Red Dress Revisit

This Summer I spent time with a colleague visiting from Russia. His grasp of the English language is superb, and during his nine month stay in Indianapolis he became quite fond of wordplay and puns (of which I am also a big fan). He also discovered, and fell in love with, "knock knock" jokes. I found this hilarious, and probably expended way too much energy recalling every grade school joke I could think of, both "knock knock" and otherwise.

One dress, two very different looks: switching accessories and accent colors can double your wardrobe options. Winter white details are below; Black accent details can be found here.

When I pulled out this heavily embroidered deep red dress to wear for the second time in a month, restyling it with Winter white as opposed to black accents (see my prior post here), it reminded me of that old newspaper joke: "What's black and white and red [read] all over?!" In this case, it's more "what's black or white and red all over again?" It was funny at the time, but doesn't translate as well now [sometimes I'm the only one who laughs at my jokes]. I also came up with a few more related to the color red and my Russian friend, though the references are outdated and politically incorrect so I'll spare you a groan.

Red dress (Maggie London, ModCloth); Red wool felt hat (Burlington Coat Factory); Fur stole (vintage); Beaded ivory cardigan (Nordstrom).

Bad jokes and bolshevik aside, switching out accessories and accent colors really is a great way to expand your wardrobe options and get more wear out of favorite pieces. If you spend a little time taking inventory of your closet, you'll likely find you have many more "outfits" than you thought, which can really help on those days when you think "I have nothing to wear" despite a closet full of clothes. It can also help you save money, especially when it comes to party and special occasion dresses. Many women tend to think a new dress is required for each party, wedding, fundraiser, etc., even though we already own a few (or more than a few) that we love and make us feel great. This mindset has become even more prevalent with selfies and social media ("I can't wear that dress again, I 've already been photographed in it...") So what! If a particular dress looks great on you and you love it - wear it, wear it, wear it! And then figure out how to restyle it so that you can wear it all over again.  

Even these Winter White open toe booties (an eBay find) got revamped for this outfit with the addition of red crystal brooches from JC Penney. (See how I styled them with different accents for a head to toe monochromatic look here).

Fashion is what you buy: Style is what you do with it!

I'm linked up with Hat Attack! You may also enjoy these posts: