We are 2/3 of the way there, you guys! And when we get to the end of this blasted 30 x 30 challenge, let’s burn allllll of these clothes, yes? Just kidding.* They’re not that bad, and although I am pretty bored of most of them, I’m not, like, light-a-bonfire bored. In fact, I’m still positively crazy about some of them – these loafers, for example. Who woulda thunk it? They’re surprisingly comfy (not usually a fan of shoes with such a high vamp), and they even more surprisingly versatile. I just have one quibble: the quality.

For made-in-Italy shoes (supposedly), the quality has been a disappointment. I am fairly careful with my shoes, and these are no exception; I’ve worn them less than 10 times, for no longer than 2-3 hours each time, and there are a couple of spots where the patent leather has chipped. I don’t recall banging my feet into concrete walls or having an unfortunate grocery cart incident while wearing these particular shoes, so I’m guessing this would count as regular wear-and-tear. The chips (for lack of a better word) are not very noticeable but I don’t think they’re fixable either. I paid far below the retail value for these shoes, and I still consider this kind of unacceptable; I’d be downright pissed if I had paid the full price. Harumph!

* Except for this blouse. This one’s definitely getting the funeral pyre treatment.

Note: For those of you who are newish readers, and feel inclined to read my blatherings on topics other than clothes – which, particularly as this 30 x 30 challenge progresses, are apt to get tedious – feel free to check out some of my old Friday Flashback features. These were posts I wrote eons ago on a now-defunct blog, and re-published on BCRL in 2012. You can start with this one. Or this one. Whatever floats your boat. And do let me know if you enjoy them – I occasionally miss writing proper posts, and if y’all would be game, I may just get back into doing it … kids permitting.

I have no idea how this turned into a primary colours extravaganza, but it did and it mostly worked. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong with stripes, florals, and red shoes. Probably not impossible, but you’d have to work at it, and ain’t nobody got time for that around here.

Here’s what it looked like without the jacket – which I took off almost immediately because, hello, summer! Huh! I could have sworn I didn’t look this frumpy in person; there is a waist in there, somewhere. But, hey, on the plus side: Good Hair Day. You know how I feel about those.

This is a cute and perfectly serviceable outfit, but it falls on the boring side of the fence I seem to straddle. So instead of talking about the clothes, I will do what is starting to come naturally: distract.

With pictures of my cute, loves-to-ham-it-up kid.

I’m guessing every toddler has an inner Oscar-winning thespian inside, but mine is a triple threat: a dancing, singing, melodrama-on-wheels machine.