We did it, friends. We survived November, the long prelude to winter. There are 3 weeks left until the holidays. Things are looking up. I know it’s a bad habit, but I am always a little more peppy when I have something fun – preferably involving time off – to look forward to. Still, reminder to self: live and love the moment. Especially now that November is over, hehe.

On to the clothes:

I tried to arrange these in a little collection; first the neutrals, then the colour. I think my favourite outfit of the month was the first one (top row, left) which makes sense because black is still my “power colour”. That being said, because I find November so bleak, I did make an extra effort to brighten up my outfits – hence the second row. I think it kinda helped? I can’t say that I felt very inspired in my outfits, but that’s par for the course for this time of year. As soon as the weather starts to turn, I wilt like the last of summer’s flowers.

I did buy a LOT of clothes this month, largely because of all the amazing finds thrown into my path by the thrift gods (I have only so much restraint, folks); but I also don’t think it was entirely unrelated to my feelings of sartorial malaise. I’ve started selling things again through my Instagram page, which is helping balance out my closet and my wallet. I also sat out Black Friday this year. The last time I went to a mall (back in October), I found it both overwhelming – from a sensory perspective – and underwhelming – as a shopping experience. Every store was packed with stuff, and for some reason, I find it hard to orient myself now around a retail layout versus a thrift one. Most of the pieces I thought were cute – especially the 90s revival stuff – looked like things I could find in a thrift store for a fraction of the price. Sticker shock was real. So I decided to not bother with the Black Friday sales and just keep on thrifting. I do have my eye on a couple of things I’ll probably end up buying at retail as a Xmas gift (including some Commando faux leather leggings, with which I fell in love after thrifting a pair at Value Village) but otherwise my big splurge nowadays is eBay. Let’s just say that I *may* have a pretty significant purchase in the works. To be continued …

5 Comments on What I Wore: November 2019

  1. I think that row 1, outfit 5 is going to need to go on my Pinterest inspiration board because it’s just so COOL! Row 2, outfit 2 as well!

    An opinion: Despite your own sartorial glumness, your outfits captivate a bunch of people and bring them back to your blog, post after post. Pretty sure that your malcontent is more a feeling than a reality. What I see is a lot of refinement of your sartorial voice over time and someone who makes even neutrals exciting. Just a few cents from me (5 or so since pennies are extinct).

    • Thank you for the kind words. I know it’s all definitely a matter of self-perception and it’s tied to the time of year (I get SAD) but it’s nice to know that people get something out of the blog and this community.

  2. Can you add something to November to look forward to? February is my worst month and I have added a weekend in the desert to our calendar.

    • That’s a good idea. November is too close to the holidays (and I have to save up my time off because my office is closed over Xmas) to plan a vacation. I usually just look forward to Xmas, haha. I have a beach vacation planned in Q1, the anticipation of which will hopefully get me thru January, my #1 least fave month.