hi ho, hi ho...

... it's back to work I go.  (I've had this stuck in my head all day looooong.  Not funny.)  But it's true.  Yesterday was my first day back after the break without students.  Students returned today.  No, I don't want to talk about it.  So to keep my spirits up?  An outfit post!

Anticipatory Set: Another reason I want to start documenting some of my daily work style outfits is because I so wish I'd had a source to look to for teacher attire when I started last year.  Or young teacher attire, I should say.  (Because we all know how we remember our own teachers, right?  Not a pretty picture.   A lot of the time on days when it's all I can do to get myself in the car, I feel a thousand times better when I choose to get dressed in something other than black pants + cami + cardigan + flats + hot mess hair.  (Not that I don't resort to that... I do.  There's just that whole stress/no sleep/commuting/poor eating thing going on some days.)  One style blogger in my reader, jenloveskev, shows some teacher "style files" that are great but still a little more laissez faire than what I need for my position at the school where I work.  Maybe some poor future teacher will find some inspiration here and be a little more prepared for how to dress professionally, comfortably and (hopefully) stylishly in the classroom.

Also, to preface, I've been using polyvore a little more (now that I know how to use it... don't ask me why I was so polyvore-inept for a while) so after I acquired a new striped jersey dress from Old Navy I found it on the site and paired it with other items similar to things I already have in my closet. 







Here is how I actually wore it for yesterday's workday... (sans G., unfortunately)









Objective(s) Addressed: Teacher workday; comfort! and warmth!

Materials:

• Striped dress (layered under skirt): Old Navy
• Black skirt: Gap ($9.99!)
• Leggings: Target
• Boots: Target
• Tall wool socks: P.'s sock drawer
• Layering tank (unseen): Target
• Trench: Zara (from London, summer 2006)
• Cinch belt: Nordstrom
• Coach bag: my mom's from back in the day (1980's-ish)
• Scarf and additional sweater unpictured
  

Input: Workdays without students are usually very casual but since there was no telling the state of air/heat in the building I wanted to layer up without jeans for some extra warmth but still be comfy since I wasn't sure how much I would be moving, sitting and/or standing.  Made a bottom layer with a tank, leggings and wool socks.  Pulled on striped dress, then skirt.  Belted skirt for a little more height (not a lot) and structure and threw on boots for even more warmth and protection from the elements. (And I actually had another sweater underneath the trench that I peeled off by the time I got home and, of course, a scarf to keep the neck region nice and toasty.)  When I Polyvore'd this little ensemble, I originally pictured my cognac boots from Steven by Steve Madden but quickly realized I'd left them at my parents' house a few days before.  So I stuck with black and it was fine.  I also didn't have a mustard-colored belt so I went with a gray, embellished one instead of brown (since the brown boots were AWOL). 

Overall, I loved the way this outfit came together.  I felt warm and comfortable all day without (hopefully) achieving a whole new level of bum chic in the workplace.  Today was one of my favorite work outfits ever so stay tuned for that tomorrow night.