This outfit is one way to wear the unstructured shirt dress ensemble, and I’ve been wearing it frequently in our glorious Spring weather. Usually I have to wait till July before I can sport the breezy combination, but our weather patterns are changing. This is our third beautiful Spring in a row and I am blossoming along with the flowers in the warmth and sunshine.
Shirt dresses are my favourite style of dress, which is why Topshop’s utility midi dress piqued my interest. Despite my dark green eyes, olive is not a colour I’m drawn to. So I usually keep its presence in my wardrobe to no more than one piece. Historically, the colour is represented in the form of a Summer dress (I’ve had olive shirt dresses before). I ordered the Topshop frock to see if I liked it enough to earn a spot in my wardrobe.
I instantly fell in love with its cut and midi length. It’s unstructured overall, yet fairly structured on the hip and bottom. The rounded edge of the hem adds further structure on the leg line. The side entry pockets are fun, and the sleeves are a good width. The shoulder fit well too. A crafty little stitch on the placket of the sleeves keeps them scrunched all day long. I decided that the colour was fab as long as I could wear it with a white support act: pearls, footwear and bag. The white does a very important job of brightening the olive, which makes me happy. My eyes are the same colour as the dress, which tends to ground the colour against my complexion. Colour challenge sorted.
After a five year hiatus, I’m back to wearing chunky pearl necklaces so pairing them with the dress feels natural. Although the dress is casual and looks great with casual flat footwear, I couldn’t resist pairing it with dressy white ankle strap pumps. Their vibe works with the dressy pearls. I finished off the look with a structured white satchel. The combination of satchel and pumps adds even more structure to the outfit. That isn’t essential, but merely how I wanted to style the dress on the day. I normally wear my other three shirt dresses with casual flat footwear, so the heels feel fresh.
I also like layering my flared cropped jeans under the dress to create newer proportions. I’ve worn short shirt dresses over regular length skinnies forever, but the longer shirt dress paired with shorter flared cropped jeans makes for a different look. The same ankle strap shoes close the gap on the ankle to create a more continuous line on the leg. The dress and jeans combination is an acquired taste, and might not be your cup of tea. I do like it. It’s a great way to insulate my legs when things cool down at night, so quite a practical option too.
A new gold watch, wedding ring and eyewear finish off the look. I’m wearing sunnies in the photo shoot because of the glare, but wore this exact combination (no jeans) with my regular apple green specs to work with a client. We went straight out to dinner that evening, so I swapped out the heels for white ankle strap flats and added a very light blue denim jacket to combat air conditioning. I was very comfortable and felt fab all day. I’m thrilled with my new frock and happy that the colour worked out after all.
- 1 RB2180 49mm — $140.00
- 2 Apple Green Specs
- 3 Utility Midi Shirtdress — $100.00
- 4 Short Chunky Pearl Necklace
- 5 'Odynna' Pointy Toe Pump (Women) — $109.95
- 6 'The Cropped Straight' Ankle Jeans — $198.00
- 7 Rosie Leather Small Bag
- 8 'The Birdy' Bracelet Watch, 34mm — $525.00
- 9 Women's Holt Flat
- 10 Classic Light-Wash Jean Jacket
