This is basically the epitome of “mom uniform”, but I ain’t mad at it. It helps that I like all the individual pieces a lot, even though they’re as plain and basic as they come. I’ve been wearing a lot of neutrals and muted colours on weekends, saving up my brights and prints for the week, and I’m really enjoying that low key vibe. I’m sure I’ll feel differently come summer, but for now, our cruel winter has sent me flying into the arms of warm, cozy knits — style be damned. Sweater on sweater action? I’m all over it.
These chinos are definitely a summer weight, but I was headed to an indoor birthday party on this particular occasion, so I decided to break them out early. They’re a looser fit than my usual skinny everything pants silhouette, and super soft. (Come to think of it, there’s enough room in the leg that I could probably wear my fleece leggings underneath, which would make these pants a winning proposition for all kinds of weekend errand-running this winter. Hmmm …) I like that the contrast band at the waist and calf makes them a little less boring. I’m a cool mom, okay?
Cardigan, Nougat (thrifted); top, Banana Republic (thrifted); skirt, Anthropologie (via eBay); bag, Arcadia (via eBay)I was going through the 2012 archives recently, and was struck by how different my style was back then; at the same time, you can definitely see the DNA of my current style in those old OOTDs — the love of prints, colours, and sparkly things like brooches. The irony was that, even as I was looking at the old blog posts and marveling at how my style had “evolved”, I was wearing this outfit … which would have fit right in with those very same posts. I guess I’ll call it a BCRL revival?
skirt detail other detailsAll joking aside, let’s talk skirt. I hunted this one on eBay for months and months before finally nabbing it at a decent price, right before Christmas. The reasons for my devoted stalking were two-fold. One, I love the print. It reminds me of a Marc Jacobs dress I fell in love with after seeing it on Jess, which I have never been able to find in my size on eBay. Two, I liked the vaguely 70s vibe, which was rather in vogue last year — or was it the year before that? I lose track of these things, and time, really quickly — and which I thought might work well with some other pieces in my closet, both in terms of aesthetic and colour palette. Well, in the time it took me to finally hunt down this skirt, the 70s fell out of favour and the 90s came back with a vengeance. No matter; I’ve never been “on trend”, except by pure accident, and I’m OK with that. I am still really excited to have this skirt and can’t wait to remix it. It *is* rather longer than I had expected (most skirts described as midi fall just below my knee, but this one is a true midi on me), which creates an extra little challenge, but also the opportunity to play around with some new silhouettes. Fun, fun!
Top, J. Crew Factory; sweater, Joe Fresh; pants, Joe’s jeans (thrifted); scarf, thrifted; boots, Frye; bag, YSL (via eBay)
This might be more of a “snooze” for some of you, but I loved this casual outfit so, so much. It was one of those slapped-together-at-the-last-minute looks that turned out nicer than expected. The combination of the cozy scarf (one of the most versatile and practical ones I’ve got) and the chunky sweater gave me the warm & fuzzies … literally and figuratively.
My boots are new-ish, and a Winners clearance rack score. I already have a pair of ankle boots I really like, but I thought a flat-heeled Chelsea boot might be a good addition — and what could be better than (discounted) Fryes? Well, here’s the thing. I like the look a lot, and I have no reason to expect the quality to be anything but good, but I have some reservations about these boots. The shaft is very — and I mean VERY — tight/skinny, which makes them a pain to put on and take off. Most of my skinny jeans are too bulky to tuck into the boots, and even if I get them in, they get un-tucked almost immediately. It means that I have to tuck them into socks first, which doesn’t help with the getting-my-foot-into-the-boots thing and … ugh, too much work. I’m hoping the leather will soften up with age, making this whole process less of a PITA.
scaaaaaaarf!all the neutrals
My bag, on the other hand, is not new. I bought it last year to replace my still-regretted purple version (which, much to my current chagrin, I sold a few years ago) and while I got a great deal on it, it has quite a bit of, um, patina. To wit, colour-fading. The soft, croc-embossed nubuck is definitely delicate, so this is not surprising. It’s what’s kept me from putting the bag through its paces … until the holidays. I wore it non-stop for a week, and loved how versatile and easy to use it was. (I usually keep the straps free, for easy access, and find that there little danger of spillage.) And I came to love its imperfections because I realized that (a) they make it look like a well-loved bag (which it should be) and (b) make me less worried about damaging it.
cozy layers ftw
NOTE: A new chapter of A Temporary Engagement is up, and you can read it here.
