I’ve been loving the look of a button-down longline vest or strapless top ever since I wore this outfit back in the fall. As much as I loved that top, I ended up selling it after realizing that strapless silhouettes just aren’t realistic for me to wear on a day-to-day basis. A vest, on the other hand, is much more the type of top I’d reach for again and again. As I get older and become even more intentional with my closet, I really try to be mindful about the kind of things I realistically wear. The idea is that I want to be regularly wearing everything in my closet, and I find that the more complicated or high-maintenance something is, the less likely I’ll want to put it on, no matter how much I like the idea or look of it. The biggest deciding factor for me with the vest is that I can wear a regular bra with it (funny how that becomes a huge consideration as you age lol). Unlike a strapless top, a vest can also take the outfit into more casual, daytime territory. It is quite low-cut though, so I don’t know if I’d wear this for an office setting, but can see myself wearing it for a daytime industry event, for example, where something strapless would come across as potentially too risqué.

My initial inclination was to style the top with slimmer jeans, but ended up with wide-leg jeans instead and surprisingly love the look. I thought it would be too much excess fabric for someone petite, but something about the combination just works — perhaps the long lines and proportions help to elongate the frame?