I was really enjoying yesterday's thread about comfort zones when it comes to fashion. I mentioned that I like to regularly push myself outside my "zone" (in life, work and fashion!) as a means of learning and evolving.

One style that is way outside my comfort zone is drop waist dresses.

When you're petite and have short legs, anything that actually visually lowers the waist tends to make you and your legs look even shorter. So drop-waist dresses and I don't talk much. I have one vintage Miu Miu drop waist shirtdress that I haven't worn in forever and am still trying to decide whether I should sell it.

But I digress... last Sunday at the thrift store I came across a couple of pieces that were definitely outside my zone but had things about them that I found appealing. One of them was this Juicy Couture drop waist tank dress with a double ruffle hem and vertical chain pattern in gray and black. I normally don't care for Juicy's stuff. It skews somewhat childish/girly for my tastes, usually.

I did, however, really like the simple style, chain pattern and color quite a bit. It was also a comfy thick modal material and it was a petite size. So it hit at a really nice spot on my leg (even if it did visually put my waist at my hips). So I know both ruffle hems combined with dropped waist --fashion disaster for petites! I decided to take a chance anyway.

So, for a whopping $10 I bought it. Comfort zone be-damned!

I did some subtle pattern mixing with it (just the striped b&w scarf and the stripey lucite gray/white/black vintage earrings) and topped it with my patent leather cropped moto jacket. I waffled on whether to go with the ankle boots or knee high pointy toe patent ones. In the end I actually really liked the casual "flower pot" effect of these wide-ankle-opening Rachel Comey ankle boots over the dressier feel of the knee high boots.

So, actually, as it turns out, my comfort zone expanded a bit because:

• the outfit was super comfortable so I felt pretty good in it
• I think the strong vertical pattern combined with the cropped jacket and the matching tights/boots did a pretty okay job of counteracting the leg-shortening effect of a drop waist ruffle hem.

So take that, Comfort Zone! You don't rule me!

What do you guys think? Did I manage to counteract the leg-shortening effect successfully or did it just feel that way to me?

Newsboy hat: Brixton Brook (via Zappos)
Cropped cashmere cardigan: Vince (via ebay)
B&W striped scarf: Thrifted
Bag: Marc Jacobs (via ebay)
Boots: Rachel Comey Mars boots (via ebay)
Patent leather cropped moto jacket: Truth & Pride (via Nordstrom Rack)
Vintage lucite earrings: Lea Stein (via estate buyout)