Get the red out

When I bought this red sleeveless sweater dress on Swap.com, I thought, "Oh, this will be a nice dress for layering in the winter and wearing straight in the summer! It's basically a solid muted color, so it should go with a lot of stuff. I'm so excited!"

When I started actually trying to wear it, my tune completely changed. The just-below-the-knee length was not conducive to keeping me warm. The roomy fit and flared skirt were not conducive to making me look slim. It looked horrible with every single sweater I tried, meaning I'd been completely wrong about its layering potential.

The only topper that looked good over it was this red blazer, which thanks to its smaller size and tailored shape, served a little curve to my otherwise shapeless torso.

When wearing a flared skirt, balance your proportions by defining your waist.

The only problem with the blazer was, it was a different – and I wasn't sure entirely complementary – shade of red!

Monochrome dressing is tricky. Go with completely identical colors from head to toe and you end up looking like you're in your pajamas or a costume. Go with colors that are almost the same but vary too much in temperature, and the whole look is disjointed.

I worried that the pure crisp crimson of the blazer would not work with the muted brick red of the dress. But, after some thought (and facing a lack of any other fun fashion ideas), I decided that, when combined with my red rose shoes, the addition of the third shade of red plus the analogous pinks and whites helped the competing hues look like part of a team.

Three red pieces were enough for me, so for a finishing touch, I added some weathered silver earrings with pearl centers and not a trace of red! If anyone's nitpicking the overall color balance in this outfit, the white of the pearl ties to the white in the shoes, while the black and silver details tie to the black button on the blazer.

Another color conundrum, satisfactorily solved!