Am I Repeating Myself? (Part 3)

This is my first “fashion shoot” post. The model is me though I am still a bit shy of showing my face. The photographer was my husband and various locations around our community served as the shoot locations.

In Am I Repeating Myself (Part 1), I shared about my adventure in the purchase of a dress from a nationwide retailer. I further went on to share some of my wonderments about the adventure in Am I Repeating Myself? Part 2. Now, without further ado, here is the dress.  It’s an ordinary enough dress and if you haven’t figured it out by now, the retailer is Old Navy. I’m a long-time fan of this retailer. It was a favorite when my kids were younger and I like that I can still shop at Old Navy without feeling like I’m out of place in a store catering primarily to ‘teens’ or ‘twenty-somethings’.

The dress is described by the retailer as a ‘cami dress’ and it’s a style that has been a mainstay in fashion for countless years (I have had several dresses like this style over time). There are a couple of key design details on this particular dress that allow it to flatter most body types. It has smocking on each side of the fitted bodice which allows it to adjust to the uniqueness of any woman’s curves and the adjustable straps can compensate for the differences in women’s heights. The V-neckline is timeless and nicely detailed with a ribbon of the fabric. I am 5’3” tall and the hemline of the dress hits me just above the knee which I think keeps it from looking too ‘prairie’.

As you can see in the pictures, I’ve got a curvy size 12 body so I bought this cami dress in a size large. I really like that I will be able to wear this dress any time of the year. Due to the lightweight fabric, it’s a good warm-weather option when worn with sandals and a floppy hat. But since sweaters and boots must be hard coded into my DNA, I have chosen two cooler weather looks to showcase this dress.

Although my work environment isn’t truly corporate, I still need to maintain a professional appearance as I manage a staff of 15 and I interact with others from many levels within the organization. There is no real dress code so I have lots of freedom as to my fashion style which I enjoy. Casual Friday is not really a thing either at the office but I embrace it and my husband can tell by how I have dressed for the day that it’s a Friday. While I could wear either of the looks at the office, I probably will only wear this first one. The sweater and wedges are staples in my wardrobe that I have worn to work often and I think that they ‘work’ well with the dress. The grey cardigan sweater was bought last year at a Banana Republic Outlet store. The dark blue wedges are by Carlos Santana and I bought them over nine years ago at DSW.   I had originally planned to wear the taupe nubuck booties that are shown in the feature image but changed my mind when getting ready for the photo shoot.  Those booties are by White Mountain.

For this second look, I departed from my usual ‘cardigan as a completer’ style, and instead, I chose a pullover sweater which has the effect of transforming the dress into a skirt. I bought this sweater at Target earlier this year and I love the lace trim at the hipline. I threw on a scarf for added interest.  I paired the ensemble with grey suede low-heeled slouchy style boots made by Chinese Laundry that I bought about eight years ago at Macy’s.

As I put together this outfit, I considered another pair of boots that I have ( dark taupe suede granny-styled lace-ups with a 3″ stacked heel) but these grey ones are so comfortable that they make the outfit one I could wear without regret for a weekend day on the go. When the weather actually turns cold I will also wear tights but it was over 85 degrees in the early evening at the time of the photo shoot for this outfit.