Category: style

Black Collar, Red Lipstick

Shirt, J. Crew (via consignment); pants, Aritzia (thrifted); belt, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Nine West; bag, Ferragamo (via eBay)
Shirt, J. Crew (via consignment); pants, Aritzia (thrifted); belt, J. Crew Factory; shoes, Nine West; bag, Ferragamo (via eBay)

Confession: I totally mucked up that title by forgetting to wear red lipstick. D’oh! Well, it’s kinda sorta red. And the bag is definitely red, so that should count. The rest of the outfit is super simple, which is just what my maximalism-loving self needs from time to time — a good reset. Black and white is a perfect palette cleanser, but it’s not all Snoozeville up in here. The shoes are a little funky (those cut-outs!) and the collar is a lot funky.

black, white & red
black, white & red
jewels on my collar
jewels on my collar

I tend to avoid white shirts like the plague, because they seem to wrinkle and wilt as soon as they come within a mile radius of my body. Not to mention, I’m a spill-prone klutz. This shirt, however, was too cute to pass up for $18 (at My Favourite Aunt’s) because of that adorable collar. The cut of the shirt is masculine enough to balance out the twee-ness, which is great. The only downside is laundering; white + embellished collar equals extra work for this reluctant domestic goddess. My process involves spraying the inside of the collar with Oxyclean before hand-washing with care (to avoid wrecking the jewels). It’s effective but more time consuming, and I’m lazy … so this shirt had better live up to its promise.

plain & simple
plain & simple

Fancy Pansy

Dress, Paul Smith (via consignment); blazer, Zara (swap); shoes, Sam Edelman (thrifted); bag, Gucci (via consignment)
Dress, Paul Smith (via consignment); blazer, Zara (swap); shoes, Sam Edelman (thrifted); bag, Gucci (via consignment)

It is surely no secret that I love florals, but not all are created equal. In my hierarchy of favourite flowers in print form, pansies are pretty high on the list. They’re so lively and colourful. Needless to say, I was immediately drawn to this Paul Smith dress; there is no mistaking the flowers on it, although the print itself is somewhat abstract. As much as I love pansies, that is a good thing; it takes the dress away from whimsical territory.

Here’s a better look at it:

sans blazer
sans blazer
midi dress for the win
midi dress for the win

The dress is made from that uber-soft jersey that drapes nicely without clinging to jiggly bits. It feels like pyjamas, which is always a nice feature in a work dress. I am crazy about midi dresses at the moment (in case you couldn’t tell from my recent posts), and I like that this one has a slim silhouette on the bottom half to keep things from getting too dowdy. The sleeves are also a nice touch, since it means that (a) I can wear a topper without getting all bunched up in the arms; and (b) I can take off my topper in my office without worries.

For work purposes, I typically need to add a blazer to my dresses and I picked this Zara one to accentuate my waist. The slightly flared peplum is lovely, and the waist sits just right for a dress pairing like this. As I had to attend a client event in this outfit, I kept the accessories very understated, but I am looking forward to exploring the colour mixing possibilities of this dress.

ready & cinched
ready & cinched
gives good side-view
gives good side-view
lovely floral
lovely floral

What I Wore: March 2017

March was a long month, but seemed to fly by. It’s hard to believe that we are already in Q2 of 2017. On one hand, I am happy because it means that summer is almost here, and summer is my favourite time of year. Also, vacation time, baby! On the other hand, time needs to slow the heck down because at this rate my kids will be teenagers in the blink of an eye, and I AM NOT READY. I am still struggling to process the fact that we don’t have babies anymore. My daughter, the “baby” of the family, is very much her own person, with very definite Ideas about Things, which she is not afraid to share, invited or not. That includes clothes, by the way — her own and mine. I walked into her bedroom the other week to find a perfect flatlay of her choices for that day’s outfit. I haven’t actively encouraged her interest in clothing, so it’s amusing to me to see her develop it — presumably from observation. Well, not the flatlay part; that’s a skill she certainly didn’t learn from me, as my Instagram can attest.

Anyway, here’s some clothes I wore (and did not attempt to flatlay):

one, two, three
one, two, three
four, five, six
four, five, six
seven, eight, nine
seven, eight, nine
ten, eleven, twelve
ten, eleven, twelve
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen
sixteen, seventeen, eighteen
nineteen, twenty
nineteen, twenty

Although there are certainly some less successful outfits in the lot, I am quite happy with most of them. There was a lot of joy being sparked, KonMari style. Strangely (perhaps), I feel like some of my non-favourite outfits were the result of deliberate attempts to re-mix statement items a few times throughout the month. I think this might be a process issue; creating outfits based on “set” list of pieces is different than creating outfits purely based on what combination sparks joy at a given moment, and perhaps that affects the results. I’m tempted to abandon any and all attempts at a monthly capsule, and take a more free-form approach to outfit planning in the future — even if that means never re-wearing the same dress or skirt in a given month. After all, that should count as a perk of a large wardrobe, no?

For a fun comparison, here is what I wore in March 2015, and March 2016.