Some Rules Are Made To Be Broken

Well, hello, there! Remember me?

Yes. I've been MIA. AWOL. Call it what you will. I'm sorry about that.

Here's the thing... There are some changes going on in my life. They are good, happy, productive changes that I'm really excited about, but they're taking a lot of my time. And the blog posts also take a lot of time. So they're taking a back seat.

I never wanted this blog to be All About Amy, one of those blogs that's just pictures of the blogger that seem to exist solely to say, ooh, look how cool I am and how rockin' my wardrobe is. I've been guilty of this more often than I like, but the truth is that those posts are easier -- they take less research and time. Right now I don't feel like I have a couple of hours a day to spend looking at fashion shows and websites and blogs hunting down information and photos and links. So I haven't been posting. But... recently I added something to my wardrobe that it seemed worthwhile to share.

The rule lately has been No More Shopping, because really, I'm set. There's not anything I need. I'm always on the lookout for tops with interesting patterns (SO bored with the solid colors) and the truth is, I am a stone sucker for a throw & go knit summer dress. An ongoing rule is No More Black Dresses. I have plenty of black dresses (don't we all). And I'm not a big fan of black -- I much prefer to wear color. I have black dresses, because they're unavoidable, but I typically don't even really look at them on the hangers in stores.

Except...


I found this great black knit dress at the Barney's CoOp here in Austin. They had an extra 25% off all their sale goods, so this wound up being quite the bargain. It's a rayon/viscose jersey knit tank dress -- super-easy, a wide enough skirt that VPLs aren't an issue but still slim, straps plenty wide to accommodate a bra, no fastenings...basically it's perfect. It has the added niftiness of a cunning little slit for the belt to go through so it has just enough detail and architecture to be interesting. I just love it, and I bought it even though it's black. It came with a black belt; I'm wearing it here with a little leopard-print cowhair numbah, because I thought the black belt was booooooor-ing. Also featured are my fantastico tobacco leather Cole Haan sandals from the previous post and a truly darling & perfect vintage gentleman's straw hat. If you click on the photo it'll get bigger and you can see it a little better.

The thing I love most about the dress, of course, is that I can change out the belt. For example,

(Sorry about the Marie Antoinette thing; but I'd had that hat on all day and when I took it off, it was Not Good up there and I just didn't want to deal with it. The downside of the curly is pretty serious hat head.)

this great little red patent double-wrap one, paired up with some darling Gucci sandals I bought a couple of years ago & still wear like crazy because they are still wonderful. (I get more compliments on these shoes, you would not believe.)

The dress also... dresses up quite well.


Gold belt, faboo strappy black sandals with gold stars. Not to get too matchy-matchy, but I do kinda love it.

When it gets a little cooler (IF it ever gets a little cooler -- in the middle of August around here it seems like time & the thermometer both stop moving. It's hot. It's always been hot. It's always going to be hot. Is it October yet?) I think some fun boots


and throw on a little jacket.

I'm doing some traveling at the end of the month, and this is definitely going to be my airplane dress. Comfycomfycomfy and still chic. (If I play my cards right, I'm going to have a suitcase filled with nothing but knits. Clothing nirvana.) This little piece of the Fabulous is by A.L.C, which is a clothing line designed by well-known stylist Andrea Leiberman. I highly recommend checking out her website. The clothes are fantastic -- lots of cool, easy, lean basics that are modeled by teenaged shinbones with heads but many of which could be worn by anyone of any age. The colors leave a little to be desired (for me) -- it's all black, gray, and beige with the very occasional pop of red, but if you're going to make basics, that's the usual palette.

(Update: here are some links to the dress at Matches, Barney's, Madison, and Zoe. I'm also pretty enamored of this one.)

So there ya have it. Just a little reminder to stay open to breaking your rules every now and again, especially when you stumble across a great multi-tasking piece that you love to slip over your head.

As for me, well, I'll be around. I'm not making any promises about how often I'll post, but I'm not going to disappear completely. If you've stayed with me this long, thank you. I do really enjoy the connection to and interaction with the people who read my natterings, so I appreciate your patience. Hope you're having a great summer, and I hope you've had a few great fashion finds of late. I'd love to hear about them if you have!