Dressing Like a Seattleite By Way of Portland

Now that you’ve seen how we do pinstripes in Seattle (here, here, and here), take a look at how we do another menswear style: the shirttail hem.

The Solo Pleat Tunic Dress by Lizz Basinger of Portland is another great find from Sassafras. It may have the hem of a men’s dress shirt but it is made of sweater knit organic cotton. That means it’s soft and stretchy and a heavier weight than men’s shirts. It has the give and comfort of a lightweight sweatshirt, but it is far more sophisticated than that. I wore almost this exact outfit when I flew to Phoenix recently and the only time I thought about it was when someone complimented me on it.

You know what I mean–sometimes travel brings out the worst in clothes. You think you look all that, but between TSA and sitting squished in a seat for hours, you start to feel everything pinch or bunch up or stretch out and become saggy. This, on the other hand, was so easy to wear all day long and it kept its shape from the time I put it on to the time I took it off. It’s like wearing pajamas without looking like you’re wearing pajamas.

The full length of the hem falls right to my knees. On someone taller, this might become a tunic–which is how it’s shown on Lizz’s website. I wear it more as a dress, although I have paired it with skinny jeans like I did with the pinstripe dress.

In the photos above, I had on my go-to Vince booties and black opaque tights. (Similar booties here.) I also added different necklaces and even a brooch to expand the ways I wear Lizz’s tunic dress. (More about the necklaces later!)

Below, I paired it with a scarf and my fuzzy snow boots by Khombu. (Similar style here.) We don’t get a lot of snow in downtown Seattle, but these shoes are warm and comfortable and have a little dab of silver to give them more zing. I trek across the city in the rain and cold and I never feel it in my feet. I’ve even worn them without socks. It was like wearing a pair of slippers!

Look at me running around town in pajamas and slippers! Ha!

The scarf is from Eileen Fisher, bought several years ago before I started blogging. (Similar styles here, here, and here.) Like the shoes, it has a bit of metallic woven throughout. Sparkle and shine just dress things up, even if it’s just a little.

Let’s not forget layers! They are the keys for keeping warm in the Pacific Northwest. Of course, other parts of the world love layers too. When I lived in Minneapolis, layers were non-negotiable this time of year.

In this case, the layer I added is another Eileen Fisher staple: a stretchy silk long-sleeve tee. It is lightweight so it slips underneath almost anything without creating extra bulk. These tees never go out of rotation at Eileen Fisher.

Today I gave you two outfit ideas for one post — two different kinds of shoes to pair up with this dress and a couple (or three) different ways to add a little neck bling to the outfit. Tomorrow I’ll add more layers to change things up!

Meanwhile, head on over to Lizz’s website or go to Sassafras and to see for yourself just how cool this dress is.

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Affiliate link disclaimer: Please note, although I paid for the items from Sassafrass I feature here, I did receive a discount when I purchased them. I have not been paid by Sassafrass to write about the store or items. Any links associated with other parts of my outfit are affiliate links. By clicking those links and purchasing from those stores, I might receive a small commission. This supports the work I do here and I greatly appreciate your support!