Style Dilemma Solved: Fashion Emergency = Dresses in My Closet. Sort Of.

I packed my clothes the night before. Blush plaid shirtdress, natural sandals, toiletries, makeup, towel, and underwear. If I don’t pack the night before, the 5:30am “call” to get to the gym just doesn’t work.

I had what turned out to be a private yoga session. We did restorative. I got myself realigned. It was amazing.

I went to the gym to shower and change, then got my regular venti bold + spinach feta egg white wrap at Starbucks. I drove to work.

The coffee had gone through me, so, well, off to the restroom. The mirror was a little revealing. The light grey thong I had one was clearly visible through the blush dress. We need to do laundry, so I’d gone with the closest thing to nude in my drawer. It didn’t work.

Thank goodness there’s a Tar-ZHAY not 10 minutes from the office. Bonus points that I’ll score diapers while I’m resolving my fashion emergency.

Cart. For the diapers, you know. Beeline for the “Intimates.” Score. A couple of nude pairs right up front. In the basket.

OK. I didn’t make a beeline for the intimates. I got waylaid by The Webster collection right at the front of the store. It’s good marketing. I’d spotted them on my last Target run, and was intrigued. They had marvelous patterns, and some fun, summery silhouettes. So, root, root, root, M. Root again on a different rack. M. 3 dresses in the basket. Then I found one more Mossimo dress that had simple, fun potential. It was polka dotted. I also threw in a few camis, just for good measure.

Then, en route to the intimates, I stopped by the shoes. A girl can’t go into Memorial Day weekend without flat sandals. And, well, they had some. My favorite pair, bought 6 years ago in South Beach, died. [sad face]

Now, I didn’t try any of it on. Not a lick. I had major deadlines to get to back in the office. But I killed all the birds with my one fashion emergency stone I could. I scored the diapers, and even new swim shirts and suits for The Beans.

And my fashion emergency was solved. I changed in the car.

So while The Beans were doing a yoga video (seriously), I did a quick Instagram fashion show so I could share the pictures here with you. I’m sad, because none of the dresses really works. One might end up staying in my closet as a beach cover up (tired of the babydoll styles and can’t stand the t-shirt thing), but the rest, as adorable as they are, just don’t work for me.

The dress that first caught my eye. In love with the print, but the shape + me don't mix. The Webster at Target Easy Waist Dress Deco Print.

See? Isn't the print gorgeous. And it's Target!

Maybe I'll get the print in this shift minidress. One of my favorite silouhettes ever, and it usually is great on me. The Webster at Target Sheath Dress Deco Print.

But something about the cut doesn't work at the neckline. It pulls and gaps in strange places.

Um, no. Monoboob and I don't get along. But the polka dots are adorable. Xhilaration Sleeveless Dress, similar here.

The Mondrian-inspired "plaid" makes this bleh shape a distinct possibility to stay in my closet. As a beach cover up. The Webster at Traget Easy Waist Short Sleeve Dress Plaid Print.

 The winner? The burnished gold rope thong sandals. They're not the vintage Etienne Aigner thongs I've been seeking, but they'll work more than fine. Meron Emeline Braided Flat in Gold.

And back goes the rest.

The Webster collection at Target has some really great options - check it out! And if you end up with any of them, let me know! I'd love to see you in one of them!

Shopping Spree: Updated Wardrobe on a Relative Dime

We all know that "on a dime" doesn't really mean that. Even when you score the fab vintage find (or not so) at the not-so-glamorous-but-ever-so-fabulous Goodwill (you do know about DC Goodwill Fashionista, right?!), then another, then another...well, all those $10 dresses add up.

Same goes for some inspired and spur-of-the-moment wardrobe updates, even if they are at the didn't-know-I-could-find-that-here Target and Ann Taylor LOFT. A couple of days ago, I had an hour to kill (long story about the MIA phone, Verizon's network going down, and waiting around hip cool Fair Lakes for a work happy hour), so I popped into Target to see what I could find. I'd been meaning to do a few teensy updates to alleviate the "I have absolutely nothing to wear and I hate everything in my closet" syndrome. That being said, I didn't want to spend a fortune - I'm in the process of getting healthy, remember? (Never mind that I fit into nothing in boutiques at the moment, as drapey and loose as some things are right now.)

After I tore myself away from the evil dollar bins (I can always find something - like a plastic boat for the Beans' bathtub), I went rapid-fire through the women's clothing - juniors + misses + who knows what it's all called now. I threw all sorts of possibilities in my cart - why not? And while some that I adored the idea of on the hanger worked not at all on me, I did find a couple of sweet deals to update both the "going out" and the "work" areas of my closet.

First up, the dresses. This bright orange find would be that. much. better if I could figure out a way to unstitch and remove the v-neck insert. The pretty drapey V would work for night, of course, and clean up easily for day with a brooch. But given the thin jersey, I'm thinking I won't be able to remove it without serious damage. So it'll stay.

The next pic doesn't represent the actual dress - just the silhouette. It's a classic minidress shape, but I found it in a fun black & white stripe with a non-ruffle-ruffle texture stitched in that makes it that much more forgiving and interesting. So why did I buy a form-fitting mini when I'm trying to lose weight? 1) I look good in it. True to style advice, the more appropriately fitted (appropriately being key, of course), the slimmer you look. 2) I knew H would love it. He does. He's "ordered" it for our night on the town Saturday.

Lastly, I found a pretty deep blue sheath that I thought perfect for work. H thought I could wear it out. Mine was missing the belt, which suits me just fine. I can belt or no. Without, it's MaryTylerMoore-esque. With, I can add a splash of yellow or green or red or orange...you get the picture (note to self: buy fun big wide belts).

As I tweeted earlier, I'm wearing my all-LOFT outfit. Working from home today, so I can go see Bean #1 in her music camp show. I'll post the rest of my finds after I go see my diva-in-training rock the house.