Red on Red

I am thoroughly enjoying this Mary Poppins blazer. It is a perfect fit and falls at just the right length. That's why I was so excited when, after trying all my black toppers to wear over my red and black floral dress (actually worn numerous times but never featured in this blog!), I realized that the blazer was the perfect shade of red!

In the decision between black tights and black thigh-high socks, I chose the socks because I wanted something a little less boring. Then I donned my trusty black ballet flats. I injured my foot last Sunday, which has kept me out of high heels for over a week (and, embarrassingly, wearing nothing but a pair of dingy old sneakers every day with a slice cut out of them to relieve pressure on my toes), but today I was ready for nice shoes! I even considered patent leather pumps, but ultimately I decided they made my legs look weirdly elongated, and I was sure my crushed toes wouldn't mind another day in flat shoes.

The finishing touch was a pair of black dogwood flower earrings. I thought they were a great addition, because before they occurred to me, I'd been considering red earrings, but that would have been red overkill. The black ones were bold enough to make a statement, but black enough not to appear contrived...plus, there happened to be five-petaled flowers in the print of the dress, so I thought they were a nice tie-in.