Western Pattern Plays and Downtown Daze

To be perfectly honest, I can be pretty terrible at dressing myself. I work in an environment where we're allowed to be pretty casual, and I fall into a rut of wearing jeans and purely casual clothing. I've promised myself that from here on out, I will be better about more genuinely dressing like "me" all of the time. I believe I might have said that before on the blog, but let's be real - we're all works in progress. And this work in progress decided to dress like an escaped circus ringmistress, and went out to lunch in all of her patterned glory! 

I met Abby for lunch at Porano Pasta because not only is it right around the corner from my workplace, it's absolutely amazing and I've become addicted. In the category of fast casual, this Gerard Craft spot knocks it out of the park. I'll gush more about Porano another time, but I also have to say that the staff is ridiculously friendly. On our way out the door, an employee stopped us and asked if we'd like to try one of their gelato pops, and we couldn't say no. Yum yum!

I've been needing a new blazer in my life, and this one was creeping in ASOS' sale section, so I snapped it up. When I was hanging it up in my closet, I happened to put it next to this vintage blouse, and practically squealed in inspiration delight. Because I'm still working on getting back into shape, I've basically been wearing the same four pairs of pants/jeans. These Forever21 jeans haven't lost their shape yet, and I actually found them at Goodwill for $7! 

If there's one wardrobe quirk I have, it's that I now own NO pairs of flats whatsoever. I threw out my last pair just last week. They were falling apart, and I just find myself only wearing boots or heels anyway. Boots are just so much more interesting! This pair from Dolls Kill was on super sale, and I fell in love with their Western detailing and perfect height. 

Do you mix up your patterns all crazy-like sometimes too? Let me know what your favorites to mix and match are!

Photos by A. Gillardi Photo.

Outfit Details:
Blazer: ASOS  |  Blouse: "Russ," Vintage  |  Hat: Avalon Exchange  |  Jeans: Thrifted Forever21
Handbag: BCBG  |  Boots: Dolls Kill  |  Earrings: Leopard Boutique  |  Bolo Tie: Avalon Exchange