Shoes: Aldo Purse: Chanel taupe lambskin M/L flap Pearls: eBay
This is my second attempt at the dress worn as a top. The first attempt did not go so well. When done right, this is a great way to get more wear out of your favorite dresses. But for the pairing to work, the dress must be somewhat fitted and short enough to hide under the skirt, and the waist line of the dress must also be lower than where your skirt waist will hit. This dress was made nice n fitted by my tailors, but the length is a tad too long for this skirt. For a good example, Anh is the queen of this tip. I was also inspired by Callandra wearing this dress as a pencil skirt.
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LOVE the pleats and the gorgeous lip color! I think that was the first thing that caught my eye – that lip color.
Gorgeous Jean, just gorgeous!
I saw a model in a NJ Gap store ad this weekend that looks JUST like you. She was even wearing an outfit I think I've seen you wear. Was that you? Do you model?
i love this outfit! I'm glad the skirt survived blog sales. It's unique and the colour is gorgeous! Also, great touch with the lipstick!
Great outfit! I've been meaning to try this with my dresses too.
Good tip with the lipstick, I never thought of that. I think my colour palettes must be too matchy-matchy then!!
-lor
I know this is a little late to the extra petit bandwagon, but I absolutely love your blog. <3 I've just stumbled across it, thanks to Jen from From Head to Toe, and I'm in love.
Your style is so classy, simple, and ladylike. ^__^ Very inspirational. Thank you for being you!
you are seriously so pretty! love love love the lip color with the neutrals.
You are looking just lovely here! I'm so glad I kept my pleated a-line skirt as well – it seems to be extremely in trend this season!
This dress works great as a top! I remember thinking that when I saw it at the factory store in watertown and wondered why they did not make a top (as they did make a skirt).
I also like the navy, cream, and taupe pairing for spring. The blazer is gorgeous…is it a recent purchase? As for the skirt, there is no reason for you to shy away from the A-line…I think it flatters you just as much as the pencil skirts – as long as you keep them just above the knee (in one of the pics, the skirt fell at your knee…it looked fine but you looked taller in the pics in which the skirt hit just above the knee).
I ended up returning the factory crochet lace dress (in PO) and getting the boatneck one from the regular Ann Taylor, in regular 00. I would have had to alter the factory dress as The price was the same, lol. The v-neck sat funny on my ginormous nursing boobs, the shoulders rode up on me, and the back was loose. The boatneck was more flattering on me anyway. Interestingly, the factory 00 looked matronly on me whereas the regular 00 fit just like the 0P. Further, there is a slight difference in the material; the factory store dress has a greyish tinge and more "craft-y" texture whereas the regular store dress is has a golden tinge and the lace to me looked less prone to snags. We will see!
beautifullllll!
The skirt looks a little sheer. Do you have any tips on under garments? like slips and no shows?
love this outfit!
Loving all the pics! I love how you worked the dress as a top! <3
Perfect outfit! I love the pleats!
this outfit is gorgeous! i love how soft and feminine it is, not to mention being able to reuse a dress as a top 🙂 great job!
Looking more and more beautiful!
I am in love with that skirt and am utterly bummed that it's from a past season! Love the sleek new redesign!
Love the skirt and the lipstick! Beautiful spring look.
What a pretty pleaded skirt! Love those matching shoes too. Looking gorgeous as always!
http://www.thegirlieblog.com
Gorgeous outfit!! Great blog!!
xx Olga
gorgeous~ love the outfit & makeup. accessories looks great too!
xo Diana
jean i love that skirt! i think you look just as nice in this skirt vs the pencil skirts. hahah the obligatory twirl….a must!!
I actually like A-line skirts on you. Surprised not to see a bold AS necklace w/this outfit, but I guess pearls go better with the theme.
That skirt is gorgeous! Man, I want one! Beautiful outfit. 🙂 Now I want to see what dresses of mine will work as as top…
How do you make the belt stay in place? Due to all these wonderful fashion blogs, I have been buying belts. I wore one the other day with my top but my top kept shifting and so did the belt. I spent day pulling at the top and re-positioning the belt.
Penny
you look so pretty!!! I am a big fan of this look, I recently bought a pleated skirt too after seeing it on Anh and Jen of HerWaiseChoice. I am glad you didn't sell this skirt because it looks wonderful on you!
I absolutely LOVE how all your outfits always looks so effortless but classy!
XO -Mallory
I love how you're getting more comfortable with your poses (very sultry on the first pic!). Your outfit is soo pretty – unique but classic. How do you get your lashes to look like that?!
I just bought shoes from Nordies with only 3% ebate ): This always happens to me…buying things the day before an incentive comes on. Oh woe is me, but thanks for the heads up! (:
Sooo elegant! Love the mix of neutral colors and of course twirl pics. 😉 I initially thought you had gotten a new lace top. It definitely doesn't look like it's a dress. Well done on being so versatile with it, Jean.
And thanks for the tip about Nordies! I've been looking for a pair of comfortable neutral flats. I have some TB Revas but have accepted the fact that they just look good and I can't walk around town for hours in them. I'll probably pick up a pair of Attilio Giusti Leombruni Ballerina Flats after seeing them on Wendy and reading the rave reviews.
I have the exact same skirt and I've been holding on to it very dearly 🙂 I love the pleats, the chiffon overlay, the sateen-ish waist band, just everything about it. This is a very inspirational look. I hope you won't mind if I copy this outfit. It's perfect for work 🙂
http://www.monochromachic.com
Gorgeous as always, Jean!
I love this outfit! The skirt is so cute!
Red lips + tan looks great.
that is such a beautiful dress, i love these pics. your lip color definitely gives the look more excitement!
Jean, how do you make the belt stay in that position? I always have a problem with that.
Such a sweet feminine look. I like the colors of everything.
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos, Jean! And yes, the skirt is a keeper – wardrobe should have a bit of variety, after all! 🙂
You look great, I wish I could get away with pleats.
Wow I'm glad you kept that skirt! (Or not b/c it would have been MINE! 😛 ) I was actually hoping it was a recent purchase. I totally tricked me with the top being the Ann Taylor dress though – I thought it was a new top!
I really, really love this look. Beautiful Jean!
Love the look! Super cute!!
Gorgeous lip colour, lovely outfits!! I like this photoshoot especially your blazer looks nice on it!! wow, I just realized the H&M; blazer, i actually had tried it on a couple of days ago in size4 for me though..
That is really intriguing about the skirt silhouette on your body type. Your outfit is beautiful as usual, but I agree that fitted / structured pencil skirts look better on you. I was wondering why all your skirts were like that. 🙂 I wonder if it's because your hips are slim? My hips/butt are much larger than my waist, and I tend to gravitate towards A-line, shorts with flared leg openings, etc.
Gorgeous outfit! xx
You look fantastic! I love the outfit, love the makeup, and love the photos!
lovely as always Jean!
I love this photoshoot! Even with all the femininity going on, you look like a bad a** in front of that graffitied door…like you did it! :p
Love this outfit! I have a similar body type and don't care much for a-lines generally — like you I prefer sheaths/pencil skirts. But I find that a fairly straight-falling pleated skirt that's not too long can be a fun change of pace.
super cute! you look adorable! I love the skirt with the lace!
love from San Francisco,
Britt+Whit
first of all I love the new layout revamp! props to you and the bf if he had any hand in helping you 😉 I decided to go for a wider content section too. I still need to modernize the rest of it.
I think you did a beautiful job pairing that skirt (that was obviously meant to stay in your closet) and the lace dress. I also loved the pop of lip color! 🙂 Great job on catching the twirl action haha.
I love this combination a lot, very feminine. For myself I love "poofier" dress because I get to twirl in it and it's so spring! So I must agree, do not sell this skirt!
Thank you last time for your kind words. I started blogging again and found small shoes!
I skimmed the first paragraph too quickly and after reading the skirt was H&M;, my brain scanned through everything I saw at H&M; yesterday and I did a little, "hrmph! I didn't see that at my H&M;!" Shucks! It's from a past season! I love that full skirt silhouette, and am looking for a nice knife pleat skirt to add to my collection. Love how you paired it with a blazer, that's probably how I'd wear it too. 😉
Pretty!! It reminds me of HerWaiseChoice's skirt and giveaway! Good thing u didn't sell this skirt!
omigosh lace & pleats, are we twins or what? 😉
http://underthecasun.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-chanel.html
but your look is definitely more polished than mine! and the coral lipstick is something different but absolutely gorgeous on you. i don't even wear lipstick *sigh* time to learn how to enhance my looks…