Short and sweet post today, owing to work having claimed me for his/her own evil self these past few days. It's certainly looking like I'll be lucky to make my flight to D.C. on Thursday with a decently packed bag without some pre-Christmas miracle that adds 24 extra hours to every day until then! Today's outfit post is proof of how much work has taken over my life, 'cos how often does Ms.MS wear formal outfits?! Well, everything has a first time, and today is good ol' workwear's lucky day.

Being in an academic setting in the biomedical sciences where the usual MO is to care absolutely zilch about what anybody wears (other than a lab coat, of course), my work uniform has been jeans + tees for as long as my adult life. Formal clothes (or 'normal people clothes' as those of us in the geek set call them ;) ) are a rare sight, so you'll have to forgive my insertion of a white tee into today's somewhat formal outfit. I'm planning on packing some version of this outfit for my presentation at the upcoming conference, and I'm already mentally preparing for the 'Who are you and what have you done with my graduate student?' look from my advisor!

This color combination of aubergine and berry pink is one of my favorites in the fall! I love the more traditional, serious tweed in neutral colors that reminds me of Chanel and preppy yesteryears, but I treasure this thrift find for the refreshing, feminine change that the pink-purple tweed brings. I added a gold brooch as a scarf pin for just a touch of that Chanel-esque charm. :)