And now you're wearing taupe.

Taupe is probably the ugliest color ever invented. Not quite grey, not quite brown, it is the unwanted child of two of the most dreary hues in existence. The only thing uglier than taupe is taupe in a high-gloss patent leather. And I'm wearing it.

I was perusing the shelves at Rugged Wearhouse when I saw these lace-up booties in black. I absolutely loved them, but I told myself sternly, "Valerie, you have enough black boots." (4 pairs, in varying heights and closure types). So I settled for taupe instead. Now, I already had a similar pair of grey booties, but, but, these were only 10 dollars!

What do you wear with taupe booties?

Well, I chose a long pleated black skirt that was still short enough to show the shoes underneath (in case you had forgotten, the black skirt is the choir skirt that you've been waiting a year and a half to see in action) and a ribbon-knit striped sweater that had just a hint of taupe in a few of its stripes. I bought the sweater at the thrift store, and I've worn it for years, always looking totally out of style, but now I am finally able to wear it in a trendy way—tucked into my skirt!

I must admit, I'm kind of getting into the whole tucked-in shirt thing. Originally I mourned the end of a clean-lined era, and I still maintain that it's not a very figure-flattering look, but it does enable me to wear long skirts again—which I've been having trouble doing since all the shirts dropped to tunic-length!

Fabulous taupe shoes notwithstanding, the outfit still needed something, and that something was a long necklace. I would have preferred black, but that color is absent from my necklace collection, so I went with green because the taupe stripes in the sweater kind of look a little greenish in contrast with all the coral.