Photography by Melanie Riccardi
CULOTTES:  Premonition (similar here)  |  CROP TOP: American Apparel (old but similar here & here)  |  BLAZER: Theory  |  MULES: Coach  |  SUNGLASSES: Stella Mccartney
Okay, so full disclosure on this one:  When getting dressed on the morning that these photos were taken, I was under the impression that the above depicted coral culottes and crop top did, in fact, meet sans stomach exposure.  Funny how misleading garments can be when you’re standing still in front of a mirror during the wee morning hours.  Blame it on the fatigue and lack of caffeine (sound familiar?), but after these photos were snapped and I was a few minutes into my work day—which required some actual movement—I realized that the aforementioned top and culotte did not, in fact, fully conceal everything that a top and culotte should during one’s workday.  Instead of scrapping these photos, I thought I’d still share them because (a) I still like the outfit, and (b) this is likely a situation with which many of you can relate—showing up to the office looking a bit different than you might’ve originally planned.  Le sigh.
Obviously the lesson here is that crop tops must be treated with the utmost care when one is headed to a professional setting, AND never trust your sleep and caffeine-deprived self when taking early morning fashion risks. Â Luckily, upon realizing that my midriff was exposed when not completely stationary in front of a mirror, I was able to switch into another more work-friendly top before any major damage to my professional reputation had been made. Â
However, shortly thereafter, I got my sandal stuck in an escalator, causing an alarm to sound in the lobby of a large office building while several potential business partners looked on.  I can’t, with confidence, say that my reputation came out of that scenario similarly unscathed.  It just wasn’t my day. Â
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