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Style: With a Polka Dot Top

Style: With a Polka Dot Top

My outfit was a last minute switcheroo, but I like it even more than the original one I was going to share.

The sheer pink polka dot tights I had based my whole other look around ripped. And not just a little rip that I could have fixed in Photoshop, I’m talking about the kind of rip that essentially turned my tights into cutoffs. So I grabbed a polka dot shirt instead. I just wish I had realized that I also grabbed the same skirt I showed last month. Oh well. I suppose the lesson here is that a white pencil skirt is more of a wardrobe staple than you might at first think.

Here’s how to get the look:

  1. Gingham Pendants

  2. Dolman-Sleeve Top

  3. No. 2 Pencil Skirt

  4. Sinclair Glasses

  5. Swing Bag

  6. Ambitious Heels

A note on some of the items I’m wearing that are no longer available: As I mentioned last time, my skirt is seven or eight years old. I’ve had the shoes for just as long, and I bought the bag in 2008. Actually, I featured it in my first ever style post, and suddenly it’s on trend! My sister keeps begging for it when I “get sick of it” and I keep telling her it’s not gonna happen. And I’ve featured the necklace before as well. I scooped it up at 75% off when it went on clearance.

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  • Tanya from Dans le Townhouse
    April 24, 2012 at 9:18 am

    You look great! I’d be a little worried about getting a white pencil skirt dirty, but if you’ve had it that long, I feel a bit more confident about the prospect.

    • Making it Lovely
      April 24, 2012 at 12:30 pm

      As long as you don’t sit on the ground outside, you ought to be fine!

  • Laura
    April 24, 2012 at 9:50 am

    Love it. I really like the necklace too. I have a similar one in silver – it was my mom’s from the 60’s and everyone always asks about it.

  • Emi
    April 24, 2012 at 9:51 am

    Nicole, I know that this is not a fashion blog, but since you posted about fashion I have a question ; )
    How do you decide which pencil skirt style to get? I am not sure if its my body type or if I am getting the wrong size in skirts. I love this look (having a shirt tucked inside) but for some reason it just does not look good on me. I am between size 4 and 6 in skirts. Size 6 fits me a little loose in some areas but then size 4 fits me a little too fitted. Basically, I would like to know how a skirt should fit. For example, should it be very fitted at the waist or should it be a little loose? Thanks! and sorry about the rambling : )

    • Alexis
      April 24, 2012 at 12:15 pm

      I would buy the size 6 and bring it to a tailor. I always have to get pencil skirts and tailored dressed altered to fit me since I have a small waist compared to my wide hips. Good luck! I love this look, too.

    • Making it Lovely
      April 24, 2012 at 12:35 pm

      Tailoring is a good idea if you can’t find a brand that fits you off the rack. A pencil skirt should be tighter rather than looser, but not so tight that you feel (or look) like a sausage. The waist, especially, needs to fit well.

      • Emi
        April 24, 2012 at 2:24 pm

        LOL! about the looking like a sausage comment : ) LOL! Thank you ladies for the tips.

  • Weiya @ enjoyer of grace
    April 24, 2012 at 9:56 am

    I have this top too and I totally love it! Thanks so much for the tips… excited to try it out with a skirt now :)

    Hope you can come by and visit me sometime. Have a lovely day!

  • erica
    April 24, 2012 at 9:59 am

    You are a great outfit curator. Love these posts. And I need to pick up that top !

  • jawsie
    April 24, 2012 at 10:08 am

    looking very slim ms. balch!

  • tracy
    April 24, 2012 at 10:24 am

    well done!!!!!

  • Melissa
    April 24, 2012 at 10:25 am

    I’m loving this new series, Nicole! The top is fantastic.

  • Amanda
    April 24, 2012 at 11:25 am

    I was wondering if you had a recommendation for skinny jeans that don’t stretch out over the day and come up high enough to hide a tummy AND come in petite lengths. This will truly make you a style guru.

    • Making it Lovely
      April 24, 2012 at 11:32 am

      I loved Gap’s Always Skinny jeans in the mid-rise option, but they don’t make them anymore, so I’m on the look out as well.

      • Amanda
        April 24, 2012 at 8:30 pm

        Oh I feel you soul sister, I used to LOVE Gap’s skinny jeans, but now their rises are so low that it is laughable.

  • Pst
    April 24, 2012 at 12:16 pm

    You look great! Brandon is a lucky man;-)

  • Sandra
    April 24, 2012 at 12:26 pm

    Love your outfits – you are such a natural model too!

    And I have to add that every shot in this room I think, “oh, the Billy bookcase – so stylish with the doors”. Haven’t we all had Billy bookcases at one time or another?

    • Making it Lovely
      April 24, 2012 at 12:37 pm

      Yes, they look a million times nicer with doors on! People email me all the time, asking where my bookcases were from. Nobody ever suspects the humble Billy shelves!

  • Tangled Sweetpea
    April 24, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    Just started following your blog – love it! Gorgeous outfit! Don’t think a white skirt would fair too well with a toddler and a baby :)
    Victoria xx

    • Making it Lovely
      April 24, 2012 at 2:07 pm

      I have a toddler and a baby, and mine has held up just fine!

  • Julia
    April 24, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    the first two links don’t work. Love all your outfits BTW.

    • Making it Lovely
      April 24, 2012 at 2:11 pm

      Hmm, they’re working on my end. The necklaces are from Nordstrom and the is top from Old Navy.

  • Annie
    April 24, 2012 at 3:03 pm

    How is it that you managed to make an Old Navy top look like something from Anthropologie? I salute you and your excellent outfit skills!

  • Holly
    April 24, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    Your glasses are so cute!
    I also love the Billy bookcases! I have one in the dark finish with the door to house my supplies, fab!

  • jj
    April 24, 2012 at 6:51 pm

    you look marrrrrrrrrrrrrvelous!

  • Brittany Lauren
    April 24, 2012 at 8:13 pm

    I haven’t met a polka dot top I didn’t love! So cute. For a casual look, white jeans would look great too :)

  • Evelyn
    April 26, 2012 at 10:16 am

    Cuteness overload! I love the nail color in the terrarium shots as well! More photos of you modeling! They’re some of my fave posts!

  • Charlotte | Living Well on the Cheap
    April 27, 2012 at 7:35 am

    Nicole, have you been losing weight? You look great! I’m massively pregnant right now and feeling more encouraged seeing you. Maybe I, too, will have a waist again someday!

  • kolisach
    April 27, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    the Kate Spade necklace is still available and on sale! just snapped it up!!!!

  • Ashley
    April 30, 2012 at 12:02 am

    You look absolutely fab in this! Like a classy librarian. :)

  • Danielle
    June 1, 2012 at 4:58 pm

    Beautiful! Sadly the Old Navy top didn’t look nearly as cute on me, but I have high hopes for the nude pumps! I’ve been wanting a pair, but haven’t been able to find ones that I liked. These look great and the price is right, too – thanks!!