Today’s Outfit Idea: Spring Fling with a Fab Frock

All right, all you ladies who push your style aside because you’re too dang busy just trying to get your kids or your partner or yourself out the door in the morning – the Fastionista is here to ease your style fear.

Although the calendar says we’re still a long way off from spring, temperatures in the Northeast have been warmer than usual this week, and I’ve got a hankering for something cute and flirty to wear in honor of the thaw. Of course, I still need to be office appropriate, so it’s probably best to save my deep V-neck mini dress for the weekend. But I can certainly play a little with my workplace attire. So here’s what’s in my closet today:

· Neon Blue Shirtdress: Now, I have to admit, shirtdresses are not, by and large, a go-to for me. A lot of the time they can come off as a little too subtle for my taste. But this shirtdress has a few stand-out elements that I really fell in love with. First, it’s a perfect length, hitting just above the knee, for striking that balance between professional and fun. It’s also got a fantastic tie belt that not only cinches the waist in, but adds a facet of embellishment that not all shirtdresses have. This bold blue is one of the hot hues for spring this year; and, finally, pleating at the shoulders and hem gives this dress texture and a cohesive style.

· Trench for Outerwear: I doubt I’ll need a completer piece over my dress (which is good because with this tie belt a completer piece would just get in the way), but the mornings aren’t quite so warm that I won’t need outerwear. A rain trench is the perfect complement to the dress: the hem hits just above the hem of my dress, and the style matches that springtime feel I’m going for (you know, April showers and all that stuff). My trench has a leopard print, but a black or khaki trench would work great for this look too.

· Accessories: Since I’ve pretty much got just the one piece to my outfit so far, I’ll use my accessories as an opportunity to bring in a little depth. I’ll start with my glasses: today I’ll wear my black rims for a dramatic contrast with the blue of my dress. I’ll also pull in a little of that black in the band of my houndstooth fedora: the hat itself is beige, so even though the pattern and band incorporate black, the overall feel of the fedora is light enough to work well with the springtime feel of my dress. I don’t have much shine to my outfit yet, unless you count the glare off my glasses, so for my last accessory I’ll wear a wide black and silver bracelet.

· Purse: Here’s another opportunity for shine, but I don’t want to add much more black to my outfit since it is supposed to be springy, so I’ll carry my tan clutch with shiny veneer.

· SHOES!: I’m matching my purse to my shoes today, which isn’t something I normally like to do because it’s not really a fashion-forward look. But the light browns in my purse and hat complement the blue so nicely, and give me that brighter spring neutral as an alternative to the more wintry black, that I can’t help but tie it all together with two-tone beige and tan shoes that sport a low heel.

Voila! There you have it: great fashion fast. And you, gorgeous lady, are ready to take on the world, Fastionista Style!

Be ahead of the trend and work these styles into your ensemble before they hit the mainstream.

Today’s Trend: “Crushed Couture”

Style.com has a great review of Zac Posen’s 2012 haute couture line, in which they discuss what Posen calls a “crushed couture” look: garments that hug the feminine silhouette, and then billow at the hem. It’s a style that I happen to find beautiful, feminine, and, of course, entirely unrealistic for the average workplace. But the perfect way to bring this look into your everyday is to incorporate that fabulous peplum that’s been trending and is still going strong, or to pick up a trumpet skirt and wear in place of your pencils. We may not be able to do a true "crushed couture" look, but it's sure fun to try to mimic it!