I had the black Boden dotty shirt in my Nordstrom cart but had intended to remove it as I noted the collar did not button up high enough and the placket did not appear to overlap enough to add a snap. But, I forgot to remove it and, as sometimes happens, my "view" of my shopping cart was different on different devices so, voila, I ordered it by mistake with another item.

But upon inspection I saw that the placket could overlap a couple inches without destroying the lay of the collar so I sewed it shut just enough, and the shape of the curved neck makes it lie pretty flat so no wardrobe malfunctions. Because it is knit (and my head is not large!) it is easy to put on without unbuttoning. One could also place a snap but I like the secure stitching.
So, I love it as instant outfit maker with the ruffles adding a good touch to basic black pants and feminine "juxtaposition" with shoe styles like loafers..

Then, I thought, what about the burgundy/pink dot, which ought to be a slam-dunk for my wardrobe palette. Hence ordered it from Boden and thought, I will struggle with one, which one, both?

Interestingly the burgundy is very pretty and a good face color, BUT much harder to style with my existing wardrobe even though I have burgundy pants and casual jackets. For some reason it just looks more "out there" with the color + ruffles Whereas the black looks more subtly interesting and works with about 5 styles of black pants, plus jeans, and actually quite well with burgundy pants because the camel dot kind of blends it. Then I have a camelhair blazer and a camel field jacket for it.

So I am planning to send the burgundy back even though I have a bit of FOMO for the print. If Boden did the print in a dressy knit T, I think I would love that.

So there is my accidental-surprise shirt, plus the surprise that the color I thought ought to be best, was not!
Wonder if you have had similar preconceptions and what "virtual outfit lab" stories about why somehow the same item in another color just does not work.