Casual Friday + Winterizing a Dress

Happy Sunday!

Sweater:  New York & Company

Hope the weekend has found you well!  I'm excited to have some time off work during a very busy and stressful patch.  That said, the next week will be busy with lots of Christmas shopping, baking, and family visiting.  I plan on being fairly laid-back and casual during the next week - wearing sweatpants when I can and lots of stretchy knits, oversized sweaters, and jeans when sweatpants just won't cut it.

Jeans:  The Limited

Camisole:  LOFT

I'll be bringing you some of these casual looks, and today, I have one for you.  This one is actually a recent casual Friday look.  When it's a  casual day at work, I tend to prefer to stick with dark denim as I think it looks most professional.  A comfy sweater and loose cami underneath were super comfortable, but still managed to have a crispness with the dark denim. 

Tote:  New York & Company
Booties:  Target (Available here)

Wanting comfy shoes as well, I went for my beige booties.  While heeled, these have a thicker heel that is very sturdy and provides a lot of support to the foot.

Bracelets:  Ann Taylor and Target

When it's not a casual day at work, I'm always looking for new ways to wear the more professional pieces in my closet.  One of my favorite ways of expanding my wardrobe is winterizing dresses.

Dresses tend to be the least versatile part of a wardrobe.  Unlike separates, you can't mix and match them to create new looks.  Adding or taking away blazers or sweaters, layering tops underneath, and changing up accessories/shoes are helpful though in giving your dresses a little more range.

Dress:  Ann Taylor Petites (Similar here)

Blazer:  New York & Company

Tights:  New York & Company (Available here)

Some dresses are easier to mix than others.  As much as I love this neutral color blocked dress, I've struggled with ways of increasing its versatility. 

Today's look isn't too far off from the first way I wore it.  Same boots, same necklace and purse, even a black blazer. 

See first look from "Neutral Zone" here

But, to winterize the look, I added cheetah print tights, and I changed up the basic blazer to one with faux leather sleeves.

Satchel:  Express
Boots:  Target

Necklace:  Ann Taylor

How do you transition dresses for the season? 

For the sweater in other looks, see here and here.
For the jeans in other looks, see here, here, here, here, and here.

For the blazer in other looks, see here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.