What I Wore: September 4 – 9, 2018

Subtle Sparkle

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This dress was a truly happy thrift find: brand new (with tags) silk linen, by Lela Rose. I have loved the brand ever since I bought my first piece – a dress from a long-ago Target collab – 4 or 5 years ago on eBay. Lela Rose dresses are the kind of dresses that make you feel lovely; even though I’m much more inclined to go for “interesting” over “lovely” these days, I still can’t resist the brand’s aesthetic. And I still do feel like a million bucks when I wear a dress like this one. Because of the shimmer in the fabric, I was worried that it might be borderline too dressy for work, but the plain tweed blazer (an old favourite from J. Crew Factory) took it down a notch or two. Traditional silhouettes like this don’t typically excite me these days, but there is something undeniably, well, lovely about this particular combo.

Borrowed From The Boys

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I love the look of a knit vest under a wool blazer; adding the distressed jeans takes a bit of the preppy edge off the whole look. I’ve been eyeing this Pilcro pair on eBay for a couple of years, but ultimately found it at my local consignment store for a steal. I love when life works out like that. This pair seems to be missing a patch, but I don’t mind; I think that adds to its shabby charm. Overall, this is a peak Adventurer sort of outfit, perfect for early fall.

Moss Witch

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You guys know how much I love my velvet sack dress; it has a witchy, boho vibe that I can’t get enough of, and I wish I had more opportunities to wear it. Well, sometimes, you have to make your own opportunities … even if that means bringing your best “moss witch” lewk to family brunch at IHOP. It is a very accommodating dress when it comes to, say, a stack of Belgian chocolate pancakes. All the more reason to love it.

Bonus Outfit

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I was kinda on the fence about including this one in the roundup (hence the last minute addition) but on balance, I think it deserves to make the cut. It’s a little bit boring in principle – pencil skirt and cardigan, how zzzzzzzz — but the details are quirky and make the sum of the parts something more than expected. Maybe a little Helena Bonham Carter-esque? Or maybe I’m just kidding myself, but a woman likes to dream.

Fall 2018 Key Pieces

In recent years, I haven’t been much of a trend watcher when it comes to fashion; information about new trends will occasionally filter through my consciousness because I read a bunch of female-oriented websites (Racked, Refinery29 and the like) where it proceeds to languish, along with the rest of the not-insignificant amount of useless trivia I acquire on a daily basis. With that said, this year, I decided to devote a bit of planning to my fall wardrobe – or, more specifically, the key elements of my fall “stylebook”. I have enjoyed having a cohesive style over the past few months and I plan to stick with it, but I thought this was a good time to tweak it a bit for the new season.

As you guys know, I thrift almost all of my wardrobe. When I thrift, I prefer to go in with an open mind rather than limit myself to specific items; I like to think of it as being receptive to whatever the universe wants to throw my way, and I find it a good way to avoid disappointment. The result of this approach is that I thrift things without regard to the season; I’ve bought boots in June, and summer dresses in December. Sticking to a well-defined set of personal style rules helps to ensure that there’s a rhyme and reason to my purchases, and that each piece fits in with the greater whole.

All of this is to say: my approach to fall wardrobe planning was not to develop a list of key elements from scratch, or in a vacuum. Rather, I started with the contents of my closet, and identified items and silhouettes that would inspire fall outfits, all the while keeping to my overarching aesthetic themes: comfort & coziness; playing with volume and textures; architectural lines; minimal but bold accessories.

Ankle boots

Over the past year, my ankle-boot collection has exploded. I currently have 5 pairs, and just about every imaginable style. I used to wear ankle boots mostly with pants and mostly as “outdoor” shoes. This year, I am planning to try them with everything, including skirts and dresses, and make them a part of the outfit as much as possible. Ankle boots are, by and large, a more androgynous choice than, say, heeled knee-high boots. In the right pairings, ankle boots can provide an interesting juxtaposition to more (traditionally) feminine clothing such as a velvet dress. One of the combos I am very eager to explore is ankle boots + cropped pants. I have grown very attached to my culottes and tapered trousers, and I hope they will look marvelous paired with boots – style AND function for the win.

Leather skirt

One of the best things about fall is the opportunity it offers to play with different materials and textures; you can layer all the things but still “show your work”, so to speak, without having to hide it all underneath a huge parka. As you guys know, I love my knits; I also love pairing them with things like velvet, silk, and leather for a bit of contrast. I recently thrifted a (faux) leather skirt which should add an interesting twist to my outfits. I am still figuring out how to make it work, but I think a chunky sweater and/or wool blazer will be a good start. Speaking of which …

Wool blazers

Tweed for fall? Groundbreaking. In my defence, I have quite a collection of wool blazers, and I have to figure out how to make them look something other than preppy. I am going to start by throwing them over each and every outfit I wore this past summer and seeing what works. I am also on the hunt for some lightweight (knit) vests to layer under my blazers for that Prince/Adventurer crossover.

Knit Cape

Ok, so this is one thing I DON’T currently have in my closet, and am sorely missing. I mean, how cool does this look:

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I have seriously considered trying to knit my own version of this, but quickly gave up; it would take me until next summer to finish and, quite frankly, I ain’t got time for that. So I am on the thrift hunt for something similar; it may be a long shot, but I am up for the challenge.

Cropped Sweaters

Playing with lengths and proportions has been a big part of my recent style exploration, and I want to keep that going into fall. While I continue to love voluminous knits, I am also looking to try cropped ones. I think they could add an interesting twist on some of my go-to silhouettes; for example, I have been rediscovering the long-over-skinny silhouette, and I would like to take it one step further with short-over-long-over-skinny. I also think crop tops would look smashing paired with the higher waist trousers that are quickly becoming wardrobe favourites. I currently have one kinda-cropped sweater in my closet, so I will be looking to expand my collection in the coming months.

Paperbag Waist Trousers

These are actually having a “moment” right now, so I have been tempted to cheat and simply look for them in retail stores; as they have not been a super popular style in the last 3-4 years, I’ve come across precious few at the thrift stores. I am hoping that changes soon. My current COS pair is a huge favourite, so if anyone has recc’s for similar styles across other brands, I would love to hear about it. It always helps to know what to watch out for, after all.

And that’s my list for Fall 2018. I would love to hear what’s on yours.

What I Wore: August 27-Sept 3, 2018

Hello, Fall, my Old Frenemy

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Having lived in Edmonton for more than 20 years, I really shouldn’t have been surprised by this but and yet – here we go again. Fall came early, and I was agitated by that fact as I always am. Why, oh, WHY do you do this to us, Mother Nature? It’s not fair. Humph! *stomps feet like a toddler who didn’t get a cookie.

The upside is: hello, sweater season! Between now and (roughly) May next year, my outfits will lean heavily on the knit side. Good thing I just thrifted another one – I was fresh out and all that. (No I wasn’t.) I already owned this Sleeping on Snow cardigan in a different colorway, but I got this cream version anyway because it’s very pretty and I have no impulse control when it comes to Anthropologie, clearly. You are not surprised.

I ended up trying it with a few options, all of which turned out quite well, but this one (featuring the mustard yellow Tabitha dress I thrifted earlier this year) was the most striking. I don’t love the silhouette – it doesn’t really fit any of my style personas – but I cannot deny that it looks nice. I guess I’ll settle for that 😉

The Comfort Zone

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This is more my speed, you guys. This part-cashmere Vince cardigan is all Grandpa Vibes, the culottes are surely something a Nancy Meyers heroine-of-a-certain-age would wear (so comfy! no fuss!) and did I mention that my necklace is Chico’s? I am menocore, and menocore is me. But here’s the question: is it trendy if a non-Millennial does it? Actually, on second thought, don’t tell me.

Fall Weekend

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You know how people get upset with bloggers shilling fall clothes as soon as the calendar moves to September 1? I have the opposite problem of being irrationally upset when people point out that fall doesn’t start until September 21 or some such thing. TELL THAT TO MOTHER NATURE, KAREN! I think that memo got missed here somehow. Mornings are downright chilly these days – high 40s, low 50s (under 10 Celsius) – and I haaaaaate it. Especially because I fell out of the habit of wearing nylons this summer, and now I cannot being myself to go back to that torture.

But aaaaanyway … this outfit. An attempt to get jazzed about fall via layering. I do like a good layered outfit. This one was definitely good, what with a mix of all my fave things (cool print, chunky knit, leather jacket); also, fleece leggings are infinitely preferable to nylons so there’s that.

But still – fall, bah humbug!