunken Jacket ………. $63.90
Rampage Nikki Pumps in Black ………. $29.95
Marc by Marc Jacobs Saloni Layering Necklaces ………. $48

I picked this flattering, pleat neck dress with an A-line skirt, because it looks comfortable, will work for a lot of different body types, and is black. Plus, it hits at the knee and is totally work and court-appropriate.

Since I wanted to keep things simple, I opted for plain black leather shoes, like these reasonably priced pumps. And, of course, we have my awesome plaid blazer with the cute buttons. I wanted something bronze or brass for the necklace, just to work with those warmer colors, and I don’t like yellow gold at all, so I went with this brass necklace from Marc by Marc Jacobs. One of my friends says that Rachel Berry on FOX’s primetime show, Glee, has killed Marc by Marc Jacobs for her, which always makes me laugh.

Of course, I style this blazer in a bunch of different ways – but this is how I’d wear it if I were wearing it to court.

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