Another hot day, and probably the last of the truly hot for us. *sob* So today I pulled out a linen-cotton blend summer dress, and brought it closer to fall with an old olive utility vest.

Over the past few years, I've passed on all of my military/utility inspired clothing save for a few pieces, although they don't much get worn. I've had this utility vest for several years (LA Shoptoberfest fabbers may recognize it), but haven't worn it in the past two. Not sure I'm ready to bring it back into rotation but for today I enjoyed pairing it with the sweet dress (plus my hair is extra wild today so I thought it was fitting ^^). Yes it would be more traditionally flattering with the drawstrings tightened up, but I rather liked the very voluminous and long lines this way. It actually looked pretty fun zipped up too, though it's waaaay too warm out for that.

Initially I put my olive oxfords on, but felt they skewed the look too utility for me so I swapped to gold slipper flats; lower contrast, and a bit prettier but still tomboyish. Added a little cream snakeskin belt for a touch of safari (with the buckle swiveled around for a cleaner look; also, it's sparkly!), and giant gold hoops plus a few dainty rings for a touch of glam. Kept it semi-tonal with a taupe clutch, and a swipe of cherry pink lipstick for a sort-of-sweet-sort-of-retro finish -- the light pink I tried first was too sweet, the plum I tried next was too dark.

This dress didn't end up getting worn as much as I'd expected this summer. Despite the high linen content, the weave is really tight and thus not nearly breathable enough for a truly hot day (which is what I wanted it for) although I did wear it on a few of those. And that is how I came to this conclusion I think for our normal, milder summer temperatures it's quite perfect. It's also thick enough (and self lined) that I can wear it through fall, which is great for extending it's wardrobe usage.

Available items collected below. Comments, critiques, thoughts and questions welcome.