The Throwaway

 

Sometimes – frequently – I wear outfits I like to call "throwaways." They're the slacks-and-a-nice-shirt kind of outfits you throw together in two minutes, throw on and wear for a day, and then throw all memory of to the wind. Next to the re-wears and failed experiments, they comprise the vast majority of outfits that don't make it into my blog.

I thought Tuesday's outfit was going to be a throwaway. I've worn this dress more times than I can count, but I've never blogged it. I don't really hate it, but I don't really love it. It's not especially well fitting (#broadshoulderproblems!) but not ugly enough to toss. It's just kind of there, an island of ordinary in a sea of statement pieces, waiting in my closet for a time when I don't feel like putting a much effort into planning my attire.

It was not that time on Monday night. Monday night, I was all gung-ho to find another creative getup to rival the fancy pants I'd worn that day. I was thinking wild colors, some artistic layering, maybe experimenting with something brand new. There was only one problem—I had a meeting in the morning. By now, you've probably got a feel for my office dress code (there isn't one!). I'd be well within my rights to show up to a meeting dressed in any of my craziest clothes. But the self-imposed dress code I place on myself said otherwise. My personal dress code advises, when in a formally scheduled discussion — even with two people who have seen you in your greenest of hair and never batted an eyelid — you should make an effort to direct attention to what you say, not how you look. And that means for a meeting, you need to take down the crazy to at least a 5.

So my dress code dictated conservative; the weather forecast dictated short sleeves; the first item I found in my closet that fit the bill was this green dress.

I've worn this dress so many times, I'm tired of it, but since my options were limited by the circumstances, I decided to settle for the old and trustworthy. Of course, old and trustworthy also means boring, and boring means any outfit featuring it would have to be a throwaway. So I put minimal effort into deciding on shoes and accessories.

The colors of the dress happened to look cute next to the chocolatey shade of an unworn pair of brown sandals I had sitting around, so I decided to go with brown as the accent color, and I was even a little excited about it! The outfit might be a throwaway, but at least it was going to involve a new pair of shoes! I set out all my brown jewelry, and a couple of brown belts, and resolved to pick the best combination of accessories when I got dressed in the morning.

When that time arrived, I decided it was too cold for sandals—so much for the one new and exciting part of my ensemble! I switched to one of my oldest pairs of shoes – my brown high heels – picked one of the belts, decided the necklaces didn't really work with the belt but this pair of carved wood earrings worked perfectly, and headed out the door.

When I arrived at the office, I was wearing a dress that bores me, accessorized with all brown (definitely somewhere near the bottom of the list of interesting colors), and complacent in the belief that my outfit was a solid throwaway. That is, until I happened to glance in the full-length mirror in the bathroom. I actually looked good! (I mean, you know, insert modest qualifiers here...) The dress has a pretty well defined waist on its own, but the belt really enhanced my figure and served to add that missing element of interest to what was formerly just a simple striped dress. I don't often wear belts, but this was a reminder that I should try more often!

If you're bored with your shoes, jewelry, toppers, and scarves, try accessorizing with a belt!

Meanwhile, the shoes and earrings added a few more balanced touches of brown, and the height of the shoes seemed just right for the proportions of the clothes.

Maybe was just in a good mood and am inclined to excessive levels of enthusiasm for an ordinary outfit...or maybe this unusually successful outfit was why I was in such a good mood. But either way, Tuesday's outfit felt pretty good, and I'm delighted that my throwaway turned into a keeper!