Shirt Dresses in Disguise

Hello, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

This week, during the tricky transitional weather

 that the month of April brings, 

(currently just 50 degrees, with 20 mph winds),

I am styling two shirt dresses,

both with a bit of a twist in their design

Both dresses are shirtwaist style but not exactly to the letter,

 meaning not just men's dress shirt look-a-likes

Are you a fan of the shirtdress?

I find it very versatile,

and it works for many occasions

My first outfit is a subtle royal and navy blue

 vertical stripe in a substantial cotton fabric

 The dress buttons all the way down the front with shiny gold buttons

It has some pretty, feminine details that I like-

 puffed sleeve caps and a deep ruffled hem

My little bag has a curious story behind it

Perfect as it is for me, and a great match for the shoes I am wearing,

I returned it to T J Maxx, where I purchased it

I had examined the purse and opened it in the store,

and the only thing a noticed slightly unusual

was that the tag was not the original

It had been put back on, as if maybe it had come off

and was rather clumsily re-fastened 

No problem I thought, tag come off, these things happen

When I got the bag home and looked it over more carefully,

I unzipped the inner pocket, and to my surprise,

I found a ring of three keys and a signed jewelry receipt 

from a state half way across the country!

I returned the bag and it's contents

and hopefully T J Maxx was able to get the contents back to the owner

I would love to know what the story is behind this,

my imagination is conjuring up all kinds of possibilities! 

Anyway, for jewelry I chose gold tone 3-D flower shaped earrings

and a mixed metal three bar slider bracelet 

A bright pink sash belt and braided hair band

 to add some contrasting color

 

Wearing two tone tan block heel Maryjane slides to finish the outfit

I wore the dress in my second outfit back in the early fall

 in a post about transitioning to fall with shirtwaist dresses

It is light tan and has a utilitarian look, 

with two flapped chest pockets

This dress veers from the typical shirtwaist style

with it's swishy, full skirt 

Back in the fall, I wore a matching short sleeve top under the dress

I am restyling it today as a transitional piece into spring,

with a coral cropped cardigan layered over top

Wearing a fun beaded multi color striped hair band

and simple bright silver tone jewelry

Square stud earrings and hinged bar bracelet

Carrying an ivory satchel bag with buckle details

and I belted the outfit with a taupe braided belt 

Two tone reptile print loafers to complete the outfit

The tulips started popping up in the garden last week. Love!

I bring a few in the house everyday,

because the area deer love to munch on them

and I feel like every morning I could open the blinds

to a sea of just stems!

Hope everyone enjoys their week!