Boldly Belted Zebra

The other day I was going through my closet for a long overdue seasonal closet cleaning.  Two or three times a year I go through my bedroom closet and shift seasonal wear to the front of the closet, move pieces that just can't transition into the current season into the closet in my office, evaluate whether or not items that I haven't worn in a while should be cycled back into the regular mix, sent to Goodwill, or put into a pile for a clothing swap.  While I was doing this I came across a fun dress that I purchased four or five years ago.  It's a sort of flirty, summery, black and white zebra striped dress.  I loved it when I bought it, but I don't wear it that often because I feel like it's just a little too tight in the chest so it emphasizes my bust just a little too much for daily wear - particularly daily wear for teaching in the academy.  Also it's November, and, while it's been unseasonably warm here in the midwest, it's definitely not warm enough for going sleeveless.

Then I started thinking: why should I have to relegate such a large section of my wardrobe to a later day?  After all, I've seen a couple of colleagues wear shorts in January and some of my students wear flip flops to class when there is snow on the ground.  While I think this is insanity, I do wear skirts and other dresses into the coldest and snowiest days of the winter.  I just wear them with tights and boots.  Couldn't I make this dress work in a similar way?  Couldn't it be a flirty summer dress that found a second life as part of a fall outfit?  My first instinct was to do it, but to take the simplest route.  I could easily wear this dress with tights, boots, and a cardigan (plus this would remove any anxiety about showing too much cleavage in the classroom).  I put this look together yesterday.  Since I recently bought a mustard yellow cardigan at full price, I figured it was a good chance to give it another wear.  I used a black belt and a black necklace to help make this into a cohesive outfit.*

How do you transition pieces from one season into the other?  And, for that matter, have you ever found a way of wearing something to teach in that you had thought was unsuitable for the classroom?

*Footnotes:
Dress - Filene's Basement (years ago)
Sweater tights - Target
Boots - John Fluevog
Cardigan - New York & Company
Belt - from another dress
Necklace - thrifted