Noteworthy shoes, comfortable pants and a new favorite sweater

Hey there! The start of the semester slapped me around a bit, but I'm back. This week is spirit week at school, so instead of showing you my tie-dye day outfit or my teacher attempt at country day, I thought I'd go back and show some of my most teacher-y outfits I missed the last few weeks. Today is installment #1.

 Today's outfit is brought to you by my love of layers and my determination to wear cute heels every now and then. 

​I've been trying to find ways to do a sweater/silk shirt layering thing for a while, but this was my best attempt so far. I bought this short sweater thinking I would wear it with some cute high waist jeans, but that never really worked out, so then I realized it might work with something longer layered underneath.

I'm irrationally committed to pleated shirts of all kinds, so I snatched up this tank top in the summer with high hopes of it pairing with all kinds of things.  

The pants in this look are, of course, my favorite Banana Republic pants, and the shoes are my favorite part. I bought these probably 6 years ago, and I only get to wear them maybe 3 times a year because I either forget I own them or they don't work with my outfit. 

I have a few other pairs of shoes that suffer a similar fate. I love them, I want to wear them daily, but they just require a rather specific outfit. So any time I'm wearing neutral colors, I kind of go hunting for my long-lost brightly-colored friends. I know it may seem ridiculous to own a pair of shoes you only wear a few times a year, but I  have some rationalizing to do on this topic.  

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Here's how I justify it:
1. I'm at an age when my feet aren't changing, and I have a job that doesn't wear out my shoes, so I can keep shoes forever. 
2. If I only buy one fun pair of shoes every three or four years, and I'm buying them from discount shoe stores or when they are on sale, it's really a rather small part of my wardrobe budget that I'm spending.
3. One or two really unique pairs of shoes just make the dreary months of winter or the long days before summer break more fun. And if you can afford it, that fun pair of shoes could just be the whimsy you need on a long day during a long month of school. ​

So--if you can, spend a little bit of money on an irrational pair of shoes that will brighten your day every now and then.

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Here are a few options for recreating this outfit. Loft has a few shirts that are already layered, so there's one less step to getting ready in the morning. 
Here's a cute one. And here's another option. 

The pants are these, my current favorites. 
Here are a few cute shoe options. 
​I love these mustard yellow ones. And here's a cute red pair. And a fancy pair. And a bright pair.

So, I hope that helps add some fun to your mid-winter outfitting!