Various States of (un)Dress

Dress | Tanya Taylor (also here, one size up and $15 less)
(and here for way more, if you are into that)
Sweater | J. Crew
Shirt | American Giant

One of the things that I struggle with, clothing wise, is being too precious with my clothing. If it is a little more expensive, fancier, or more delicate than what I typically wear, then I'll set that piece aside and tell myself that I need to save it for a special occasion. I made a resolution, last year, to do a better job wearing what I own (since it does no one any good sitting in the closet), and I have mostly been trending in a positive direction.
This dress is a prime example - I love the print and the open back, but it felt a little too fancy for what I wear on the weekend (and in particular the vibe of the Bay Area) and then obviously too skin-bearing for work. This dress is 100% silk, and the print is amazing. The print sort of looks like flowers but up close is more like paint splotches and I love the blue/red color palette. Also, I am wearing a 0 and it was a little big in the bust.
I persevered, and here are the results:

For work:

Just a quick look at the work combo, since these photos are the least interesting of the bunch, having all been snapped quickly in the morning before work. The dress has an open back, as you will see below, so for work, I treat this dress like a skirt and layer on a sweater. With a sweater, I think this looks totally appropriate for work, both in style and in length.

Toned-Down Weekend:

For a recent weekend the sun was shining and I felt like dressing up. However, this dress is a little revealing, and I was going to be running a lot of errands and just wanted to feel a little more covered up, and a little more casual. I first tried laying this tee underneath the dress, which would have worked, except for the cutout in the front. It bunched through the cut-out in a way that made it seem like I had strange stomach skin. Then boom - I layered the top over the dress, and knotted it in the front - like a high school PE shirt (actually, we used to knot those in the back, but I digress). The white t-shirt is a casual staple, and gave this dress more of a weekend vibe.

Worn as Intended:

Lastly, a look at the dress as it came off-the-rack. The print is even more amazing on the full view (due to the color contrast on the front), and the t-strap back basically demands excellent posture. Having worn the layer t-shirt over this dress all day, I finally took it off and just wore the dress for a bit. Obviously, no one cared or noticed and this bit of exposure therapy reinforced that I needn't care if I am over-dressed - whose to say what the weekend dress-code even is? I felt good and this dress makes me happy. At the risk of sounding like a bumper sticker, it is always good to be reminded to wear what you like, and like what you wear.