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"I remember when I got my first job out of college (in finance) and my mom recommended that I buy a &amp;amp;#8220;good supply of button-downs.&amp;amp;#8221; Since her sage advice about school supplies had been so spot-on during my elementary school years (and her opinions on the guys I dated were borderline clairvoyant), I set out to stock up on a range of styles&amp;amp;#8212;from silk ruffle leopard print to basic white cotton. But then...On Day 2 of the job, I took one look around the sea of cubicles surrounding me and realized that nobody in my office actually wore button-downs. Instead? Twin sets and wrap dresses. Then and there I made a quick mental note-to-self: Must de-fuss my work outfits asap. Two years later, the sight of them hanging unworn in my closet inspires the same guilt as those triple chocolate Starbucks cookies I can&amp;amp;#8217;t seem to stay away from. I&amp;amp;#8217;ve been racking my brain for ideas: Put them on eBay? Limit my dating pool to guys who are running for public office?? Enter&amp;amp;#8212;the sparkly mini. I saw this cool combo crop up at a few of the spring shows. Lyn Devon (above) picked a tailored silk button-down to match a beaded mini, and Jenni Kayne (below) took it to the next level with a boyfriend denim button-down and a Studio 54-era sequined mini. The main takeaway here is: the risqu?\uFFFD mini is the perfect way to offset a slightly nerdy button-down (think party girl Serena meets lonely boy Dan). While mom probably didn&amp;amp;#8217;t have the same idea in mind for my button-downs, I&amp;amp;#8217;m sure she&amp;amp;#8217;ll be happy to know they are no longer collecting dust bunnies. Would you wear this combo? Why or why not? Do you know of any other cute ways to wear a button-down outside of the office? Add glamour.com to your Google homepage Follow Slaves to Fashion on Twitter! Photos: Andrew Yee for Atelier Management"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.glamour.com/fashion/blogs/dressed/2009/05/outfit-idea-of-the-day-buttond>