Photo: Tre Thomas

Photo: Tre Thomas

Photo: Tre Thomas

Photo: Tre Thomas

If you couldn’t already tell, this is the same dress in two different colors, and actually two different sizes. Which brings me to one of my many shopping rules:  when it comes to building your wardrobe, if you come across a great piece, at a great price that fits you well, get at least two of them in different colors.  Those items become your uniform pieces. Meaning these are the pieces you can pull out the back of your closet when you run smooth out of things to wear. They should go well with your existing wardrobe so that you can mix and match, and get the hell to work on time.

These two dresses have been my go to’s season after season. I stumbled upon them two years ago in Uniqlo (one of my favorite stores for basics) and it was on sale for a whopping $12.90. I’m pretty sure I shoved someone aside to grab the last two; hence, the different sizes. The beauty of owning basics in neutral colors is that they can be dressed up or down, and you can always add a pop of color via accessories. (This also gives you a good excuse to buy something random every now and again, because you have neutrals you can pair it with. See how I brought that full circle for you?) I wore the tan dress on New Year’s one year with dressy sandals, a statement necklace, and a red fox fur coat. I tried to replicate that look here, but my actual fur coat is inexplicably in Atlanta. Who tf needs a fur coat in Atlanta? But I digress.

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Photo: Tre Thomas

On to my next rule of shopping. Outerwear should never be an afterthought, especially when you live in a cooler climate. A great coat can add so much to a look.  It’s basically criminal to deny yourself the opportunity to look like Olivia Pope. While a coat that combines fashion and function can be pricey, I am a firm believer in buying off-season. No one should be clocking you like that anyway. From June to early July you can find some great coats online for the low.

About those shoes. The black strappy ones are a disaster to get off and on, but I love them so much that I endure that first world suffering. I got these from Steve Madden last year during a buy one get one some percent off sale, so they were offensively cheap. The nude sandal is a knock off of the Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal, which I think is the perfect shoe by the way. It truly goes with everything, so it’s more than worth the investment. I, however; was not willing to make said investment, so I found these beauties at Banana Republic during their 40% off sale. Side note: is it me, or is banana republic ALWAYS having a 40% off sale? I’m not complaining though.

Photo: Tre Thomas

Photo: Tre Thomas

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