Despite my musings last year, I don’t think my winter aesthetic has coalesced into a fully standalone concept. After a strong showing in 2022, this was briefly frustrating to me. But then I remembered that winter is my least favourite season, I spend a lot of time at home, and by the time winter is in full swing – i.e. right about NOW – I am already dreaming about spring fashion. So, I am fine with my winter style merely being a carryover of my spring/summer/fall aesthetics. I have started to think about how I want to tweak those in 2023, and that’s giving me plenty to mull over.
But one thing that I am having fun exploring now, and which is relatively new, is black and white outfits. You may have noticed that I started experimenting with such graphic b&w pattern mixes at the end of last year, but I’m sticking with it for the next while. I haven’t been drawn to all-black outfits for a few years now, but the addition of white (and pattern mixing) is making me reconsider black. It’s also a combination that feels very wintery to me, which makes this the perfect time to experiment. I wouldn’t call this a whole aesthetic – I have no desire to wear only black and white for months – but it’s a vibe.
Here is some of the vintage fashion inspo I’ve been accumulating as reference material:
And here are some of the outfits I’ve been creating:
You will notice that these outfits reflect, for the most part, my other aesthetics; which is why I don’t consider this its own style, per se. Put differently: it’s a different medium, not different content. Like black and white film versus Technicolour. It tests my creativity, though, which is always fun.
For the most part, I am trying to stick with pieces that are already in my closet; I don’t want to go too wild buying new b&w patterned items because I am not sure what kind of longevity this “trend” will have in my life. When I am adding pieces, I try to make sure they are things that will work with some of my other vibes/aesthetics. Examples include: white button up shirt, cottagecore-ish sweater, preppy-ish blazer. I did buy a pair of boldly patterned pants that might not be super versatile … but also might be. One thing I am learning about black and white graphic prints is that they go with a surprising variety of other things.