Honestly, this outfit is a bit more boardwalk than business, but most people wouldn't know the difference, which is, in this case, - as my mother pointed out - the shoes. From hat to skirt, I wouldn't hesitate to wear this outfit into any office (unless their dress code has a capital Business). The colors are subdued, even the white, and the purse adds a pop of fun color, but the shoes take the casual part of this business casual look and move it to the front.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. There's no law against wearing comfortable shoes - guys get to wear them all the time, after all - but some offices can be stricter than others. Looking back on the places I've worked, I can only think of one job where the manager might have told me not to wear these shoes outside of casual Friday, but she was kind of a terrible person anyway, so I don't really count her as the standard.
But I digress.
This outfit, despite what many people assume, is not a dress. I have the diagonal-striped shirt over a white spaghetti strap tanktop with both tucked into an elastic band circle skirt. Diagonal stripes are fantastic for giving the illusion pulling you in if you're a bit bigger (like me) and layering is great for someone with uncommon proportions (in my case, a smaller waist than my bust size would suggest). Additionally, as I mentioned in my monochrome post, a black belt is super handy for accentuating the waist and giving the illusion of wearing a dress which, for whatever reason, the people I run into seem to think is more formal than a skirt/shirt combo. I have no idea why.
About the Look
The stripped over shirt, unfortunately, I have had for so long that I couldn't possibly tell you how much it cost, though since it's from Dressbarn, it couldn't have been more than $30, and that's assuming I bought it new, which isn't likely.
The lace tanktop I bought from Ross, I think? Oh, no, that was the first white tank with lace trim I had. The lace ripped after a couple years, and I replaced it with this one from...somewhere. Probably Ross, but I don't know for sure. The circle skirt, I definitely got from Amazon for about $12. I liked it so much, I got the exact same skirt in black; I don't doubt you'll see it around, if you haven't already (I don't even remember which outfits I've worn and posted at this point).
The purse is $25 from Ross, which is a bit unusual for something unbranded, but I've been looking for a purse this exact color for the longest time, so I probably would have bought it even if it was a $99 Vera Wang (that's a lie; the only way I would buy a $99 Vera Wang is if it was 60% off, and I had a coupon - which I have, in fact, done). The shoes are the same color as the purse, which is fantastic (I don't know why, but I just love that true-red color). They're GBG Los Angeles that I got on-sale from Burlington.
As for the hat...I have no idea. I bought it for $20 off a street vendor in Downtown Omaha about seven years ago, so...good luck?
