My Halston jacket and how to pair a jacket and dress

I'm lucky to have a very good thrift store close by.  I've always loved looking in thrift and consignment stores for unique items.  This Goodwill, however, has great classic clothing.  I know my labels pretty well, so I scan through the racks looking for things that I like that are good brands.  When I saw a beautiful tan jacket with a Halston label I was thrilled.  I haven't done research to see if it's a real Halston, but the quality of it is excellent.  It's a little tight on me, but since I plan to lose weight, I bought it anyhow.  For $5 how could I go wrong?

A few weeks after I bought it, I had an interview.  I planned to wear a navy jacket with a black dress, but at the last minute I decided the jacket needed steamed and I didn't have time for that.  Thank goodness I had the Halston jacket to throw on.

 It was going to be 80 degrees that day, so I chose a sleeveless cotton dress to wear under it.  That's where the lesson for this post comes in.  While the jacket was structured and tailored very well, the dress was more casual and really didn't match.  Here's a few photos of the jacket:

Now look at the entire outfit. I don't think it looks horrible, but it would have looked better if I'd worn a more structured dress.  The loose, casual cotton dress didn't match the jacket that well.  I wore it just because of the heat, but if I'd looked in a full-length mirror before I left home, I would have chosen a different dress (and probably a different handbag).  I decided to share this to possibly help others who don't look in full-length mirrors before they leave home.

Do you have rules about what types of dresses you'll wear with certain jackets?

The loose dress underneath the unbuttoned jacket makes me look huge!  Another not-so-good effect.

Halston jacket

Target dress (Mossimo)

Betsey Johnson sunglasses

Crystal pearl necklace by 405 Creations

Kathy Van Zeeland handbag

Anne Klein sandals