Summer at the Office

Today we experiment with aerial photography.

In case you are living under a rock (or possibly somewhere outside of the eastern United States), let me tell you, it's hot.

I've had to carefully consider my standards of dress at work, because even in the office, it can be warm (hallelujah, I've finally gotten employed by a company that doesn't overuse the air conditioner!) and outside on my bike ride to and from work, it's downright sweltering.

I've already established that flip flops are OK (now one of my male coworkers is showing up in shorts and flip flops every day!) and I'm testing out the waters in regards to sleeveless tops. Today's experiment (OK, to be honest, I wore this outfit last week) lowers the bar from "full coverage with open arm holes" to "actual straps." I think this top should be acceptable because the straps are wide and the fabric is satiny (projecting a polished appearance I don't think I would have achieved if the top was basic cotton). But I think I'm inclined to leave the bar here. If you see me attempting to wear a boyfriend tank or spaghetti-strap top to work without something covering it, please stop me!

Last time I featured this top in this blog, I wore it with shorts, but short shorts, I think, are still a workplace no-no (unless, maybe, they are part of a shorts suit. So, on the bottom, I wore a pair of khaki capris that I recently bought at a thrift store, and a new pair of sandals from Payless Shoes. They were 18 dollars when I bought them. I love how the black straps mirror the black in the top, while the cork soles reflect the color of the pants. Well tied together, if I do say so myself!

I wanted to keep the black prominent in this outfit, so I chose black accessories to round it out. The earrings were on sale at Claire's (so cheap that I won't feel bad about attempting to convert them from clip-ons to studs later), and for my hair, I brought out a blast from the past--—chopsticks! When was the last time you wore chopsticks in your hair? They were all the rage at the turn of the millennium, and they kind of vanished off the radar screen shortly thereafter. But unlike the scrunchie, I think chopsticks are a vanished trend well worth bringing back! Unfortunately, they don't really work well with short straight hair. My beautiful bun had all but collapsed by midmorning.