After the feedback on my last monthly recap post, I decided to tentatively bring back this feature to the blog. I will confess that there is also a selfish component to my decision; I like having an excuse to compile all my OOTDs in a neat little collage. I haven’t been very diligent about tracking my outfits in Stylebook lately, and this serves a similar function. Anyway, here are the outfits I wore to work in August:

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As you know, I was pretty pleased with how my July outfits came together; before I sat down to make up the collage above, I wasn’t feeling nearly as good about my August efforts. As I mentioned above, I’ve fallen out of the habit of updating my Stylebook regularly, and my outfit planning has been reduced to brainstorming ideas right before I photograph them. I don’t try on outfits ahead of time, tweaking things as I go; the result is that, sometimes, I am less than satisfied with the way some outfits look in photographs. I then have to re-work outfits after the fact, re-photograph them … lather, rinse, repeat. By the time I actually wear the outfit in real life, no matter how nice it looks, I’m kinda over it.

The answer is probably to go back to the way I used to outfit plan: i.e. start by playing around with different pieces in front of the mirror, until an outfit comes together, THEN photograph it. I got lazy AND complacent, which is not a great combo considering that I’m still working on getting the hang of a new aesthetic.

Anyhhhwaaaaay.

Looking at the collage, I don’t think my outfits turned out quite as badly as I thought they did. Which is always such a nice surprise, and a bonus of doing these recap posts. I think I just talked myself into bringing back this series permanently. Hmmm …

A few random observations:

– Still lots of brown happening. I had no idea I even had that much brown in my closet.

– I’ve been filming my thrift hauls on IG Stories for a while now, but I recently also started doing “anti-hauls” – i.e. showing what pieces are leaving my closet and why. I thought this would give a more comprehensive picture of my ever-evolving wardrobe, and people seem to be enjoying the videos. Also, I like talking through the process, and find it helpful in terms of committing to my decisions. The 15 second limit, though? Haaaaate it. I’m a babbler.

– I think I’m going to try to go back to a more capsule-like approach over the next few months. September is half over, so I am going to start with October. I’m hoping it’s going to push me out of my autopilot mode, and reignite some excitement over the whole process. Dressing is supposed to be fun, after all. Stay tuned …

10 Comments on What I Wore: August 2018 Workwear Recap

    • Thank you 😊 I’m not the best at Stories but they’re an easy way to do thrift hauls (and I personally love watching other people’s hauls as well)

  2. I’m curious, do you think outfits in photographs are the true reflection of how we look, vs. just looking in the mirror? I just wonder what your opinion is, not because I think it is one way or another, or that your protocol for outfit planning is flawed.

    • I think photographs are better at capturing how we look in real life but of course they are static – some outfits look better/different in movement and photos cannot accurately capture that.

  3. I was looking through your old posts today for some makeup advice. I can’t get to Sephora and I need to stock up on mascara before a trip. I’ll be trying Essence Lash Princess today! 🙂

    Just wanted to let you know that your blog is something I come back to again and again.

  4. I don’t post very often, but I wanted you to know that I am so glad that you’re back to blogging! I love seeing all of your outfits and reading about your thought process. I also love the thrift hauls & anti-hauls. Have a great day!

  5. I love seeing them all side by side like this. I bet you can guess the ones that catch my eye…? Red dress, striped dress with red blazer and of course the mustard pencil skirt outfit which is my favourite 🙂