Wearing a black square-neck maxi dress with black mesh ballet flats, a dainty book-charm pendant necklace, and a black-and-purple book bag (with, of course, a perfectly coordinated black-and-purple cat bed for the resident library cat) is the kind of outfit that makes you feel like you’ve stepped straight into The Literati by Susan Coll. It’s smart, a little dramatic, and brimming with bookish flair—exactly the kind of vibe Clemi, the main character, carries as she stumbles through chaos with wit and determination. Clemi is 26, bookish, broke, and working her dream job at a prestigious literary nonprofit when she suddenly finds herself juggling an allergic reaction to the nonprofit’s inherited cat, the disappearance of her boss, the FBI knocking on the door, and the small task of pulling off the annual fundraising gala. Her story is a madcap comedy of errors wrapped in highbrow literary polish, and this outfit channels that duality perfectly: elegance on the outside, survival-mode underneath. The sleek black dress and ballet flats? Classic, understated armor—professional enough for schmoozing donors, comfortable enough for dashing between crises. The book-charm pendant is a quiet nod to her literary soul, while the black-and-purple book bag says she’s serious about hauling around manuscripts, agendas, and maybe a few existential questions. And the coordinating cat bed? That’s the wink of whimsy that acknowledges sometimes your life is one big mess of fur, fiction, and financial calamity. Slip into this look, and you’re not just dressed for the day—you’re dressing like the heroine of your own story. The woman who can hold it together when everything is unraveling, laugh in the middle of the madness, and still carry a touch of elegance as she figures out what comes next. In other words: very Clemi, very main-character energy, very you. LTKHome LTKStyleTip LTKWorkwear