What I Wore: Mid-July 2020

Everyday Best

I will be the first to admit that I am the worst for saving my “good” clothes for “special” occasions. The pandemic has done a number on that concept, since there is nothing more special in my calendar these days than working from home with my own self, and the occasional thrift adventure. My “good” clothes have been languishing in my closet for months, but no more. I have to get over this hang-up and start wearing what I love best all the time. If that means wearing my beloved Issey Miyake skirt for a visit to Value Village, so be it. After all, that’s where I found the skirt to begin with so it’s quite fitting, in a way.

For said visit, I paired it with a crinkle-textured Anthropologie top in one of my favourite colours. I don’t often wear this aqua/turqouise shade, but I love it. I love it enough to get into arguments with people about whether it should be categorized as a blue or a green. I’m Team Blue, by the way. I will not be making any further statements on that at this time, kthanxbye.

ArcHiteCtuRaL

I was thinking about getting rid of this Sarah Pacini knit vest — can you imagine? I hadn’t worn it for a while, and evidently forgot how darn cool it is. It’s asymmetrical and the texture is bananas (and also impossible to capture in photos, natch). It lends itself so well to, ahem, architectural looks like this one, paired with a drapey, potato-sacky dress. I hate using that term in this context, but I can’t think of a better one, you know? It’s all … waves hands around vaguely … cool shapes and stuff. Yeah, that’s it. Architectural, baby.

Vintage Experiment

I decided to buy this vintage Donna Karan topper (jacket? shirt? dress? who knows) mostly because I have a weakness for quality workmanship – and this piece is exquisitely finished – and also can’t resist having a little bit of fashion history in my closet. It’s such a 90s throwback, isn’t it? I bought it without really knowing how I’d wear it, but I decided to give it a shot pairing it with 2 contemporary pieces — my favourite AllSaints ruffled blouse, and faux leather leggings. The top leans into the romantic, feminine vibe of the topper, but the leggings undercut the softness a bit. I like the contrast. I was going to pair it with a skirt, but I will save that for another time.

Always a Rainbow

Y’all know I can’t resist anything even remotely rainbow-adjacent in my closet, so I jumped on this Free People t-shirt. I am not a baseball tee kind of person, but I love the sleeves so much. For the first outfit, I went in a very unsurprising direction, pairing the top with my other “sporty” piece, this Phillip Lim skirt. Stripe on stripe action! It’s fun and casual and a bit cheeky. Maybe not what springs to mind when you think of me but, hey, I contain multitudes, okay?

LBD

Let’s be honest, this is more like something you’d expect me to wear, no? Black and midi length, and vaguely architectural. Does it look like something from a Japanese designer … or a robe you’d get in a hair salon? Hah! That’s the kind of sartorial weird zone I like to inhabit. The dress is actually Aritzia, though for the life of me, I can’t find this specific style online anywhere. I paired it with one of the recent additions to my Rafael Canada jewelry collection, which continues to grow at a steady pace. I really hope my daughter ends up being into brutalism at some point … She did inherit my magpie tendencies, so there’s hope.