This post feels long overdue…I actually started it on November 1 and here we are at the beginning of December. I got a little sidetracked with a home renovation project. We essentially tore out all of the flooring and kitchen cabinets on our main level, painted the whole place and now we’re slowly piecing it all back together. We’ll have to wait until the new year to fully finish it but I’ve been waiting a long time to do this reno, so another month won’t hurt. I will definitely do a post on the completed reno in the new year! Now, about this dress that I’ve been meaning to tell you about…

It definitely wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I love a versatile piece of clothing. Or an oversized house dress. Or classics that I can wear for a long time. It also wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I love this Tradlands Nova Dress.

It has everything that I love. It’s black. It has billowy sleeves that are gathered at the wrist. It’s the perfect amount of oversized and it’s made of a linen/tencel blend that is becoming a favorite fabric around here.

And in the spirit of doing more with less, I’ve put together 9 outfits with this dress and I can think of a ton more. I’ve been going through my wardrobe lately and trying to remove some items. I want every piece in there to work as hard as this dress does!

If I seem excited about this dress, it’s because I totally am! I’ve received some really great pieces from Tradlands in the past, but this one is my absolute favorite. I had no problem styling this dress into a bunch of outfits!

I think that the outfits felt different each time and that it wasn’t horribly evident that I was wearing the same dress, but you can let me know what you think in the comments.

I actually wore this dress for an entire week. I did steam this dress midweek but I wore a crop tank and cropped leggings underneath it for every outfit so I wasn’t worried about it getting too dirty. Also, I don’t really care about rewearing something without washing it in between, which you can read about here.

Now for the outfits…

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Outfit 1

My first outfit had to be the dress by itself so that I could show it off in all it’s splendid glory. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen this photo already.

I love the dropped waist of the dress and the gathering. I’m usually a size small in dresses which is what I ordered in this dress and it’s perfect.

Due to the oversized silhouette, I probably could have gotten away with an extra small but I wanted to make sure that I had a lot of room in the shoulders because nothing ruins your day more than tight shoulders!

Of course I’m wearing these black combat boots. If there’s a quintessential “me” outfit for fall 2020, it’s a oversized house dress with combat boots, just in case I haven’t established that yet 😉

The only accessory that I added was this silk bandana, which is also from Tradlands.

In case you missed it, I styled this bandana 10 different ways in this post. A bandana is another wardrobe item that I think is very versatile.

It was pretty chilly on this particular day as we were nearing the end of a cold snap, thankfully. I added a wool coat and a grey crossbody bag.

Huge fan of this combo!

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\\ Outfit //

Tradlands Nova Dress (gifted Fall 2020)

Tradlands Caroline Print Bandana (gifted Fall 2020)

Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots

Eileen Fisher Wool Coat (gifted Fall 2019)

Botkier Satchel

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Outfit 2

A sweater over a dress…definitely not a novel concept at this point but one that I wouldn’t have thought of a few years ago. I think this might be the reason that I don’t own many skirts.

I just like to throw something over a dress and pretend that it’s a skirt!

I bought this sweater at a local consignment shop last year and I honestly don’t think I’ve worn it once!

But I also can’t bring myself to part with it. It’s 100% cotton (you know how much I love natural fabrics…check out this post if you don’t ;)) and it has this gorgeous floral embroidery down both sleeves, which I’m so obsessed with.

I added a pair of cozy socks to up the casual vibe and my old moto boots because I liked how the silver detailing coordinated with the sweater.

I hardly ever wear lipstick. Gloss is as fancy as I usually get, but I had a little fun with a pink shade that I picked up about a year ago and never really wore. It was fun but definitely not something I could do much.

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\\ Outfit //

Secondhand Cloth. Sweater

Tradlands Nova Dress

Frye Harness Boots

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Outfit 3

I have had a tan blazer on my thrift list for about 6 months. I didn’t care if it was wool or silk but I knew that I wanted it to be oversized and to only have 1 button. And my patience finally paid off when I found this beauty at a local consignment shop. I’m pretty sure it’s a men’s blazer but all the better!

Even though it was perfect, it did have a small area of moth damage on the sleeve (which you can’t see when I push the sleeves up like this).

I check over every wool purchase very closely before I buy it. And as much as I’m an advocate for washing wool at home, I take any secondhand moth damaged items straight to the dry cleaner! I do not want to risk introducing moths to my yummy natural fabric wardrobe!

I pulled out my oldest vintage Coach satchel for this outfit. I always feel like it vibes with blazers so well.

I added a pair of wool blend tights (which I will be using heavily pretty soon) and my brown boots.

I know that I “should have” worn black boots to elongate my legs here (blah, blah, blah) but I don’t follow fashion rules. I wear what I like!

And lastly, I threw on this silk bandana again because I just love the color and prints! I think it adds the perfect amount of visual interest with the bonus of keeping my neck warm.

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\\ Outfit //

Vintage Sag Harbor Wool Blazer

Tradlands Nova Dress & Silk Bandana

Hansel from Basel Tights

Secondhand Free People Suede Boots

Vintage Coach Satchel

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Outfit 4

I have honestly lost count of how many times I’ve worn this chambray top, but a quick investigation puts it at 17 wears which is honestly less than I thought!

That just goes to show me that I don’t wear my clothes as much as I think I do! Further curating my wardrobe will help with this.

Again, I wore the dress as a skirt by buttoning the shirt all the way up and knotting it at the waist. I really like how the dropped waist is below the short hem like this. I think it’s a fun detail.

I added my black backpack and my combat boots, both of which have been in heavy rotation this fall and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

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\\ Outfit //

Doen O’Keefe Blouse

Tradlands Nova Dress

Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots

Margot Backpack

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Outfit 5

This might go down as my favorite outfit of all time. I know, I know…I say that a lot. But I just like a lot of outfits 😉

I added my secondhand long green wool vest for a little warmth and I love the combination of the deep green with the black. This is the only vest that I own. They’re not something that I’m normally drawn to but I do love this one.

I added a pair of leopard print booties and I love how it all works together.

And as a final touch, I threw a black wool scarf for some extra flair and warmth.

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\\ Outfit //

Secondhand Eileen Fisher Wool Vest (via Eileen Fisher Renew, gifted fall 2019)

Tradlands Nova Dress

Hansel from Basel Trouser Socks

Huma Blanco Ortencia Boots (gifted fall 2019)

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Outfit 6

Another outfit that I really enjoyed. I’m trying to really analyze my wardrobe so that I can remove all of the items that don’t feel right to me…a few of which I bought over the summer in my “color phase”.

If I’m being entirely honest, I feel most comfortable in dark colors, with a little blue and green mixed in. There’s room for a little more color too but in minuscule amounts.

My goal for 2021 is to focus on the things that I already own and really hone in on “my” wardrobe essentials. I want to stop letting outside noise influence my clothing decisions.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot over the past month and I’m trying to figure out which direction I’m going to take my wardrobe going forward.

This is my favorite thrifted sweater ever! I loved it so much (and it smelled so bad), that I dedicated a post to it. Find it here.

And since I’ve been on a bandana kick, here is an old silk one that I’ve had for a few years.

I really love this boot/handbag combo. The colors are different but I think the black strap helps to tie the handbag to the purse and it all somehow works.

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\\ Outfit //

Vintage Margaretta Wool Sweater

Tradlands Nova Dress

Ozma of California Silk Hankie

Hansel from Basel Trouser Socks

Huma Blanco Ortencia Boots (gifted fall 2019)

Botkier Satchel

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Outfit 7

I like to call this jacket my “halloween jacket”. I pretend that I’m a sorceress whenever I wear it and I actually wore this outfit on Halloween this year. We may not have gone anywhere but it was fun to dress up.

I definitely have a thing for fun jackets and routinely have to talk myself out of buying them.

I keep telling myself that I have enough and I don’t need anymore. I’m hoping to adjust my mindset more towards this thinking going forward.

A sorceress outfit definitely deserves to be worn with these combat boots, wouldn’t you agree!?!

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\\ Outfit //

Vintage Galaxy of Switzerland Jacket

Tradlands Nova Dress

Dr. Marten’s Leona Boots

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Outfit 8

No dress styling post would be complete right now without a dress over pants outfit.

And the pants I chose were a pair of secondhand leopard print ones that I found locally a few years ago.

I added a denim dress/duster over the dress because my favorite season is “layering season” and it’s been a while since I wore this piece.

I added my thrifted brown suede boots that aren’t getting enough wear this fall and a bandana to tie my hair back with. Besides wearing a bandana around my neck like in the previous outfits, this is my second favorite way to wear one.

I really like the outfit without the duster too!

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\\ Outfit //

Secondhand Tomas Maier Denim Dress

Tradlands Nova Dress

Ozma of California Silk Hankie

Secondhand Old Navy Leopard Print Pants

Secondhand Free People Suede Boots

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Outfit 9

Another dress over pants look but a little more casual this time around. This is definitely something that I would wear on a weekend.

I added a pair of black and white print athleisure pants under my dress and layered a secondhand flannel shirt over top.

This flannel shirt is one of my favorite pieces. I love it so much that I recently styled it for a week and wrote a post about it.

I actually bought this shirt for my husband but he thought it was too small. I briefly considered getting rid of it but decided that it was the perfect oversized shirt for my wardrobe. I’m really glad that I kept it!

And not to shock you or anything, but I chose to wear my combat boots with it ;).

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\\ Outfit //

Vintage Freedom Foundry flannel shirt

Tradlands Nova Dress

Secondhand Lululemon Pants

Dr. Msrten’s Leona Boots

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I hope you enjoyed this styling post.

Let me know in the comments what outfit was your favorite.

As I plan content for 2021, I would love to know what types of things you would like to read about. Have you been enjoying the styling posts? Would you like to see more posts on minimalist living? More about how I am further refining my wardrobe?

Let me know.

Until next time,

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