Pix-Elated

I have to make a quick 3 day trip to Vancouver which will include multiple kinds of activities in --- ugh -- not only. dreadful, but mixed-up weather (winter cold plus pouring rain and then warmer with rain.) And I am on foot/ ferry, and have to bring a few gifts to friends. And also need to go for a walk with one friend in the rain and then meet another immediately afterwards for dinner, hopefully not looking like a drowned rat. 

I have no idea whether this is going to work, but here's my travel capsule. 

I'll be layering like a pro -- wool cami under mesh top, with puffer and raincoat (and possibly a sweater as well, depending)...wearing waterproof boots for everything. Holiday reds planned for tomorrow but in the blues today....plus red for the trip out -- gloves, scarf, puffer under the raincoat...would far prefer a different coat option but this is the best I can do in the mixed conditions. I have an umbrella, too. 

Continuing my experiment with monochrome and tonal outfits. Blue is my easiest neutral/colour to work with because I have the components, in multiple silhouettes and textures. Here are a few options drawing on some newer items as well as older items. 

Outfit 1 (different versions, pics  1-5) features the new pleated wide wide legs from BR along with a matching mock neck. The trousers are so comfy! Lovely to wear. Highly recommend! 

This is pretty much monochrome, except for the belt, which is called Dutch blue (a slightly lighter, warmer blue) and of course the buckle.

I then tried it with different outerwear, more tonal than monochrome, but kept the bag blue (thank you, Angie) to see how that might feel. Verdict: despite being dark, monochrome ink or navy feels very "me" and I am comfortable wearing all blue, assuming I can add a bit of shine. If I have to wrestle together a travel capsule, a base of navy is my friend. 

Notably -- the addition of the slight bit of contrast with the bag strap, and/ or the flecks of white in the infinity scarf (thanks, Ms. Mary!) made me much happier with the outdoor version of this outfit. Monochrome or tonal is fine...but I still like a hint of contrast via light/ bright, or shine. 

Outfit 2, (pics 6-9) shows the same mock neck in mid-blue, with my new wide leg flocked menswear pants from Anthro. How I love these trousers! They are floor skimming with the black Eccos and a bit too long with the silver boots that I also tried. I probably should hem them, but oh, I love the drama of the length and might just leave them and wear with the footwear that works. I have at least 3 options to wear with them at this length. 

The trousers are dark navy with a faint grey/white check, and black velvet flocking. Fun texture, a mix of femme and boyish that feels completely me. They are probably meant to be dressy, but I will dress them down a bit, too -- as here, or with denim. And they're super comfortable! This was to wear for an at home date night. I didn't try to play around with outerwear for this version since I wasn't going anywhere. 

I'm learning a lot about my preferences from this experiment and also trying combinations I might not otherwise have tried. 

Yesterday dawned foggy and cold and ended up sunny and cold. I needed to bundle up to ferry Mr. Suz and the adult child to various appointments. 

After one day of greyscale, I was ready again for colour! Here, I'm trying tonal lilacs, with colour wheel adjacent reds/ and pink hues and incidentally also showing a few Top Picks (from various years!) 

1. For outside, I have my J. Crew stadium coat, plus burgundy hat, scarf, gloves, and red bag, with a strap that combines the tones. Shoes are cream. The pants are actually a very different lilac -- closer to mauve -- and on first glance I did not think they would work at all with the bluer lilac of the coat. But once I had the whole thing on, it seemed to blend ok, at least to my eye. That was a good discovery, because I really would not have tried them together if not for this experiement. 

2. Taking off a few items. 

3. The inside outfit -- sweater is a different again lilac background (closer to pink) with red and burgundy pattern. 

4. This is another lilac tonal outfits worn since buying the pants. The sweater is magenta; the scarf has various tones of lilac, red, burgundy, magenta in it. 

5. Here's the near monochrome version with the BR sweater. I did not wear this in real life because I sent the sweater back. I decided that a whole outfit this pale just didn't feel "me." I need a lilac that is more mid-tone, that has a bit more "oomph". Plus, as an outfit, this felt "off" for me. A bit too sweet for my personal taste. I do like lilacs and pinks but prefer to mix them up with rougher textures or other colours because otherwise I don't feel like myself in them. 

Taking inspiration from DonnaF's  thread about sweater vests, and one of Carla's comments on my thread of yesterday: "When I did a lot of quilting, we talked about patterns that read as solids, and how much interest low contrast or tonal prints added to a composition. Of course it would be the same with garments! Maybe even a good thing, where texture is lacking?"    

Well, let's see. Here, I'm trying it in greys. This is something a bit tricky for me. Grey is a key neutral and looks good on me (I think) but I can easily depress myself if I wear too much of it, especially this time of year! But the sun is supposed to come out this afternoon, and I have to ride my bike downtown. I wanted something practical. 

The pants are charcoal, not black, and they have a faint check in a lighter grey. The shirt is black and white gingham that can read as a false plain (but gives me that pop of light that I crave). So it's a very subtle pattern mix. The vest is medium grey, as are the boots.

Strangely enough, I do not own a grey coat (I donated my two older grey coats in the last few years. They still fit and were in good condition after a decade's solid use, but I was so tired of wearing them.) This oyster jacket has a slight grey cast and is the best I could do for greyish outerwear. If I were not trying this experiment, I would certainly have reached for the red jacket instead! 

If I weren't on my bike, I could have worn different boots for perhaps a bit more pizzazz. But I do feel very much myself in this outfit -- it does fit the Laid-back Luminous Garçonne persona due to the boyish nature of the vest and shirt, I think. 

Here's a collection of other items I can play with in greyscale. If i veer toward pure white, I would have more. 

I welcome comments and co-experimenters! 

Following up on SarahDB's recent thread, and less directly, on Sal's, about influence (because even if I don't follow any influencers, I can't help but have noticed all the neutral tonal outfits out there on the internet....) I've decided to try to experiment a bit with tonal dressing to see whether or how it might work for me. So I'll be making some posts like this periodically. 

I think I'm a natural contrast dresser. I mean that's my fall back. Maybe because "a pop of colour" was in the air (or on my mother's lips) when I was a kid. Who knows? 

Anyway, I was interested in Brooklyn's comment: "To me tonal dressing is more soft and moody. While contrast dressing is more fresh and punchy." That makes a lot of sense and explains why tonal outfits can read as effortlessly elegant or sophisticated, especially in soft or dark neutrals. 

On the other hand, fresh and a bit crisp or punchy are pretty good descriptors for my style (and gamine style, more generally) so maybe it's understandable that I would reach for some contrast as a rule, even though my own personal colouring is fair and quite low contrast. 

But then I got thinking about Angie's experiments with bright tonal looks over the past few years -- hot pinks with reds and/ or oranges, or burgundies with brighter reds, various greens together....that kind of thing. Those definitely don't read as soft and moody to me -- they are very playful or punchy. Yet at the same time, they feel very "pulled together" and modern. 

Where does that leave the Laid-back Luminous Garçonne? 

I can make tonal outfits pretty easily with my key neutrals -- blue, grey, and white. All grey (without white) depresses me too much to wear very often. Tonal blue outfits are fine, even good...but I usually feel like something is missing -- I may lack the textural variety in my blues unless I include denim -- I'm not sure. (Experiments to come!) Up until now, my most successful neutral tonal outfits have been versions of white-out. I really like wearing whites and ivories together and it works well on me. Is that because white is bright? Hmmmm? Maybe. 

In the past, I've lacked the bottoms to make tonal outfits in a colour vs. a neutral. But now I have red, burgundy, and lilac bottoms to try. And I plan to do just that! Today's experiment is with red. 

1. Starting with the Everlane sweater, Collette crops in velvet, and my black Eccos. I'm also wearing a burgundy watch band and garnet earrings. I have some variation in colour and texture, but it does not feel like a complete "outfit" to me. 

2. Taking a cue from Brooklyn's comment that you can use prints and dress tonally if the background of the print is in the dominant family, I  added a scarf and now it feels like an outfit. I wore this to a friend's book launch the other night and got tons of compliments, especially considering she was also wearing red and her book cover was black and white with red accents. :) 

3. Another option -- a tonal strap for the bag. 

4. Scarf and bag strap -- does that make it less sophisticated? Too much going on? 

5. Ah, the pop of colour sneaks in via a bag.... this is very "me" but is it tonal? Maybe if I had mustard boots to go with...but alas, I do not....

6.Cranberry coat. 

7. Add a red cloche and gloves....

8. Casualize with puffer and red plaid boots. 

9. Add a burgundy hobo. 

Overall, I felt like "me" in a red tonal outfit and -- oddly, perhaps, but perhaps also proving Brooklyn's point -- wearing all red felt less "in your face" than wearing red with my white jeans, for example (two brights). (Photo 10) For me, the latter is just a bit much -- I mean, I wore it and liked it, but it was for a very casual day at home. And it felt more casual and less sophisticated. 

I'd love your thoughts or impressions. Have you tried tonal dressing in brights? Have you tried it at all? Do you think you will? 

A few of this week's Fab Finds have found their way into my closet. In case anyone is looking, here's the Everlane sweater. 

It's a mix of alpaca and other fibres. I was not sure I could wear it, due to the potential itch factor -- and indeed, when the weather's very damp, I need to put a full tee under it. When the weather is less damp, a cami is fine. It's beautifully soft and light as a cloud (hence its name) yet it is warm. It drapes and has dramatic and feminine sleeves. Yet they collapse easily under a jacket. I think it's worth a try excet for those who are extremely sensitive to fuzzy wools. 

For me, it is a replacement for my old Club Monaco sweater with dramatic sleeves (photo 3). That one had a ruffled collar (here, turned under) that I did not care for, and was quite heavy for my current climate. 

Sorry for the lighting! 

Hi, all -- my wardrobe is in a pretty strong place, but my mission this fall/ winter has been to replace/ upgrade some knitwear. Most of my knit tops are between 5-12 years old. Many are still going strong and I don't intend to let those go, especially the pricier J. Crew and Boden cashmere sweaters, all of which remain in decent to excellent shape. (Yay for relatively non-pilling knits! As we all know, there is no predicting about that, but I have been pretty lucky in many of my choices.)

However, much as I love my older knits and value their durability, I have to admit I'm a bit tired of some of these sweaters. Most are fluid fit/ longer and while they work well semi-tucked as sweater-tees, that's not always the look I am going for with higher waist jeans and trousers. Moreover, I find cashmere a little harder to wear out here on the west coast. Or rather, perhaps it's more accurate to say that my season for cashmere is a bit shorter, especially if it is heavier weight. I often find merino works better in this climate, or other blends. 

Anyway, I've made a few new purchases already this season -- an Ann Taylor cotton sweater and an Everlane alpaca, and a J. Crew polo collar cashmere -- but I have also been scouting sales for a few more options. Here are a few from BR, plus a pair of trousers I'm considering. 

A note: I am not currently at home and only had one pair of footwear to try, and could not do a whole lot of outfit styling -- these are just try-ons, not fully styled outfits. 

First, the Sienna trouser. My review. This trouser is lightweight 3 season wool (in my climate), double pleat, very wide leg, and high waist -- a real Katherine Hepburn type trouser. It is beautifully made, truly, with elastic waist adjustment inside (you can wear it higher or lower on your waist, to a degree) and many other lovely features. There is seam allowance at the hem if I wanted to let these down to become "pooling pants." (They would actually pool on me as is, if I wore with sneakers.) There are slash pockets as well but I haven't opened those up in case I don't keep. These are a tiny bit creased from packaging but if I hung them up, those creases would drop out in a minute. 

Sizing: I took a risk and tried petite (for the length). Typically, despite my borderline petite height, I can't wear petite pants because the rise is not long enough for me, but I figured in a style this loose, that would not prove a problem. This proved true. Also, I sized down. They are a perfect fit. At the sale price, they are a great price. My only question is whether they are just too much! :) 

Note: there is also a pinstripe version which looks fantastic, but it is not currently on sale and reviews suggest that the fabric is thicker and does not drape as well as the solids. FWIW. 

I am inclined to keep...except...if the trend is away from wide legs and high waists, will I get enough wear from these, do you think? Maybe I should put this money into a pair of nice wool cigarette pants. :) 

Merino sweaters. BR currently has a few styles in ribbed merino and they are lovely, lovely quality! Not at all scratchy, and quite warm. They are on the body con side (due to ribbing) and they all have very long sleeves with a sort of V (so it looks like a thumbhole sweater when extended) but you can also easily roll up the sleeve if you don't want that feature. I tried a few styles -- the mock neck and the polo collar. I am considering the colours here. This blue is warmer than I typically wear, but I do think it works, and I like it. I also ordered the red to try, but it has not arrived yet. The mock neck stands nicely on me -- it doesn't collapse, as on the model. The cream is possibly a bit warm for me (thoughts?) and I might want to size up in that style -- so I have ordered grey in a size up to compare. Would love your thoughts! 

Cotton-silk blend sweater. I ordered two of these, one in my regular size in lilac and one a size down in the stripe. At first I thought I would just keep the lilac, but looking at the pics, I'm not sure. The sleeves are very long on these, but the cuffs can be rolled back neatly. In my regular size, the sweater is a bit boxy, but nice. Obviously, I wouldn't wear it out with these pants -- I'd choose different bottoms to wear it that way.

Quality is gorgeous! The silk component makes the sweater drape and gives it a hint of sheen. Now, looking at the stripe, I quite like that one as well -- it looks more like a traditional welted sweater on me, a neater, more tailored fit but also nice? 

I can keep any or none of these -- all are returnable and they are within the budget. I'd love to hear your thoughts! And I hope these reviews may help others in the market at the moment. Thanks in advance! 

and Colour, Pattern, Texture, Shine! 

Is this "older and bolder"?   

My kiddo is turning 25 today and we are going out for dinner. Time to break out a few new items from Anthropologie (and some very old items also.)

This also brings up the issue of duplication. Twice! :)

But not anxious duplication. Considered duplication, I think I'd call it. 

My new items: Colette crops in lilac pleather. Last year, I bought the red velvet version -- and I adore them. For the last few years I have been trying to increase colour in my closet, as well as texture. These seemed like a natural choice. I've already worn them twice (in four days).

In this version, I sized up one size. Angie has often mentioned that the different fabrications of this pant fit on quite differently, and that was my experience with these. (I took my regular size in the red.. I didn't want the pleather to be too tight.) The Find would not come up in the lilac but you can see the actual colour in the photo or if you click through.

Velvet shirt in a moody dark floral pattern. The background is navy. In many Anthro items I have to size down to get a fit, but in this top I took my ordinary size for a very slightly oversized fit. I like the fact that the sleeves can be scrunched and stay put, and also the navy backing on both cuffs and collar is a nice touch. 

The older items are my Ecco booties. I purchased them first in the cream, which I adore. And then decided to duplicate in the black patent when they went on sale. I wear both frequently enough to justify the purchase. I am also considering a back-up pair in cream (anxious duplication) if they go on sale again this year. 

My Pom Pom bag in silver. Another considered duplicate: I bought it on super sale and got two for pretty much the price of one. 

One of my oldest pieces of clothing, bought in my first season on YLF -- cranberry knee-length coat. Still going strong. 

Thanks for looking and for any thoughts. Are you working on adding colour or texture or some other quality to increase the zing factor in your closet? How successful have you been so far? (Confession...it has gone slowly for me, having been a goal at least these past four years....but I'm improving things.) 

The long range forecast tells you one thing -- but you get something entirely different! On a recent trip to Ontario, I experienced this twice. I spent the first few days near Toronto with my brother, where the weather was much colder and windier than predicted, and despite having packed layers, I nearly froze on our lakeside walks  Next came a dressy-ish evening work event in Toronto. I wore a "suit" of my blue knit jacket, silk blouse, blue wide legs, raincoat, and cream boots and felt appropriately and comfortably dressed for the occasion.  Then I left for Kingston for more work and visits with friends. There, the weather was a balmy 18-21 and sunny most of the time, and I was often too warm! 

Still, it was glorious to walk along the lake and check out the autumn colours. 

I took a leaf from Dee and aimed for the 3x3 capsule (3 bottoms, 3 tops, 3 toppers -- aside from activewear) but in the end I added more mid-layers (i.e. sweaters), and was glad I did. 

The new boots were excellent for comfort except for when I wished I had something other than boots.  The runners are my active-wear ones, meant for long walks or hikes or jogs, not fashion. But because my only other choice of footwear was ankle covering, I was often too warm and and had to rely on the sneakers in a few situations where they didn't look particularly good with the bottoms. I wish I'd brought my blue oxfords instead. The velvet pants were also not the best choice.

Oh well -- live and learn -- maybe? 

How do you manage packing for transitional weather? Any great (or awful) experiences to share? 

The last time I was at Butchart Gardens, the pandemic was in full swing and I could wander its pathways almost entirely alone.  It was glorious! 

Yesterday, I met friends there for high tea and while our tea was delicious and very fresh and it was fun to sit in the old house, which was closed during the pandemic, the gardens were packed with tourists taking selfies at almost every opportunity! Consequently, I didn't get many good photos. There is supposed to be one of me and my friend (taken by her husband) but he hasn't forwarded it. Photo now of the tea and me and my friend! Notice how our outfits were colour coordinated. We did not plan on that. But we do wear very similar colours, despite our different complexions, and these colours suit us both equally, I think. 

Nothing new here except the jeans are a this year purchase and they confirm the good sense in Angie's advice to consider current or trendy bottoms. 

Despite the crowds, it was a beautiful day and the dahlias were stunning!