Bluer Velvet

My blue velvet dress is one of the oldest things in my wardrobe (not necessarily by actual age, but the thing I've had the longest) that I still wear in public. It was out of style even when I got it (which might be how I was able to score it new with tags for just five dollars, if I remember correctly), and by the beginning of last winter, I was getting ready to send it out to pasture when the velvet trend struck. So I kept it around, but honestly, I can't remember if I wore it at all that winter.

This year, fortunately, velvet is still going strong...and I happen to have recently acquired a pair of blue, crushed velvet, thigh-high boots!

When this outfit idea occurred to me, I thought long and hard about whether I really had the guts to wear a blue velvet dress over blue velvet boots. That's a lot of blue velvet. It might be overkill. But then I decided overkill is what the Unfashionista does best!

I wore the velvet dress and the velvet boots! I briefly contemplated also wearing big blue earrings, but I decided enough was enough. Since my clothing was kind of bizarre, I'd just go conservative with the jewelry. I put on a classy silver necklace, courtesy of my boyfriend (he's pretty much the only reason I have any jewelry at all that's not outlandish!) and some subtle silver drop earrings.

The more I looked at the getup, the more I liked it. It has a lot of things going for it. The monochrome look is always polished—something about the outfit reminds me vaguely of a suit, the epitome of class! The modest dress and the completely obscured legs make for a weirdly anachronistic vibe, but velvet and especially velvet boots are both styles of the moment, so it's got a contemporary appeal. Although I'm not sure I'll look back on this outfit a few years from now without regret, today at least, I'm wearing it with pride!