The Happy Dress

There hasn’t been much cheer to go around lately, and the snap of brutally cold weather last week did not help matters. I’ve been working from home and generally avoiding being out of the house as much as possible, so my outfits are nothing to write about. Literally. That being said, on the increasingly rare occasions when I do go anywhere (like the office), I like to make an extra effort, weather be damned. Which is how I ended up wearing this beautiful Tory Burch dress on a -30 Celsius day. There is something about this print, and the cut of the dress, that puts a smile on my face. It’s such as happy-go-lucky kind of dress. Not twee, though; I think the black grounds it all, somehow.

Not pictured: the other 20 pounds of clothing I had to layer on top to be able to leave the house. I was still cold, but I managed the brief exposure to the elements without losing a finger or toe in the process. So consider this my F-U to winter, which can hurry up and leave any day now. Seriously.

Out of Doors

This, on the other hand, is what I wore out of actual doors one day last weekend – before the temperature took a nose dive. It was still really cold, though, so I layered a bunch of warm woolen things including my new-to-me alpaca wool Vince sweater — a steal at $8.50. I still haven’t been able to find a heavy-duty winter parka (ahem, Canada Goose, please and thank you) but the thrift gods have been generous in other ways so I can’t complain. Meanwhile, my MaxMara camel coat is still hanging on, 5 years later; bless its heart. Here are some other ways I’ve worn it with jeans:

Return Of An Old Favourite

Some of you may remember this Maeve skirt; I used to wear it a lot. I’ve kept it in my archive closet over the past year, and during a recent overhaul of said closet I decided to pull it out again. Can I make it work with my current aesthetic? It has two strikes against it: it’s a bold, colourful print (which, in and of itself, is not a dealbreaker even if my current wardrobe is more neutrals-heavy); and it’s a pencil skirt. It’s the latter that poses the greater challenge, since I’m still figuring out how to integrate that silhouette into my current outfits. Updating it with a new, non-traditionally cut blazer was my first attempt. I think it’s a perfectly nice outfit, but it’s not very much in line with what I like to wear these days. I will have to look for other ideas … For now, here are some other ways I’ve worn the same skirt:

January is over, hurrah! In fairness, I went into it expecting not to enjoy it, which is not a helpful frame of mind. But, as every year, I feel much better now that it’s over. The days are getting measurably longer again, February is a short month, and we are within sight of the end of the winter tunnel. Did I mention that we just booked a tropical vacation for March? Things are looking up.

But let’s look back for a moment:

The accent colours I chose for this January’s capsule were mustard/marigold and olive. Once again, there is pleasing cohesion to the outfit line-up. The palette overall is a bit on the muted side, but that is to be expected this time of year – though the marigold does brighten things up considerably. I love all the silhouttes and each individual outfit is at least an 8/10 for me; all good progress.

I will say that working from home 1-2 days a week helps a lot – not just my mood (I hate morning commutes in the winter), but also my outfit planning. While I like having a reason to dress up, it’s nice to be able to focus on getting a dozen really good outfits, rather than 16 or 18. I can spend a bit more time on each outfit, tweaking things that don’t work on a first try, so the end result is something I truly enjoy wearing. I mentioned this before but, for me, that’s such a big mood booster.

Because January was busy and stressful, I didn’t have as much time as before to think about February’s colour palette/theme; unfortunately, this is the most important step to a successful monthly capsule in my experience, so we shall see how next month’s outfit line-up turns out. But March is another story! I’m thinking “florals” will be the theme, and I hope you’re as excited as I am for the possibilities. Florals … for spring? I know, but aren’t you curious about how I’m gonna make it work with my current aesthetic? Me too, friends. Me too

Going through old outfit photos is a fun and occasionally instructive exercise. Sometimes it helps me “re-discover” an older piece and see its possibilities anew; sometimes it inspires me to revisit and reinterpret an old outfit formula. I want to talk about the latter today.

Those of you who have been reading here for a while will know that my style has changed a lot over the years, especially since 2015 or so. At the end of the day, though, like most people with a “regular” job/ life, there is only so much sartorial exploration I can do. Most of my outfits are variations of the same half dozen or so basic/common “themes”. What changes over time are the component elements. I thought it would be a fun exercise to do some side-by-side comparisons to illustrate this point.

[Photo on the left is 2015; right is late 2018]

Now, in this case, the 2015 photo is a bit a-typical of my style at the time, which leaned more to the maximalist side. I remember this outfit being a conscious effort on my part to go for a more minimalist look. Even so, there are details that are very “2015 Adina”. The pants are skinny jegging type. Compare to 2018; black pants are still my go-to, but the cut is slightly different – still slim, but not skinny, and with a bit of drape to it.

The sweater is similar – still a slim fit, but with more volume to it, and most importantly, a mock turtleneck. I love me a good turtleneck.

And the shoes! 2015 Adina loved a statement shoe. If the shoes were not a bright colour, they were leopard print. I rarely wore black shoes, and on those rare occasions only with an especially brightly coloured/patterned outfit. My current choice is much more likely to be black or some similar neutral (or a subtle metallic). I have sworn off leopard print (anything with calf hair actually, the shedding drives me nuts). And I love oxford-style shoes — not a thing that was on my radar back in 2015.

[Pic on the left is 2016; middle and right are 2018]

The 2016 photo here is very representative of my previous style, mixing non-neutral colours and prints, and pairing a pencil skirt and blazer. Man, I used to love my pencil skirts! Nothing wrong with them, of course, but I now prefer the midi/maxi skirt instead. The two current photos are good representations of my current style influences. The middle one has a menswear-inspired vibe (the Adventurer type), which I love to incorporate into my current outfits – a contrast to the definitely more “femme” vibe of the 2016 outfit. The photo on the right fits more with my Prince/Artist personas – the clothes have interesting lines, with a minimalist aesthetic. Above all, a darker, more neutral-heavy palette.

Here are two outfits featuring the same skirt, one from 2017 and one from late 2018. Again, this illustrates my move away from the more “femme” side of the spectrum, to something which, while still more feminine than androgynous, is a lot less “cute” and more goth-inspired.

Let’s talk about florals: 2015 versus 2019 edition. Is “sophisticated florals” a thing? Because I feel like that’s one way to describe my current focus. I still appreciate the pattern on the left (the dress was sold a while ago), but it’s not something I feel drawn to actually wear. My challenge these days is to make the right call when it comes to florals; I love them all, but some I prefer to simply look at, rather than wear.

I’m using the same 2015 outfit as above as an example of another common combination: dress + blazer. I used to wear it all the time, and still do – but, again, the pieces are different. I am more likely to choose a less traditional style of blazer, for one thing. I like blazers with interesting details (like contrast linings, embellishments or interesting textures) precisely because my wardrobe is much more neutral-heavy than before. Often, now, my blazers are the statement item, whereas before they were more likely to be supporting players.

Secondly, look at the silhouette of the 2 dresses. One is a sheath-style dress, which was very much my go-to style for years (along with pencil skirts). The Maria Cornejo dress on the right has a much more unusual shape to it, with a cool draping effect along the sides/hips, and an interesting abstract pattern. It totally speaks to my Artist persona.

Lastly, it’s hard to tell, but the shoes on the left are a hunter green; contrast that with the shoes on the right, a neutral taupe.

That’s it for this session of “then this, now that”. Let me know if you would be interested in seeing more!