So, you probably haven’t been up at night wondering about this, but I haven’t done a WIW post in a while. It’s cold. Like, bone-crushingly cold. That’s my excuse. I have the winter blues, and I don’t feel like dressing up, and I don’t have to dress up, so … Yeah. I’d much rather browse-shop for pretty things and daydream about the spring when I am going to wear them all. Possibly all at once, because I will be that excited to see a snow-free day.
Anyway.
I did make some efforts over the holidays, so I finally have some outfits to show you.
For a friend’s one-year old’s birthday party, I wore this:
Dress, no label (consignment); belt, J. Crew Factory; cardigan, Kersh; flats, Old Navy
You may remember that I bought this dress after I gave birth to my son, and wore the heck out of it for a while. Then it fell out of favour, around the time I went back to work. It’s not really office material, and it started to feel a bit frumpy. No more. I found it again recently and remembered why I bought it in the first place; it’s comfy, it’s figure-forgiving, it’s machine washable. Added bonus: it’s very stretchy, so it can easily accommodate breastfeeding.
WHAT is going on with my hair?!?
I switched out the fabric belt for a leather one. Can I pause for a moment and show you my gorgeous new polish? Well, I will anyway:
Polish, A England Dancing with Nureyev
It’s from A England’s new Margot Fonteyn-inspired Ballerina collection, and it’s called Dancing with Nureyev. You guys need to see the close-up:
Dancing with Nureyev
Oh and hey – looky here: a bonus pic.
Cuteness overload … except for my tragic hair.
For brunch with a friend (and the family in tow), I wore this:
Blouse, GAP (thrifted); sweater, Joe Fresh; jeans, American Eagle (consignment); boots, Ecco
Key word here: comfortable. It’s how I roll these days.
Scarf, gift; bag, Kate Spade (via Kijiji)
Nails, Nars Purple Rain
The top is an old Gap blouse I thrifted last year, and was about to donate because of its stupid elasticized hem. I was a little sad to part with it, because the pattern is so up my alley … and then I had a light bulb moment. I have been chopping bits of my clothes right and left lately, why not do it again? It worked.
On Christmas Eve, we went to visit my in-laws, and this is what I wore.
Sweater, J. Crew Factory; shirt, J. Crew Factory; pants, Adriano Goldschmied (via Kijiji); shoes, Anne Klein
Basically, because I have so few opportunities these days to dress up, every time I do I just throw together things I really, really love. Whether they actually work together or not is something of a crapshoot, but I take my chances. If I look terrible, I can always blame it on the kids. They have their uses. And if I look less than stellar in these photos, it’s because I was following a family tradition of being sick over the Christmas holidays.
Necklace, J. Crew Factory
My son, on the other hand, looks cute no matter what.
Shirt, Nautica; cardigan, Truly Scrumptious; jeans, baby Gap (all gifts from his doting grandparents)
For Christmas Day dinner with my parents, I wore this:
Shirt, Old Navy; skirt, BCBG; belt, J. Crew Factory
I missed this skirt a lot during my third trimester. Our reunion was a tad bitter sweet; she doesn’t fit as well as she used to. I’m really starting to think that the real issue with my post-baby body is not so much extra pounds, as it is extra width. I think my hipbones might have stretched out, possibly permanently. Can that happen? So, yeah, the skirt. It’s a one-sided love these days.
Necklace, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Nine West
Rings, Winners, Swarovski, Cartier
Last but not least, I wore this on a date night with my husband – our first movie date in 2+ years! We saw American Hustle (brilliant!), and enjoyed a non-rushed dinner out afterwards, courtesy of my parents who generously offered to babysit both kids.
Dress, Plenty by Tracy Reese; cardigan, J. Crew Factory; shoes, J. Crew Factory
I simply adore this dress. It doesn’t look particularly impressive in photographs (and I had to add a cardigan for practical purposes, aka warmth), but it is a gorgeously constructed dress, not to mention incredibly comfortable and flattering. I wish it came in a more interesting colour but, ah, it’s almost perfect. It’s an older style I first saw on Looks Good From The Back, and was lucky to find for a great deal on eBay. I would highly recommend it for … well, pretty much anybody.
Clutch, Rebecca Minkoff
Here is the dress on its own. The front sash-thingie is adjustable, and there is a thinner strap on the left shoulder which provides support on that side. Honestly, it is such a well-constructed dress!
Love, love, love
And here is a closer peek at my beautiful clutch (a Christmas gift from a dear, dear friend who knows all my weaknesses) via Instagram:
Are you following BCRL (BCRLadinaJ) on Instagram yet?
Since closet purges have been a regular occurrence in my sartorial life even before my most recent wardrobe overhaul, there aren’t many pieces in my closet that are older than a few years and mostly unworn. Generally, things I don’t wear, I don’t keep. Some avoid their fate as consignment or donation fodder by being gifted to my mom; and some of those clothes eventually find their way back to me when my mom decides to embark on a closet purge of her own. So it was with this skirt.
By my best estimate, this skirt is about 8 years old. I’m pretty sure I bought it some time during my first year out of law school, either at Winners or at a consignment store. It’s so not what you’d expect from a Tommy Hilfiger skirt, no? Cool print, but boy, is it a problematic skirt, to say the least. The colours, while lovely, are challenging to match, especially in this brocade-like, semi-shiny fabric. The pleated A-line silhouette has never been particularly flattering on my figure, pre- or post-baby. The skirt is supposed to sit at the natural waist, but this size is slightly too big and as a result the skirt slides down closer to my love handle area (ugh, that term!). As a result, the length was on the stumpifying side, being an inch or two past the knee; this, at least, was easily rectifiable.
That’s a heck of a lot of problems for just one skirt!
I had pretty much decided to finally get rid of it for good, when my mom persuaded me to give it one last chance. (We do this a lot, hence the back-and-forth of items between our wardrobes.) I had the hemline taken up, and had a good look through my closet for matching pieces. As you might imagine, my wardrobe as evolved greatly since the last time I wore this skirt (probably 3 or 4 years ago). Does it help?
Yes.
Rather than wearing it with a black turtleneck, I now have a few other options.
Blazer & sweater, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Nine West
Necklace, J. Crew Factory
Tucked in might be better?
… hmm, or not
I think I like this better.
Cardigan & blouse, J. Crew Factory
Shoes, Lauren Ralph Lauren
Ooh, arty pose!
But.
It still doesn’t strike me as a very versatile piece, and I’m not sure that it fits in easily with the rest of my wardrobe. Also, I’m still not crazy about the fit.
You may remember my thrifted Simons tunic from this previous post. That’s a whole lotta print. Probably why I gravitated to it in the first place. But … it’s short. Accidental-flashing-incident-waiting-to-happen short. I bought it when I was pregnant, and obviously miscalculated its length post-baby bump. Regardless, I still love it so I’m gonna make it work, somehow, if it’s the last thing I do.
The short hem line makes it perfect for wear as a “top” with my paperbag BCBG skirt. Which … is tighter than I remember. Umph! Thankfully, it still fits, because I would otherwise have a case of the wardrobe sads – I adore this skirt.
Shoes, J. Crew Factory
Did I mention that I also adore these shoes? Oh, I did? Like, a million times. Well, a million and one now. Blue shoes are da’ bomb. Or whatever kids these days say.
Ring, Coach; nails, Butter London Dahling
I thought this outfit would look more office-ready with a black blazer. Like so:
Blazer, Theory (via consignment)Serious business
But, looking at the photos, I feel like this is a lot of black. A LOT. It kind of drowns out the rest of the outfit. I like it better without, even if it’s still a bit loud for the office.
Take Two: pink + sparkle
Cardigan, Joe Fresh; leggings, Old Navy; necklace, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Target
When in doubt, throw a cardigan on it. That’s one of my mantras, and it rarely fails me. Because this particular cardigan covers my butt, I tried wearing only tights. Bad idea. I looked like I forgot my pants. So I threw on leggings instead. Much better!
Bag, Rebecca Minkoff (via eBay)
Can I take a moment to say how much I love my new Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC? The colour is called Pink Iris, and it’s all kinds of wonderful. I’m not sure why it took me 33 years to realize it, but pink is a totally awesome colour – and if you end up looking like you’re carrying Barbie’s purse, who cares? Rose gold is pretty nice too:
Leggings, Winners; shoes, J. Crew FactoryBracelets; J. Crew & Swarovski; rings, Old Navy & Cartier
Here’s another thing I only recently discovered: fleece-lined tights. How is that even possible? I live in Deep Freeze, Alberta for 6 months of the year, and I wear skirts most of that time. Better later than never, I guess. Fleece-lined tights are also da’ bomb.
Bag, Chanel (via consignment)
What’s that? Am I wearing tights as pants? Ummm … they’re fleece-lined tights? Like, practically leggings? Still no? What if I throw on a coat?
Coat, J. Crew (via Kijiji)
The J. Crew Lady Day coat (thanks, Kijiji!) makes everything look 80% more put-together and less oops-I-forgot-my-pants. And yet.
Guys, I don’t think I can really make this work as a tunic. It’s just too damn short for this 33 year old. I’m pretty sure it’s due for the same treatment as my former DVF tunic. Thoughts?
