#OOTD – From Work to Dinner and Drinks with an Anne Fontaine Blouse

This work outfit is one of my favorites. The main feature, to me, is the crisp white Anne Fontaine blouse. For years, I’ve coveted Anne Fontaine shirts. They’re clean, smart, and stylish: sophisticated enough to wear on the job, but so pretty that you’ll want to wear them to dinner and drinks afterward.

Anne Fontaine blouse – OTHER STYLES / Dolce & Gabbana jacket / ATM skirt / STUART WEITZMAN BOOTS

How Anne Fontaine symbolizes for me, refined taste

My fascination with Anne Fontaine blouses started when I began working as a court linguist many years ago. I noticed an attorney who didn’t dress like all the rest. Even though I loved wearing business suits (then!), I was impressed by her very individual style. She’d typically wear an Anne Fontaine blouse with tailored trousers and a leather jacket or sometimes, a leather skirt and blazer.

As a result, Anne Fontaine blouses came to represent – to me – a strong, independent woman with refined taste. I was delighted to finally purchase one several months ago. It may be a staple, but it’s far from basic!

The whole outfit

This blouse has cuffs which flare ever so slightly – sleeves have been an obsession with designers lately. And its buttons are actual fabric flowers. Since I consider the details to be so lovely, I didn’t want the rest of my outfit to compete with it. I think that it works well with a simple black silk skirt. And for a little warmth (for Seattle), I added matching over-the-knee boots.

I wore the jacket open – to avoid crushing the fabric flowers. Although I love the cropped, tweedy style, I don’t often wear it because of its boxy silhouette. With my “womanly” lower body, it can obliterate my saving grace – a smaller waistline – when worn with most outfits.

I was happy to find that it’s extra flattering open with a high-waisted, A-line skirt (to visually narrow my hips). Of course, high-heeled pointy-toed boots (to visually lengthen the legs) don’t hurt!

Not only for work

I had a hard time at first, deciding how I would describe this outfit. I mean, it’s quite an acceptable work outfit, and yet, it has some beautiful touches already mentioned about the blouse and with the red lining of the jacket, which makes me want to wear it out for drinks and dinner.

And so, I very strategically planned to wear this on a night my husband and I reserve for our weeknight date. These dates started off as a ritual to get us together to talk about anything that’s bugging us but which we haven’t taken the trouble to mention during the week.

Now, it’s morphed into more of a time for making travel plans, discussing ways we might handle problems one of us is having at work, and just relaxing with great food and drinks. The night I wore this, I loved having something fun to take off – a jacket with a fiery red lining – and something I equally enjoyed keeping on. 😉

XO, Janea

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