Sorry for the late responses, everyone! I was out of the house last night and all day today. Phew!
Wow! Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments (I'm blushing)! I really appreciate it. You guys are fabulous! It was pretty hot yesterday (high 80s and humid), and I walked 3 miles in this outfit during the hottest part of the day and I felt pretty good. I still got really hot and sticky, but it wasn't too bad. Today was even hotter and I wore my navy skirt and felt good with a knit top tucked in. I'm going to keep an eye on the skirts and maybe pick the pink or ivory one up when they go on sale. It says "Dry Clean" on the tag, but I washed the navy one today and I'm currently letting it air dry. It seemed to come through just fine, no shrinking or fading. : )
Tanya, I really like this vest because it is so lightweight. Honestly, J. Crew has a much nicer quality one for only $10 more, but it was too long for me to wear with skirts and dresses, and it was also much heavier weight. I think this vest is fairly pricey for what it is, but it might be worth keeping an eye on it. There is also an ivory colored vest that is exactly the same. I had to size down one size for this one, so if I were you, I'd go with an x small or xx small if they have it.
Claire, it does provide more shoulder coverage than the top alone. The top has these kind of weird, big armholes and it cuts in really far in front and in back, so my bra straps show. But I love the lace patter and the collar and if I layer it under the vest, I don't have to wear a tank underneath the lace blouse. It's pretty breezy that way.
Joy, thank you so much for the tip on keeping linen crisp! I might give this a try. I like Jenava's way of thinking about wrinkles like distressing on denim. It's a "look" I'm trying to embrace.
SarahA, CitygirlDC, Aida, Kellygirl, ManidipaM, Joy, I'm so glad the blog post helped you! : ) Thank you so much! What a compliment!
Thank you again, everyone! I really love the supportive nature of this forum. I keep posting smiley faces, because I keep smiling at everyone's comments. : )