What I Wore: Bookstore Browsing

J Crew cobalt Lady Day coat; LOFT paisley skirt
Skirt, LOFT (via eBay); sweater, J. Crew Factory; scarf and boots, Winners; coat, J. Crew (via Kijiji); bag, MbMJ (via consignment)

With the never-ending-winter-we-shall-not-speak-of-again, I routinely run out of warm places to take the kids every day. And take them out I must, because my son starts climbing walls around 2 pm every afternoon. So, Chapters it is; they have a train set, and crayons, and occasionally a doll house – all excellent things in Luka-land. Anyway, I wore this. Because … I just get tired of jeans, you know? And this skirt has an elastic waist, and it’s washable poly, and with one of my omni-present J. Crew Factory sweaters, it’s just easy. Easy and done.

I like the colours going on here, and pat on the back for not throwing black into the mix (see “easy”, above). But I hate these boots. Hate ’em with a fiery fire. They’re fine, I guess, but that reddish brown colour goes with absolutely nothing in my wardrobe. I use them as my stand-ins for cognac boots (which I still don’t have, sigh), but they. do. NOT. work.

And looky here … snow.

J. Crew Lady Day cobalt coat; LOFT paisley skirt
I look … thrilled.

Let’s talk about the skirt for a second: total impulse buy on eBay. The print got me, again. The fit is … weird. There is that elastic waist, which is great, but the poly lining is oddly tight … and there is a random little slit on one side … and the skirt puckers strangely in the front creating a visual pooch. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on with this skirt. I wouldn’t have bought it if I had tried it on first. Chalk another one up to the risks of buying on eBay. Fortunately, I like the print and overall style enough to try to make this work … and it’s gonna take some work. When will I ever learn not to be seduced by a print? Don’t answer that, purely rhetorical question.

6 Comments on Paisley, Brown & Cobalt

  1. The boots kind of work with those tights and your hair.. I didn’t find them weird looking at all, but I do agree that cognac boots would be a nicer shade to wear.

    That coat is heavenly. I have cobalt blue coats on permanent standby on my Wish Lists… even if I don’t REALLY NEED ANOTHER COAT.

    • Sigh … I just need to find those damn Frye boots already!

      I love cobalt blue generally, but I usually stick with black for my coats (I know, so original). I’m glad I took the chance on this coat, though. One of my best Kijiji finds, for sure.

  2. Oh. My. Word. You still have snow? We are having tornadoes here quite frequently… but I still don’t think I’d want to swap for snow.

    Anyway, I’m rather in love with that bag… I have a thing for larger totes that still look professional (I have a Badgley Mischka one that’s older… but has the same feel to it). And is that a pencil skirt? Oh how I wish I could pull off a pencil skirt successfully.

    and I definitely like the tonal nature of the boots, tights, skirt, and top

    • Thankfully, no. These posts are about 2 weeks behind. We had snow until the end of March, but now it’s almost completely melted. Yay!
      The bag is the MbMJ Totally Turnlock Teri, and I love it! I have two, actually – that’s how much I love it. Bought both second hand, and there are some decent deals that pop up on eBay from time to time. Like, under $100 kind of deals.
      I … think?! … the skirt is a pencil cut. Like I said, it’s a weird one. Now that I’m more pear-shaped than before, pencil skirts are not as flattering as before, imo. But they’re what I’m used to. Why do you feel like you can’t pull off a pencil skirt?