Pink & Blue {J. Crew Lady Coat + Brooks Brothers Plaid Dress}

{Brooks Brothers Plaid Dress (ON SALE!), J. Crew ‘Lady’ Coat, Vintage Bow (similar here), Forever 21 Bib (similar here), Manolo Blahnik BB Pumps}

I think this may be my favorite outfit of 2016…

Yeah, I know that’s not really saying a lot since we’re only about 5 weeks in – but this getup still has me pretty geeked for several reasons:

Reason #1: I’d been eyeing this plaid dress on the Brooks Brother’s site for a month or two before it finally went on sale for half off. I was tempted on numerous occasions to purchase it at full retail, but my inner cheapskate won out as I knew the price would eventually drop (Brooks Brothers ALWAYS has amazing sales, in case you didn’t know). I took a gamble that my size would still be in stock, and it paid off! Don’t you just love it when that happens? I wore this dress by iteself with black tights and heels for Christmas dinner with the fam’, but here I opted for a schoolgirl look by layering a collared bib (a serious wardrobe game-changer, trust me!) and prissy bow underneath.

Reason #2: After reviewing my crazy outta control extensive shoe collection a while back, I came to the shocking realization that I didn’t own a pair of basic black pumps. I had yellow, turquoise, bright red, leopard print, plaid, gingham and pretty much everything in between, but not a sensible black heel in sight. How crazy is that?! To make a long story short: after 6 months of searching (not even an exaggeration), I came to the conclusion that a classic Manolo BB Pump was the shoe for me.  Unfortunately at around $600 bucks a pop, I was a little reluctant to pull the trigger. Ok… a LOT reluctant.  Luckily, my shoe prayers were answered when I stumbled upon these beauties on the clearance rack at Bergdorf’s. They were the only pair in my size – actually they were the only pair, PERIOD – and I got them for 1/3 the original price! Still a pretty penny, but I know that I’ll get my money’s worth.

Reason #3: My coat is PINK… ’nuff said!