Business as usual

I am sooo excited to dress for fall, guys! I sound like such a cliché blogger by saying that, but it's true. My outfits feel much more interesting in the fall. Take this outfit, for example. In the summer, I would have worn the top and shorts with sandals and skipped the blazer altogether. I would have needed to add jewelry for the outfit to feel complete. Now that it's fall? I can wear ankle boots instead of sandals and a blazer to tie everything together, and it instantly feels so much more "finished" that the summer version.

Ever since I got this blazer last year, I've been struggling with ways to "dress it down" since it is inherently a formal garment. (It's wool and structured--not exactly the first thing I think of when I think of a casual item.) After first wearing it for my thesis defense last year (almost exactly a year ago!), I styled it for a meeting in November with corduroy pants and a tee--the first time I tried dressing it down. Do you think I pulled off the dress-down this time around? 

J.Crew blazer (similar; last seen here) / J.Crew Factory top (old; similar from River Island) and shorts (old; similar) / Sole Society boots / LOFT sunglasses