Balloons, Away
Talk about sleeve drama, yeah? I have never thrifted a Forever21 piece before, but I had to make an exception for this balloon-sleeve (probably not the correct term, don’t care) top. I don’t even like gingham, but I love me some dramatic volume. I love it enough to pay some preposterous amount ($12, I think? maybe more) because Value Village is nothing if not ridiculous in its pricing; I can say that with confidence, because this top still had its original tags, and the listed retail was $24. I was going to post a long rant about it on Instagram, and then I forgot and more exciting things happened in my thrifting life, and in the meantime, I got over it. I’m fine. I mean, I can’t be mad because look how cute this outfit is! I felt very sassy and yet also vaguely like a medieval page the whole time. I love these stupid sleeves way, way too much.
Long Over Slim
Another thing I’m currently loving (possibly) too much is this whole tunic-over-pants formula. It’s the sort of thing I used to associate with women of, ahem, a certain age; somehow, it now seems totally fresh and even slightly edgy. This could just be a symptom of my infatuation with menocore, I don’t know. In my mind, I am a kind of average-person version of Tilda Swinton; I don’t need to know that I actually resemble your Aunt Kathy who is Handling Menopause As Well As She Can In The Circumstances. Y’all don’t burst my love bubble, okay?
Anyway, how else can anyone wear this Sympli tunic? I love the draping detail of the hemline, but it makes it rather scandalous to wear without some sort of (substantial) leg covering. In the context of a tunic, leggings feel juvenile to me because that’s precisely what my 5-year old wears on a daily basis. Slim-cut pants, on the other hand, seem eminently suitable for an ostensibly mature adult. In any case, it’s a combo I really enjoyed wearing and will probably try to replicate. You have been warned.
Layering Experiment No. 698542
I love this Marni top. Ditto for this Rick Owens turtleneck dress. And, hey, they are even better together. My DYI Isabel Marant-lookalike belt ties it all together nicely. It’s one of my favourite ways to wear this top, but here’s a look at some other examples:
Asking this genuinely, and not in a snarky way: Do you think “women of a certain age” think they too look edgy when wearing those tunics?
It’s a good question. I think I came at it more from the perspective of the fashion industry, where anything that’s popular with women over, say, 40 is automatically discounted as stylish/edge of fashion. The current menocore trend notwithstanding (which anyway is all about Millennials dressing “older”). Long over lean hasn’t been fashion trendy for a while, but it was at one point, and I do see it worn more often by older women.
I assume women wear whatever they do because they like it, and it wasn’t my intent to disparage that.
Anne of Green Gables would approve of those sleeves. 🙂 Love the dramatic hem on the red print top. It’s particularly smashing with the belt as you get a bit of that scarf drama with the hem.
Hmm, let’s not do the age thing.
I’m sorry if my comments came across as ageist, that wasn’t my intent. I guess sometimes my attempts at humour fall flat.