October started with a dump of snow, and ended with a very Vancouver-esque atmosphere (think mist, fine rain, and lots of soggy leaves on the ground), and I feel like there’s perhaps a metaphor in there somewhere. All last month I’ve been feeling like I was falling behind on, well, life and I’m still nowhere close to catching up. So many projects, so little time. One of my first priorities this month will be to catch up on editing A Temporary Engagement, because the weekly publishing schedule is getting ahead of me at this point. But with 10 chapters already published, we’re half way there. Anyone reading along still? What do you guys think?

OK, on to the outfits now.

one, two, three
one, two, three
four, five, six
four, five, six
seven, eight, nine
seven, eight, nine
ten, eleven, twelve
ten, eleven, twelve
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen

I think it was a pretty good collection of outfits, some stronger than others (or more ‘on point’, I should say) but that`s par for the course. I’ve had good luck thrifting and eBaying this month, and at the same time, I’ve done a lot of work in terms of refining my style and narrowing in on the things I enjoy to wear (and not simply enjoy looking at). The next step is to do another (overdue) closet purge. I’m not looking forward to it; whenever I’m down with a case of SAD (which usually happens this time of year), I feel extra emotional about parting with old things, clothes included. I don’t think KonMari-ing will help this time, so if you guys have suggestions for how to say good-bye to things painlessly, let me know.

21 Comments on What I Wore: October 2016 Work Capsule

  2. I am new to your blog (I have only been reading a few weeks) and I have to say I LOVE your blog! You look amazingly adorable and put together and it inspires me to get my act together and look great for work.
    Can I ask you a weird question? Are you wearing hose in these pics? My work requires me to wear hose and I cant find any that look natural.

    • Hello & welcome! Happy to hear that you’re enjoying the posts.

      I wear pantyhose (and nylon socks with pants) every day at work (including 99% of the time in the summer, although our temperatures are moderate, FWIW). I used to hate them, that stopped after I found a couple of brands I like (no control top!!). They have their advantages, actually. Anyway, if you’re pale like me, I would recommend looking at Calvin Klein pantyhose, in Colour 2. They’re sheer but pretty durable, and an almost perfect colour match for my skin. I also wear Hue nylons occasionally, when I can find them for cheap — but, sorry, I can’t remember which colour (probably the most pale they offer). I buy my pantyhose at Winners (aka Canadian TJ Maxx) for about $7/pair. I find the CKs last me at least 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer.

      • Hi Adina, I am also on the hunt for pantyhose that doesn’t have a control top. I find th too restricting. What other brands have you found don’t have a control top? Also, do you really have to replace your Calvin Klein pantyhose every 2-3 weeks? That doesn’t seem very durable, in my opinion. Thanks for your input.

    • Thanks you! I haven’t heard a lot of feedback, and I’m starting to worry that y’all just hate it. A bit nervous about the ending, so there’s that too. I need to get on with editing Chapter 12, stat! o_O

      • Oh, please don’t be worried/nervous. I honestly love your writing (fiction and on the blog). I just don’t tend to give feedback unless specifically asked for it! Kerb that Imposter syndrome!!! 😉

  4. One of the things I do, which may or may not work for you, is wear the item of clothing I’m thinking of getting rid of one last time. As a kind of “Victory Lap.” If I totally fall in love with it, I allow myself to keep it. Usually, though, it reinforces that it’s time to let that item go. And now it’s had a proper farewell.

    • I totally do that too! The othe thing I’ve recently done that’s been a tremendous help is list the clothes in each category by preference. Like, no. 1, 2, 3 and so on. It’s immediately clear which are my faves, and which are the least faves … and it makes it easy to cull things below a certain number (like, make a cut-off of 10 blouses, and get rid of everything from no. 11 on).

      I’m also doing The Spirited Thrifter’s Closet Minimalism Game this November (follow us along on IG!) and I think that will also help. We’re getting rid of one item each day this month, using daily prompts. It’s been neat so far.

  5. I’m a fan of the quasi-purge: set things aside for a few weeks to see if you miss them. Low risk but helps with editing. Easier to part with things if you’ve already moved on. Good luck with it!

    • I do that too … but then, when I go to pull the final plug on the things I’ve set aside (and not missed, btw), I start having second thoughts. What ifs. It’s a curse.

      As I mentioned in another comment, I’m doing the Closet Minimalism Game (going strong on Day 4!) and also doing a bit of extra purging on the side (hopefully!). By the end of November, it will be interesting to see the progress. Of course, I’ll manage to find all kinds of cute NEW clothes in the meantime … #thrifterproblems

  7. Reading along as well and looking forward to a new chapter each week! Really enjoying the Jane Eyre- vibe I’m getting, I love that book. Impressive how you are able to change your writing style across your books!

  8. Love all the blazers in this capsule – I think they’re really becoming your signature item. Nice to see how you kept your signature patterns as well and wore them with florals.

    I really like your idea of ranking your items – I feel like my closet has expanded a little more that I would like it to this year so when I do my annual post-Christmas purge I will try that!

    • Yes it is! It was one of my fave tops for years, but I realized (after wearing this past month) that it’s too big for me now. So I’m passing it on, but I still love it. I have a RR dress that has the same print in the bodice, and I’m keeping it (even though it’s also slightly too big now).

      • Nice. I also really like the print but feel like I never wear it unless it can be tucked in because the front is cut too low on me – since it isn’t uniformly long or tapered but goes up on the sides before being long again in the back.

  10. I’ve got the site bookmarked but each time I tried to use it a month or so ago it crashed my browser (firefox) so I need to try it in IE or Safari as I’ve not read any of it yet!

  11. Love the yellow and red pants-with-blazer combos -but that says more about my style than yours!
    My trick when I’m having a hard time letting something go is to imagine how much joy someone else will have finding and wearing it and comparing that to the very lukewarm feeling I have about keeping it. That usually does it.