After the feedback on my last monthly recap post, I decided to tentatively bring back this feature to the blog. I will confess that there is also a selfish component to my decision; I like having an excuse to compile all my OOTDs in a neat little collage. I haven’t been very diligent about tracking my outfits in Stylebook lately, and this serves a similar function. Anyway, here are the outfits I wore to work in August:

As you know, I was pretty pleased with how my July outfits came together; before I sat down to make up the collage above, I wasn’t feeling nearly as good about my August efforts. As I mentioned above, I’ve fallen out of the habit of updating my Stylebook regularly, and my outfit planning has been reduced to brainstorming ideas right before I photograph them. I don’t try on outfits ahead of time, tweaking things as I go; the result is that, sometimes, I am less than satisfied with the way some outfits look in photographs. I then have to re-work outfits after the fact, re-photograph them … lather, rinse, repeat. By the time I actually wear the outfit in real life, no matter how nice it looks, I’m kinda over it.

The answer is probably to go back to the way I used to outfit plan: i.e. start by playing around with different pieces in front of the mirror, until an outfit comes together, THEN photograph it. I got lazy AND complacent, which is not a great combo considering that I’m still working on getting the hang of a new aesthetic.

Anyhhhwaaaaay.

Looking at the collage, I don’t think my outfits turned out quite as badly as I thought they did. Which is always such a nice surprise, and a bonus of doing these recap posts. I think I just talked myself into bringing back this series permanently. Hmmm …

A few random observations:

– Still lots of brown happening. I had no idea I even had that much brown in my closet.

– I’ve been filming my thrift hauls on IG Stories for a while now, but I recently also started doing “anti-hauls” – i.e. showing what pieces are leaving my closet and why. I thought this would give a more comprehensive picture of my ever-evolving wardrobe, and people seem to be enjoying the videos. Also, I like talking through the process, and find it helpful in terms of committing to my decisions. The 15 second limit, though? Haaaaate it. I’m a babbler.

– I think I’m going to try to go back to a more capsule-like approach over the next few months. September is half over, so I am going to start with October. I’m hoping it’s going to push me out of my autopilot mode, and reignite some excitement over the whole process. Dressing is supposed to be fun, after all. Stay tuned …

The Long & Short Of It

This outfit was inspired by @nitrochic on IG (she’s a fellow thrifter, and her style is always on point), but if your mind went to the Cake classic “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” then I don’t blame you, fellow Gen X-er. Because that the immediate association my mind makes when it comes to those two items.

I’ve talked before about my attempts to update traditional silhouettes and staple closet items for my current style; some have been more successful than others. The pencil skirt has been stumping me, I have to confess. I’ve paired it with voluminous tops with okay results, but nothing that felt like a “wow”. This combo – shorter pencil skirt plus tailored longer topper – is definitely making me feel things, though. The extra few inches of exposed skin above the knee feel a liiiiittle bit risqué, but I think they are successfully balanced by the buttoned-up Oxford shirt. I also quite like the subtle pattern mix of stripes (blazer) and geometric tiles (tiles); it livens up an otherwise pretty basic, mostly navy outfit. I don’t even really like navy! That’s some kind of magic there.

Offbeat Friday

The notion that Casual Friday = jeans sometimes feels a little limiting to me. Sometimes, I don’t want to wear jeans to work, no matter what day it is. That concession to casualness might have seemed like a bigger deal when I worked at a law firm, but in my current work environment, it’s much less meaningful. I could have, for example, worn this outfit on a Thursday. And perhaps even on a Tuesday! And I may do that yet, because this is one outfit I can definitely see myself repeating.

It’s nothing fancy, which describes a lot of my favourite outfits, doesn’t it? Paperbag waist trousers are my current obsession, so it’s no surprise to have them pop up again. I’m pretty sure I’ve been wearing them at least once a week for the last three months. This pair from COS is really, really good and worth tracking down on eBay, ahem. Just saying. Wool-cashmere-poly blend? As for this filmy tank + thin turtleneck combo, it’s another repeat that’s too good to, well, not repeat. There are other ways of layering this tank to mitigate its sheerness, but for now this is the option I can’t get enough of. It’s also perfect for fall, so there’s that.

Witchy Woman

On Saturday, I checked out the Elevate Fashion clothing swap co-hosted by my thrift pal Jenn (Life Preloved) and come home with a couple new pieces … including this hi-low MinkPink skirt. I think it’s a skirt. It’s a weird skirt, in any case. It’s pretty see-through, so I’m not sure if it was ever intended to be worn without leggings or pants underneath. But it swishes nicely. As soon as I saw it, I was inspired. I’ve been feeling the witch vibes lately – blame early winter in September – and I thought this piece had a lot of potential. Jenn was not entirely convinced, and I love a fashion challenge, so the very next day, I gave it my first shot. It’s probably not everybody’s cup of tea, but I loved this outfit. It was a bit goth, a bit rock-n-roll, and a whole lotta DGAF attitude. Even the sleet couldn’t kill my mood. And that’s saying something.

Subtle Sparkle

This dress was a truly happy thrift find: brand new (with tags) silk linen, by Lela Rose. I have loved the brand ever since I bought my first piece – a dress from a long-ago Target collab – 4 or 5 years ago on eBay. Lela Rose dresses are the kind of dresses that make you feel lovely; even though I’m much more inclined to go for “interesting” over “lovely” these days, I still can’t resist the brand’s aesthetic. And I still do feel like a million bucks when I wear a dress like this one. Because of the shimmer in the fabric, I was worried that it might be borderline too dressy for work, but the plain tweed blazer (an old favourite from J. Crew Factory) took it down a notch or two. Traditional silhouettes like this don’t typically excite me these days, but there is something undeniably, well, lovely about this particular combo.

Borrowed From The Boys