Anyone who reads lots of fashion or style blogs should have heard of The Sartorialist. It’s an intelligent, photo-filled fashion blog filled with inspiring photographs of everyday people in interesting outfits on the streets in various cities.

A lot of the time you have to assume that the people Sartorialist founder Scott Schuman photographs are wearing vintage or secondhand finds because of the uniqueness of their clothing. Schuman does not often snap someone in identifiable clothing–i.e. anything with bold logos or recognizable graphics. The exception to the vintage assumption is, naturally, NY Fashion Week. The photos he takes in and around Bryant Park feature a lot of stylish women probably wearing a lot of expensive clothing. I doubt women wear anything from a secondhand shop to Fashion Week…unless it’s secondhand designer!

How can you emulate the cool, street-style of these women given their 15 seconds of fame via The Sartorialist?

I’ll show you.

This girl has managed to look both stylish, individual AND comfortable. Luckily, Victoria’s Secret makes a dress similar to the one she’s wearing:

Her gray shoes add a bit of flavor, where black shoes would have just melted into her tights. Try these from Payless. They’re cute and really inexpensive. To finish off, a black coat with a great cut and trendy quarter-length sleeves.

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I faintly heard rain on my window… the gentle snore of my dog nestled in the crook of my knees… the whir of my programmed coffee maker grinding beans…

What I did not hear was my alarm.

When I finally made the connection that the smell of brewing coffee meant time to rise and shine, I opened my eyes to see the clock reading… oh… an hour to conference call time! I threw off the covers and did what any self-respecting PR gal would do in this emergency — walk into the closet to search for a great dress.

I ended up throwing on a graphic wrap dress, some black tights and some tall black boots. I added a cuff bracelet and simple earrings, and grabbed my bag. My husband even offered a heartfelt “you look nice”… and with that and a quick kiss, I ran for the bus.

What a difference it made to be able to show up feeling as though my late night (and therefore late morning) was my little secret… hidden by a one-piece wonder of fashion salvation.

I’m of the belief that every working woman should have a handful of great dresses she can throw on to look pulled together on days when you just can’t deal with rifling through your wardrobe to find “all the pieces”… and so here are some picks I’m considering adding to my closet:

I like this one from Kenneth Cole… love the bold lines and the work-appropriate cut…

I work in a creative environment, so this print may not work for everyone’s office… but I love this dress and in fact am planning to purchase it this week…

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