Yes, they were only going out to breakfast as a family, but she considers that a special occasion! So she put on her favorite black, white and red printed dress, with her dressy black cardigan, black tights, and short boots. (it just cracks me up to see people wearing boots here in Florida on days when I personally would be wearing sandals…)
Other people might not be dressed quite as nicely, but that’s okay too…
this first dress is on sale for half off… if I weren’t on a shopping fast, it would be on the way to Chicago!
Cardigan – Banana Republic; earrings – Alexis Bittar; dress – Lands’ End; opaque tights – Lands’ End; crossbody bag – Longchamp; boots – Mercedes Castillo
This outfit idea works for hot weather too!
cardigan – St. John Collection; earrings – Lele Sadoughi; dress – Rag & Bone; bag – Botkier; sandals – Pelle Moda
Lunching at a nice restaurant?
This idea works well for work:
Cardigan – Lands’ End; earrings – Oscar Figueroa Escorcia; dress – Michael Michael Kors; opaque tights – Lands’ End; briefcase – Cole Haan; boots – Aquatalia
There are a lot of places that you could wear this outfit!
Cardigan – Leith; earrings – Karolina Bik Jewellery: bag – Kikiito; dress – Lands’ End; sling backs – Banana Republic
You can even get quite dressed up using this idea! (and note the subtly heart-shaped earrings – how clever…)
Cardigan – J.Crew; rhinestone heart earrings – Nadri; dress – Whistles; bag – Jessica McClintock; pumps – Naturalizer
I wasn’t able to find the exact dress that I saw that day, but that might be because our heroine was 7 years old! Chic is chic, no matter the age…
love,
Janice
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I love these looks. I own that first black cardigan and used to have a dress very similar to the first one! I’m trying to lose quite a bit of weight at the moment and have decided to treat myself to a dress this summer as an incentive (haven’t worn one in years) – I’d wear any of these outfits.
I have missed your chic sightings and enjoyed this one, even if it was on a little girl. I also noticed a little girl recently wearing a tartan plaid shirt with a camel color sweater and it confirmed that I needed to purchase the Lands End tartan plaid blouse I’d been admiring since fall. The bonus was that it was half price.
I absolutely love that your fashion inspiration was seven years old. Bravo!
One advantage kids have–they are constantly growing out of their clothes and so everything is new.
Kids are often better dressed than their parents, which I kind of understand, but still find sad. But this little girl was unmissable, and I couldn’t resist building on her very pretty Sunday outfit!
hugs,
Janice
I love a printed dress with a solid cardigan (and also the flip, a solid dress with a printed cardigan!) My motto: never underestimate the power of a print. – nancyo
I have been print-averse and am slowly reversing – I am leaning into prints! Prints charming, if you will!
I always enjoy your chic sighting blogs and this one is right up my street. Last summer in Italy,
I wore a sleeveless black and grey oriental print tunic dress with an almost grey sheer long cardigan with black sandals and clutch. I quite like the style of the silk red dress shown in the second slide and I’m now on the lookout for a similar sewing pattern as I have some beautiful silk material waiting to be used. I too will refrain from shopping non-essentials this year, and have decided to sew more of my own clothes instead.
While I love all the outfits, my favorite part of this post is that the heroine is 7!!! ❤️
Mine, too!
I’m getting ready to pack for a weekend convention, and realized that cardi/knit dress/tights (or leggings) make things a lot easier than jacket/top/pants outfits — more comfortable and easier to pack as well. I’m sticking to my go-to palette though — black and dark red, with a splash more colors in my scarves/shawls.
Oh I’m in love with that Rag & Bone red print dress! And I don’t usually wear print, or red. And it has pockets!
My mother and I just had this conversation – who came up with the conclusion that women don’t need pockets in their clothing?
Absurd…
hugs,
Janice
Less bulk at the hips…or so I’ve been told!
Black/White/Grey/Red are my favorite combination. Why do I even bother trying to do anything else?! (Brown “looks better” on me, but I’m starting to believe I look better when I don’t stress while dressing in the morning!)
My favorite post yet, because it confirms everything I want to believe: keep it simple, sexy, classic.
Thank you!
I know what you mean about boots and sandals. Whenever we go to Southern CA in the winter, I see people in beanie caps and puffer vests…when it’s 60 degrees out! Meanwhile here in the PNW young women are wearing cropped jeans with low top sneakers and no socks. (My ankles freeze on their behalf). It’s all what you’re used to, I guess.
Love your chic sightings, as well as posts about your own wardrobe!
This post was very timely for me, as I recently purchased a nice black cashmere cardigan. It would pair nicely with most of my dresses…
I live in South East Queensland, Australia. I am always astonished at what young adults will wear. It can be almost 100 F and you will see people in hoodies and flip flops. Then the temp might drop a little cooler and the same will have on heavy coats and flip flops. My granddaughter is more elegantly dressed than most adults I know.
Smiling with you, Janice – another black/white/red afficianado here. I saw the first dress on sale a couple of weeks ago & pounced, even though I rarely wear dresses. It’s a classic, beautifully made with heavy, quality fabric, fits wonderfully, & has POCKETS!
Pockets? I love pockets….
(muttering to myself “you’re on a year-long shopping fast, woman!)
hugs,
Janice
The end of your article put a smile on my face today. I remember how my girls, when they were very young, considered every day an opportunity to look their finest. Lessons from the very young….
I have a favourite black cropped cardigan that I wear with dresses, summer and winter. Now I shall feel even more chic when I do it! (I love that your inspiration was 7)
Ohh.. that red Rag&Bone dress is lovely. Having to hide my wrinkly arms makes this dress a no no for me. With age you get wisdom and wrinkles. You need the wisdom in order to accept the wrinkles.
Greetje
I love all of the dresses in this wardrobe . For my much more casual lifestyle, I’m hunting for maxi skirts to incorporate into my summer wardrobe this year. I was given a knit one last year and loved the silhouette in addition to feeling much cooler than I expected. I’m disappointed that they no longer seem to be in fashion, but that doesn’t matter since I wear what I like. I am even looking into sewing lessons!
I highly recommend sewing – I don’t actually DO IT, but I belong to a sewing group here in Chicago. Even a modest degree of skill can be enough to make lovely things – the fabrics available for making clothing often seems much nicer that that which is used in clothing manufacturing.
hugs,
Janice
Lovely Janice,
I love all of these dresses and wish I could just order any one of them up; however, I wear a petite size and not a 00 or 2 or even a size 4. Petite sizes are a joke and don’t even get me started on the style choices. Women need clothes for adult women’s lives. We don’t want to look like we raided our daughters or granddaughters closets to get dressed. Please help us out with some choices for adult petite women. If anyone can, it certainly is you Janice!
I have eyeballed this post several times. I love it, but I really don’t wear dresses at this point in my life. I opted for a soft floral print longish shirt. It was on a JJill clearance, so I can’t send a link (it’s gone now). Black background, silky fabric, and it fits wonderfully into my black/tan/cream/blue/rust wardrobe. I have a longer length merino boyfriend cardigan in black (I also have navy and camel) that works over it. With summery pants or capris and dressy sandals, I get the same look, kind of, but more appropriate for me.
Thanks for the inspiration!