Bona fide cute outfit alert. I loved this, you guys. It’s way too casual to count as business formal, but the reality is that, 99% of the time, my job doesn’t really require that much formality anyway. And I’m okay with that if it means I can wear cute things like this. A friend of mine called this “old English professor chic” on Instagram, and then texted to assure me that she liked the outfit. And I was, like, “Are you serious?” Because “old English professor” is totally a compliment in my books. All I’m missing is the elbow patches and the accent.

I did compensate with a wagon-load of bling, most of it on my collars. What’s the consensus on non-matching bling? Wait, don’t tell. It doesn’t matter. I’ll never not love this whole damn outfit. Cheerio!

Unlike most of the photos I’ve taken outside in the last 4-5 months, I was not freezing my buns off for this one. It was warm! And I wore a jacket that doesn’t even close up! With 3/4 length sleeves! Oh, the joy! All the exclamation marks!

Seriously, though, I was super excited to go coat-less on this occasion, and even more so to give this Anthropologie jacket a spin. It’s been in my closet for years, though for much of that time in a sort of purgatory. It’s a gorgeous-looking jacket, to be sure, but not particularly easy to remix. And itchy (for me). And then it became too small. And so it sat in a bag in the back of my closet for the better part of two years, because I couldn’t quite bear to part with it. (It was one of the first pieces I ever bought at Anthropologie, and we all know that I have weird emotional attachments to the inanimate objects hanging in my closet.)

Having lost some weight recently, I decided it was time to give the jacket one more try – and then let it go if I still wasn’t feeling it. And while I like how this outfit turned out, I’m still not feeling the jacket. In fact, I love this entire outfit … just not on me. I still gravitate towards the whole boho vibe for my casual wear, but this particular jacket + dress combo just doesn’t feel very “me”. And I’m ok with that. It’s time to let go. (Both pieces will be up on the Shop My Closet page soon, in case you’re interested.)

Has spring got you thinking about a closet clean-out? How do you decide when it’s time to let something go?

Like 99% of the fashion industry, I have sung the praises of the wrap dress – and, in particular, the iconic DVF wrap dress – more times than I can count on this blog. Let’s take a minute and recognize the best thing about wrap dresses, as embodied in this particular number: they are ever so accommodating. My mom and I have traded this dress back and forth for the last 5 or 6 years, and I have worn it while pregnant – twice. All told, it’s probably covered a swing of at least 2-3 sizes, looking none the worse for it.

But here comes the disclaimer: I’m less enthusiastic about wrap dresses than I used to be. I think it’s because I’m getting older. No, listen, hear me out. The older I get, the less patience I have for any fussiness in my clothes. And wrap dresses have a wee tendency to be fussy. If you want to wear them to the office (and I don’t have anywhere else to wear them), you need either a camisole, or double-sided tape. These days, I refuse to bother with camisoles under dresses (or dresses that require camisoles) because I hate having to worry about keeping them in place, and seam lines, etc. Just no. Double-sided tape is a fine invention and, clearly, I am not above using it, as these pictures attest. But … eh. Apart from the ouch factor at the end of the day, it’s just one more thing I have to remember, and fiddle with, and I just got no time for that. So, the wrap dress: maybe not a must-have after all.

Of course, I’m not rushing out to get rid of my DVFs just yet. A good silk jersey dress is still … a good silk jersey dress. Like, at least a few steps above a potato sack, and pretty flattering to boot, you know?

So, yada yada yada, I also wore a bunch of other things, but you’ve seen them all before. Talk about my hair instead? I’ve been obsessed with Taylor Swift’s new(ish) song, Style. It’s all moody (well, TSwizzle moody) and atmospheric and 80s-reminiscent, and I adore it. The guy in the video reminds me of my new(is) crush, that kid who plays the Winter Soldier in the Avengers movie. (Don’t ask. I don’t know. I think I’ve seen that movie too many times.) It’s this weird convergence, you know? Anyway, I ended up buying Taylor’s whole damn album in the end, because I guess I’m a sucker for 80s riffs, and one of her other songs (Wildest Dreams) reminded me of Lana Del Ray. So then I went and downloaded Summertime Sadness, which is my favourite LdR track for a variety of reasons, starting with the title. [I totally think that “summertime sadness” is a thing; I get it at the end of August every year. Which has nothing to do with anything, but now you know.] On the track, Lana talks (sings? drawls? sing-drawls?) about “big hair, beauty-queen style” and, you guys, that is totally what we have here. 70s-style big waves (actually, third day hair, if we want to get technical) to go with a 70s style icon.

Convergences, man.