Meet & Greet

    Wednesday afternoon, I went to an employer meet and greet hosted by the law school.  Since it was cold, I went with my black pant suit.  The problem is that I couldn't figure out what to wear as a blouse.  If it were an interview I would have worn a button down, but a Meet & Greet isn't AS formal.  After looking through my closet and coming up with a back up option Tuesday night (a light aqua blue sweater), I went to Target Wednesday after my first class in search for a nice shell which is perfectly within the rules of My Closet Shopping Challenge.

From L-R clockwise

1. Alex Pleated Top 2.Blair Blouse 3. Elizabeth Bow Top 4. Elsie Shell

    If you've been to a Target lately, you may have seen their Merona Collection offerings.  The current in-store offerings are a bit Mad Men + Spring inspired.  Thinking that the lovely tops would work under a blazer I tried some on, the ones pictured above to be exact.  I was *really* hoping the Elizabeth Bow Top would work, but it didn't.  Not sure if its because I had to try on a Large, but the neckline was just too low and the bow did not sit right under a jacket (ie it didn't look like it did on the model).  I was hoping to be able to just tie it in a knot and let the pieces hang, but the low neckline would have made that impossible without layering a tank underneath, which I did not want to do.  I ended up buying the Elsie shell as it was the best of the four I tried on (and fyi it did not fit me nearly as nicely as it does the model, but I digress).  I was a bit worried about the geometric print, but it turns out there was no need to worry.  
    On my way home, I stopped at the consignment store and found a beautiful red silk-spandex shell.  The owner of the store has known me for a while and gave me an additional 10% student discount off of the blouse that already had a 25% discount, so I was able to get it for $12, about half of what the the Target blouse cost.  I got home, steamed the shell, threw on my suit, did my hair and makeup, went to class and then to the meet and greet.   (As an aside, I highly recommend getting a garment steamer.  For fabrics such as silk and thin knits, it allows you to get wrinkles out fast. Also, by steaming you're able to remove a LOT of smells so you won't need to wash delicate items as often, thus making them last longer.  I was able to find mine at Bed Bath & Beyond on clearance as it had been returned and was listed at half price.  So keep your eyes open, you'll never know when you'll encounter a great deal!)
    Back to business: The meet and greet was fine.  There were 9 employers and the only one that I was really interested in didn't have the funding to hire attorneys.  The other employers were all big firms that have already hired who they're going to hire for the year.  I did talk to some of our career services ladies and they told me to keep an eye out for job fairs and the like. 
    What I like most about this outfit is that I felt really good in it.  Even though I've lost weight since I bought this suit, the jacket fit wonderfully.  The pants, not so much.  I had to MacGyver them into staying them into place by wearing Assets pantyhose under the pants and folding the top over the pants.  And it worked!  As I mentioned in this post, I like to keep my hair under control when at a career event, so I opted for a low bun with pinned back bangs.  The pearls were sort of an obvious choice considering my lack of jewelry.  All in all, I felt like I looked the part of a lawyer.  What do you all think, do I look like an attorney to you?  
The Details: 
Black Suit: Garfield & Marks (separates) 
Black heels: Aldo
Red shell: Patrick Christopher Selections via Consignment store
Freshwater pearls: strung by me
Earrings: Blue Nile