What I Wore: March 31-April 5, 2019

Return of Vaguely Edwardian Goth

When one thrifts a frilly shirt, Edwardian Goth is on the menu, you know? In fact, it’s the whole menu. This H&M blouse is not my most versatile choice, but it really suits this particular niche in my aesthetic, so I had to grab it and play with it. It’s going to be interesting to see if I can update it for a more modern vibe, but it works in this current context very well. This was quite a popular outfit at work – which is to say, my boss/friend told me I looked really nice on two separate occasions – which makes me happy because it’s certainly on the edgier side of business casual.

Jolly Green Shorty

I thrifted this Workhall dress back in February and can you believe that I was able to wait this long to wear it? And they say I have no patience, pfft! All kidding aside, this is a really nice dress – falls nicely, feels comfortably roomy, and doesn’t require special laundering. What’s not to love? The colour is somewhat outside my comfort zone; it may seem strange, but I struggle with finding shades of green that feel right, so I tend to just avoid the colour altogether. This shade is pretty good though. It’s bright but doesn’t make me feel squirmy in my own skin – know what I mean?

Whenever I wear green, I tend to default to black as my neutral and … no surprises here. This Sarah Pacini vest continues to be one of my most beloved wardrobe pieces; it goes with everything. The outfit as a whole is as basic as they come, but it’s the details that make it special. The sheen of the leather (with pleated pockets!), the draping of the dress fabric, the statement necklace.

Navy Surprise

A while back, I realized that I don’t love navy nearly as much as black; faced with both, I always pick the latter. I decided to avoid the unnecessary duplication of staple pieces, so I cut navy as one of my staple neutrals. And then … plot twist! I spotted this pair of navy Cartonnier trousers at another vendor’s booth at the Wardrobe Exchange secondhand market a couple of weekends ago, and decided that I needed them in my life. This is my current preferred style of pant, and these were only $20 … look, I’ve made worse decisions. I may have been influenced in that decision by this coral-and-navy Joie top I thrifted a while ago because it was on sale ($3!!) and because it was the middle of winter and the pop of colour looked so nice … Ahem. So, basically, another impulse decision. This is starting to sound worse and worse, not better, yeah? One impulse decision driving another one – oy vey! But, hey, the resulting outfit is a really, really good one, yeah? So let’s just focus on that.

Mod, Baby

The Joan Watson Effect remains in, well, full effect. I’m still experimenting with shorter hem lines, so when I spotted this faux suede Wilfred shift dress at VV for $7, I decided it was worth a shot. Apart from the length, the texture was a bonus – I like mixing different materials, especially in unexpected ways. And I am starting to rediscover brown. I spent years avoiding it like the plague, but I am finding myself drawn to it a lot lately, especially paired with black. This outfit is a good example of how nice that can look. The Zara coat and Tod’s suede boots are both thrift finds, and each add a bit of flair to the “lewk”.