I recently decided to bump up my normal working hours even earlier to attempt to beat traffic in my snarly commute. The idea is that I'd be off work by mid-afternoon so that I could see some daylight at home, but in practice that rarely occurs - I'm typically off work a half hour later or more than intended.

The upshot is that, except for weekends, my photographs will be indoors and in even gloomier lighting conditions as it will be pitch-black outside until well after I arrive at work. (And really, at this time of year, it's dark when I get home too, so that doesn't make much of a difference.)

That's kind of a bummer today because in real life, the texture and saturation of what I wore was a lot more pleasing to my eye than to the flash-filled photos I took before dashing out the door.

Black lace peplum blouse with 3/4 sleeves
Burgundy pencil skirt
Burgundy mesh polka-dot tights
Patent burgundy low-heeled pumps
Black bead and cord necklace
Bronze handbag

I'm still nailing down specific words to describe what I feel my current style goals are - more about that in another post - but one description that I keep fixating on is "textured", and I feel that greatly applies to this outfit. The fine netting of the lace and the mesh, polka dotted tights, the shiny beads and smooth cord of the necklace, the pebbled, shiny bronze purse. The textural variety feels rich and yet unfussy when I wear these pieces.

I've noticed that tactile elements are increasingly significant to what I choose to wear within the last year - if something itches, binds, droops, or feels stiff or confining I fidget like mad. In spite of looking like a dressy outfit, the items I wore today are utterly comfortable to the extent that I don't even have to give a thought to what I'm wearing - I can simply focus on my day. I've come around to realize that comfort and dressiness CAN go hand in hand quite well.