For the last 3-4 years, I have been very particular about only posting outfits I have actually worn, photographed on the day that I wore them. (Hence the iPhone photos, I might add.) It is too tempting, otherwise, to choose outfits solely “for the blog” and, in my experience, those don’t necessarily reflect my authentic aesthetic; once you remove the requirement of “suitable for my actual day-to-day lifestyle”, I tend to veer off into questionable stylistic directions. Ahem.
I broke my rule in this case by necessity, because this is an outfit I wore while at a conference out of town. I took the photo before leaving for the conference because (a) I wanted to make sure the outfit looked good (I wore it while presenting and, hello, I’m vain); and (b) I wanted to have a decent photo of it in case it did turn out nicely. Well … there are iPhone photos, and then there are crappy shot-in-the-blinding-sunlight iPhone photos. Sorry, peeps. Still better than mirror selfies in a dark hotel room, I say. And this outfit definitely deserved a post because it turned out quite nicely. It’s very much Peak Adina, 2017 Edition.
Now, you might be thinking: this doesn’t look very similar to stuff Adina usually wears. That’s true. I don’t always nail this vibe, and I was thinking about why that is recently. I think it comes down to the fact that I rarely repeat an outfit 100%. I know I buy a lot of clothes, but I still don’t buy enough to come up with 5 brand new outfits a week, every week, so there is a lot of mixing and matching going on. Sometimes, the mix hits just the right style note; sometimes, it’s close, sometimes, it’s not so close. I mean, the swings in style aren’t violent, but they’re definitely noticeable some days — and they become more apparent in my monthly recaps where all the outfits stand side by side. Consistency is something that’s becoming more and more important to me … slowly overtaking my love of variety and experimentation. Say, whaaa?
As much as I love playing with clothes, there is no denying that, at the end of the day, there are things I like wearing more than others, and outfits I like more than others. So I am thinking about spending less time re-mixing, and more time refining and re-wearing favourite outfits. Will that make for more boring/repetitive blog posts? I hope not. Some of my fave style Instagrammers have a very specific aesthetic that doesn’t vary much from day to day; maybe if you put all of their outfits next to each other, they might seem repetitive, but individually? On any given day, they look fantastic. In the past, I haven’t been particularly drawn to the idea of a signature look, preferring variety and the fun of trying new style personas, but I think it’s time for a new outlook.
I used to love experimenting, and I still have very different “core aesthetics” that I rotate. But now that I’ve finally found most of those core outfit combinations, I even go so far as to buy the exact same item twice (same color and everything) if I wear it a lot, because life’s too short to a) spend time in the morning coming up with combinations and b) for things to be out of stock by the time you decide to re-buy. It’s worked well so far!
And I have to say, I LOVE this outfit! Super sleek and stylish.
Thanks! I want to develop more cohesiveness in my core aesthetic, because I am finally starting to feel like there is *one* specific aesthetic out there that best matches my personality (versus whatever mood happens to strike me on a particular day) but I am still figuring out the specifics. I think I’m getting closer though, especially with outfits like this one.
I agreed, well said Johanna! This post is one of my favorite outfits you’ve had up in a while. Nicely done!
Thanks, Jenna 🙂
I absolutely love this outfit and think that it hits just the right mix of business appropriate and fun! I also get up in front of groups to speak often (usually 1x per week) and I feel that it is even more important to present that perfect “look” where you feel comfortable, but still look professional.
Yeah, presentation definitely matters for, well, presentations. I always plan those outfits with extra care, to suit the occasion and my audience. This outfit came together quite serendipitously (and easily), which is always nice.