Blue Collar Red Lipstick

15
Feb
2017

Blue Poppy

Skirt, Anthropologie (via eBay); sweater, Banana Republic (thrifted); necklace, BR; shoes, Sam Edelman (thrifted); bag, Gucci (via consignment)

Look at that: wearing my fave new sweater and my fave skirt, together. You can’t go wrong pairing favourite things. Well, I suppose you can … but even in the worst case scenario, you will still be happy because you’re wearing things you love. If I had to summarize my new approach to clothing, it’s just that. I mean, I’ve never worn things I *hated* per se, but I used to be much more lax in my definition of “love”. It’s probably why, for a long time, I didn’t find Marie Kondo’s “joy” test all that useful; anything over a 7 (on a 1 to 10 scale) would get classified as “joy-inducing” … and I had a lot of 7s in my wardrobe for years. Things that were nice, and useful, and just “okay”.

No more.

I’m all about the best now. The crème de la crème. There are still some straggling “good enoughs” in my closet, but they are mostly placeholders — things I need, and will eventually upgrade, or things I’m keeping for the sake of variety at this point, with a plan to retire them in the near future. It’s a work in progress, but progress is definitely being made. So far, I like how it’s translating into my day-to-day style.

YOLO ... wear a bright bag — YOLO … wear a bright bag

This outfit itself is pretty basic; sweater and skirt, shoes, bag, done. Because there is so much colour going on, I knew that black shoes were non-negotiable. I was also initially going to go with a black bag, but I switched it up at the last minute; this bright red bag hasn’t been getting enough love (and it’s definitely a “joy”-ful one) and it goes well with the red shades in the skirt. The end result might be more colourful than I initially intended but … YOLO, my friends.

14
Feb
2017

We Need To Talk

categories: style

Blazer, J. Crew Factory; top, Theory (thrifted); pants, Club Monaco; shoes, Manolo Blahnik; necklace, Banana Republic

Um, yes. I am indeed wearing culottes. If you have not already turned away in horror and dismay, let’s plunge on. I did buy a pair of trousers that were described as culottes, at least by the sales associate at Club Monaco. First of all, I hate the term “culottes”; it always makes me think of the sort of underclothes that French ladies might have worn at the turn of the last century. Second, I am not entirely convinced that the term is appropriate in this case. I thought culottes were cropped much higher than the ankle. Regardless, this is definitely a “look”, and one firmly outside my comfort zone. I think (and my husband agrees) that photos don’t do it much justice; I swear it looks better in real life, although that’s cold comfort in a blog post. The reality is that, after years and years of skinny pants, it will take a while for my eyes to adjust to a new silhouette.

I ended up buying the trousers (new, on sale though not inexpensive) for a number of reasons. One, my evolving style is skewing more towards the archictectural/minimalist direction, where the cut of things is the key to staving off visual boredom and the goal is not necessarily figure flattery. It’s a strange new land for me, but I’m having fun trying to find my way. Two, the colour is one of my favourites, and a core non-neutral in my wardrobe palette. I knew it would work well with several existing pieces, which makes that whole discovering-a-new-style thing much more manageable.

So, there we are. I am wearing culottes and we are (hopefully) still friends. Happy Valentine’s Day!

13
Feb
2017

Turtleneck Encore

categories: Uncategorized

Dress, BR (via swap); sweater, Club Monaco; shoes, Clarks; bag, YSL

Did you miss my turtleneck(s)? Fear not, they remain a staple of my weekend arsenal, especially since the weather remains colder than frigid. On a (relatively) warmer day, I ended up pulling this old BR slip dress into service, and my (purple, though it’s hard to tell) turtleneck was its perfect complement. Don’t worry, I also wore a coat outside. No matter what retailers are saying, it is NOT spring out there, or anything remotely resembling any season except winter.

My Clarks booties are also still going strong, some 4 months (and 40 odd wears) later. Although I tend to baby my work shoes, I’m not very kind on my “outdoors” shoes so I am amazed by how well this pair has held up. The only problem I’ve had was a lace snapping, which is probably not surprising given how much abuse (cold weather, snow, slush) these booties have taken. They remain my most comfortable pair of heeled boots, and can easily be dressed up or down. They are, however, definitely not “freezing weather” shoes, so I save them for those occasional days when Mother Nature takes pity on us. And spring. When it finally comes.