One-Trick Pony

One thing I always want to avoid in the world of fashion is becoming a "one-trick pony." What I mean is this: I don't ever want to find one great look and never stray from it again. Do I really enjoy doing the blouse-belt-skirt combo look that I did yesterday? Yes, I do, and I personally think that I do it well. But if that's the only look I can ever do? Well, it wouldn't be very interesting for anyone, including me.

When making first impressions with new people, I try hard to wear a wide variety of different looks, so that no one will think of me as a "one-trick pony."

[On a side note, wouldn't it be great if we could all just agree that fashion doesn't matter in people's impressions of us? In fact, we could form impressions of people based on absolutely no external factors whatsoever! No judging books by the covers, right? Well, sadly, the world doesn't work that way. The fact of the matter is that what I wear DOES affect how people think of me; whether it SHOULD affect how they think of me is, frankly, an irrelevant point. Each and every year, as I greet a new group of students, I have to acknowledge the fact that how I dress will influence their perceptions of me. So yes, I put a lot of thought into what I wear because of that. So it goes.]

I considered a number of different outfits for the second day of classes, but many of them involved skirt-blouse combos, and I wanted something more blatantly differentiated from my first-day outfit. Thus I present to you, outfit #2:

I still wanted to do a "dressy" top, but I wanted the "dressy" to come in a different style than yesterday's. This simple, structured white blouse is one of my favorite recent purchases, and it dresses up just as well as it dresses down. I paired it with a pair of dark green skinny pants, which are, to be honest, technically considered...

*Miss Doyle looks around nervously and lowers her voice to a whisper*

... jeans.

BUT, before anyone gets upset about me breaking school rules, I think it's important to note that I have asked for permission in the past to wear white "jeans" and was told to absolutely not worry about it, since they looked professional and not like traditional "blue jeans." I decided these probably earned the same permission for the same reasons. Plus, I obviously think I put together a professional-looking outfit; if I didn't think this were professional enough, I would never have worn it to school. Seriously, you all know me well enough by now.

I considered a number of different shoe options, most of which were heels, but I ultimately decided to go with these loafer-style, camel-colored flats. Wearing heels all the time (or wearing flats all the time, or wearing boots all the time, etc., etc.) becomes yet another "one-trick pony" danger zone. Plus, wearing heels day after day after day after day... Well, your feet can get very sore after a while. Especially if you have a job where you're on your feet a lot.

The necklace I'm wearing is one of my favorites - it's very versatile. One of the ladies in the front office asked if it had been bought on one of the Ecuador service trips, and I said no. Then she said, "Malawi?" No. Then, because she knows me well, she asked, "Target?" Yes, friends, Target it is.

Sadly, I ended up regretting this bracelet choice; I don't think there's anything *wrong* with this one, per se, but I later thought some of my other bracelets would have worked better. Ah, well - live and learn.

Are any of you in danger of becoming "one-trick ponies" in the fashion world? If so, try changing something up and see if you find something new to love.


Get the look for yourself:
Shirt - The Limited, on clearance; similar here.
Pants -The Limited; available here.
Shoes - Target (see it here), no longer available online; VERY similar here.
Necklace - Target; similar here.
Bracelet -New York and Company, on clearance; similar here.