I bought this gingham dress late in the summer and promptly hung it in my closet, never to be worn. Until a few weeks ago when instead of the chilly temps you’d expect, we were experiencing one warm sunny day after the other. Of course, temps have dipped significantly since then, but with a few tweaks I think this dress can weather the change of season and become a wardrobe staple all year long.

The beauty of a dress like this is that all you have to do is decide if you want to dress it up or down. For footwear, I’m loving these studded clogs, but a pair of cognac booties as seen in this post might be be even better right now. And next Spring a pair of sneakers will be super cute. To stay warm, I’ve layered a cozy fisherman knit sweater and colored denim jacket on top. But a sleek black turtleneck underneath would create a classic, cool retro vibe. Add black tights and boots and you’ve got a whole new look.

When I was looking at these pics I was also remembering the warm and fuzzy and optimistic feelings we all were sharing. But just a few weeks later, pandemic panic has set in once again. Not the kind of deja vu I wanted December to bring. Lines around the block and six hour waits for testing are almost too overwhelming to contemplate.

I’m double vaccinated and boostered and am so grateful to be. If you’re delaying on any of these steps, please (please!) join the protected people of our world. I’ve heard about enough breakthrough infections to know that being vaccinated, and even boostered, is keeping my friends and family from dire consequences. Crazy to be thankful for being “just sick,” but that’s the life-threatening power of COVID. I was happy to read that President Biden has announced that his administration is preparing to distribute 500 million free testing kits and deploy military doctors and nurses to overburdened hospitals. To quote him, ‘We have to do more. We have to do better — and we will.” Yes, we will. We must.

Stay healthy, stay hopeful!

Dress: (Target, Universal Thread, sold out) But I’ve got my eye on this, this and this.

Sweater: (old, J Crew) Similar here (expensive but cashmere!), here and here.

Jacket: (old, Gap) Like this (under $30!), this and this (sherpa lined!).

Bag: (old, Demelier) Love this new version and this more on-sale option.

Clogs: (old, J. Crew) Other stylish studded options here (on sale) and here.

Photos by Kristin Moore-Gantz @artdirectthis. Roof @dvoralife.

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