Blue Collar Red Lipstick

04
Nov
2016

Fall Palette

Jacket, Cartonnier (thrifted_; dress, Leifsdottir (thrifted); boots, Bandolino (thrifted); bag, Chanel (via consignment)

I rarely buy flowers for myself, even though I love having them around the house, but I will buy them for others because it seems less indulgent somehow … and then I will take advantage of the opportunity, and Instagram the heck out of them. I mean, this bouquet was too pretty to NOT do it. It also matched my outfit quite nicely, if I say so myself. Minus the bag, I’m wearing head to toe thrift here. I still love this mustard yellow jacket, and the somewhat awkward cropped length works with this dress, which has its own slightly awkward proportions. Neither is something I would have bought at retail prices, but they’re fun to play with … for now.

The bag is vintage (and consigned) and I go back and forth on whether it’s a forever kind of bag or not. It’s a classic, and it’s cool to own a small piece of a fashion history, but on the other hand, I rarely use it. If I were to sell it, I could buy quite a few other bags with the money … but then my closet would probably never see another Chanel again. Bag collector dilemmas, y’all.

03
Nov
2016

What I Wore: October 2016 Work Capsule

categories: Capsule Wardrobe

October started with a dump of snow, and ended with a very Vancouver-esque atmosphere (think mist, fine rain, and lots of soggy leaves on the ground), and I feel like there’s perhaps a metaphor in there somewhere. All last month I’ve been feeling like I was falling behind on, well, life and I’m still nowhere close to catching up. So many projects, so little time. One of my first priorities this month will be to catch up on editing A Temporary Engagement, because the weekly publishing schedule is getting ahead of me at this point. But with 10 chapters already published, we’re half way there. Anyone reading along still? What do you guys think?

OK, on to the outfits now.

I think it was a pretty good collection of outfits, some stronger than others (or more ‘on point’, I should say) but that`s par for the course. I’ve had good luck thrifting and eBaying this month, and at the same time, I’ve done a lot of work in terms of refining my style and narrowing in on the things I enjoy to wear (and not simply enjoy looking at). The next step is to do another (overdue) closet purge. I’m not looking forward to it; whenever I’m down with a case of SAD (which usually happens this time of year), I feel extra emotional about parting with old things, clothes included. I don’t think KonMari-ing will help this time, so if you guys have suggestions for how to say good-bye to things painlessly, let me know.

02
Nov
2016

Old School Blues

categories: Uncategorized

Skirt, Zara; shirt, H&M (swap); pearls, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Ferragamo (thrifted); bag, Arcadia

I feel like this is such an old school combo — a crisp-collared shirt (with French cuffs, no less) and pearls. It feels a lot more ‘put together’ than I normally manage, but it’s a very simple outfit when you get down to it. I really wanted to wear my old navy midi skirt — remember it? — with my new Ferragamo pumps, and the rest of the outfit just sort of coalesced around that pairing. These shoes are so comfortable (and gorgeous) that I want to wear them every day; unfortunately, they’re quite a lot of `look`, so I have to be careful about the rest of the outfit — and creative, which I don’t really feel often these days. A combination of old school stress and the seasonal change is sapping my will to … well, do much of anything except vegetate. Le sigh. Is it March yet?