If you were wondering how to dress office business casual in subfreezing temperatures, look no further!

Monday: first day of the Arctic chill, and I am clearly not used to it; I bundled up in a big way! Black pants, fuschia ribbed turtleneck, tweed M+O statement jacket.
http://lowfatdressing.blogspot.....arade.html

Tuesday: still bitterly cold, but no snow or salt so I can still wear fashion boots outside. New sweater dress from BR Outlet, purple turtleneck, layered teal and black floral tights, black Vince Camuto cowboy boots, and a lovely belt gifted by my sister-in-law.
http://lowfatdressing.blogspot.....dress.html

Wednesday: Wool sweater, ponte knit skirt, and layered tights once again save the day. This is a new BR sweater in a fabulous pine color, paired with a silky mustard paisley scarf from Target, and I switched into my grey patent Franco Sarto oxford booties once I was in the office.
http://lowfatdressing.blogspot.....wirly.html

Thursday: it started snowing the night before, and kept snowing all day and all night. Eight inches total. I joked at work that I was wearing the sartorial equivalent of curling up under a blanket on my couch and drinking cocoa. Which is what I wish I could have done instead of sitting in my cube!
http://lowfatdressing.blogspot.....couch.html

Friday: Had a meeting with VPs, and then dinner out with Hubby, so I wore a dress and scarf combo that worked with and without my Kohls brown corduroy jacket. This might be my favorite outfit of the week, if only because it photographed the best. LOL!
http://lowfatdressing.blogspot.....-down.html

Saturday: Went downtown for an afternoon at the Art Institute and a tea service at the Russian Tea Room. I built my entire outfit around being able to wear a cute hat indoors and out, to save myself the agony of dealing with my hair in such varying temperatures. Also, it's one of the few types of events where I get to play with the jacket-and-jeans smart casual look, so I had fun with that too!

Question: I have been trying not to buy cropped jackets anymore because they don't really look right on my pair shape, but I inherited a bunch from Shopping Friend, and I adore the quality, texture, and variety of them. If I pair them with longer tops like I did here, do you think they can work? (This probably isn't a good example because the sides ended up crooked in each photo unfortunately...)

http://lowfatdressing.blogspot.....-wear.html

Next week: all my inherited pants are back from the tailor after being lengthened, so I am going to start incorporating them into my rotation. The weatherman says it is supposed to get up into the 30s for a string of "mild" days. Woohoo, heatwave!