Summer in Winter

Mine is nothing like the examples, and much less unexpected, but I still think it's a cute colour combo. :) 

Out for pub lunch with girlfriends and it is sunny and chilly so wore my red velvet pants, a mauve shirt, blue and white tee layered over, a colourful scarf including red and purple and lilac, and my lilac coat and red bag. Waving at Sal, because hey -- I got to make a bag part of my outfit for all of 10 minutes, walking through the parking lot and into the restaurant before sitting down (and hitching it to my chair.) 

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January Finale and Reflections

Ta-Da! I did it! A month of no outfit repeats, following on SarahDB's challenge. My additional wrinkle was to wear something new and something older every day. By "new" I meant -- mostly new in 2023 or late 2022. By "old" I meant anything older. And for one week, I also tried to keep my palette to blues. Many of you generously commented on those Weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, so I won't go into any more detail than that!

Here are my last 3 days with some reflections to follow. 

Monday: 1-2. I thought I would wear my red pants but it was way too warm for velvet. Got my colour in up top instead. Max wanted to get into the act and photo 2 shows the pattern of the top more clearly. This is a sentimental thing -- a gift of mine to my mother that I took from her closet after she died. 

Tuesday: 3.  Keeping it real. This was a gear day. What can I say. Morning hike and lots of work around the house afterwards. But bonus shots of where I hiked. 

Wednesday. 8 Winter white out. 

Some thoughts

My wardrobe is plenty large enough. I had no trouble coming up with outfits I wanted to wear that were not repeats. I thought I might feel some pressure (because in a typical month, I actually would repeat outfits.) But no. It wasn't a strain at all. On the other hand, there wasn't much I thought I could do without. 

I rarely wore a button front shirt and I wore all my knits, many on repeat. It's January, folks! Around this time of year I always catch myself giving my button-fronts the side-eye and wondering why I even own them. Then, the temperature changes and I remember, so best not to edit too vigorously there. 

I wore all my bottoms except my silver jeans. I did not wear my skirts. No occasion to, really, in a mostly work-from-home month with only one real evening engagement on a day when I had to go there straight from a class. On the bus. So. 

I did not wear much jewellery at all and did not miss it. Unlike SarahDB, I don't seem to want it for at home days, beyond my watch and small stud earrings. 

I did crave more colour. Although I love my blues and my greys/ whites, my closet is still predominantly neutral and in winter, especially, I long for something bright. I would like more patterned knits, maybe, and maybe another pair of bright pants. I do wear scarves a lot in deep winter, but I sometimes tire of them. 

All in all, I'm feeling very comfortable with the closet I have and am enjoying all my fab clothes! I didn't track wears (though I didn't repeat outfits, I did repeat items -- a lot!). But I end the month feeling like I still enjoy everything I did wear and don't need to edit it out. 

Thanks for reading and any thoughts of your own! 

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Winter Blues: January no-repeat challenge, week 4

This week, I added an additional wrinkle -- I decided on an all-blue week. In all honesty, a week of unrepeated blue outfits is easy for me in every season. If I were to try it in any other colour or neutral, I would fail miserably. 

Monday:  1. The Anthro sweater, J. Crew Kate straight leg (an Angie pick), Ecco boots. This one bends my own rules a bit because the only older item was outerwear, which I didn't photograph. 

Tuesday: 2. Old J. Crew merino royal blue zip sweater "hacked" and worn backwards as a cardigan. Wit and Wisdom wide legs. Worn for oral surgery. (OUCH!!!) But the dental assistant was very taken with my fashion hack. 

Wednesday: 3. To meet a client. Ancient stretch silk shirt from Ann Taylor (love this shirt so much!), Madewell vest, blue wide legs. Bonus 4 -- rainbow I saw on my walk later. 

Thursday: 5-6 --  To meet a colleague. J. Crew rollneck, BR straight ankle length pants, Eileen Fisher sock booties, old J. Crew coat and new Pom Pom London bag with a beautiful gifted strap. 

Friday: 7. At home working. Thrifted silk & cotton cardigan, Diane von Furstenbrg. Paige jeans. 

Saturday: 8. I actually wore gear most of the day. ( I didn't photograph it, but it was also mostly blue!). Later, I polished up for at-home supper with Mr. Suz. J. Crew lace shirt, Wit & Wisdom wide legs. (3 wears in a week....luckily this challenge does not forbid repeated items. 

Sunday: 10-11. Cooking supper for a friend in need. Boden striped top, Everlane jeans, Aritzia puffer for the walk. (It, and my raincoat, were my two most worn coats on this very wet, grey, week.) 

I have blue pants/ jeans in multiple cuts and lengths and had fun playing with that. Though full length wide legs obviously won out. I do not have a wide leg crop dress pant in blue and -- believe it or not -- that might be slight wardrobe hole! 

Thanks for looking! Comments welcome. January is a long month! We are not done yet! 

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January Challenge Week 3: Shoutout to Ms. Mary

My challenge is following on SarahDB's "no repeat outfits." In my case, the added twists are: try to wear something old with something new each outfit, and incorporate as many of Angie's outfit formulas as I can. 

1. Monday's outfit is "playful plaid.":    (1-3) This is my version of "Electric windowpane."In my version, grey subs in for earth tones in the cropped windowpane wide legs, and pattern plays a more dominant role than texture -- although textures are also mixed. I'm wearing double plaid (with red plaid boots) and soft stripes (cashmere sweater) with a slightly shiny puffer in blue (which does not otherwise appear in the outfit) and a very shiny bag. Later, I added more texture with the cabled toque, and more plaid with the fringed wool scarf. I loved this outfit and very "me" in it. 

2. Tuesday (4) was an at-home day with cranberry cashmere hoodie, plaid flannel shirt, cranberry cargos and -- at home -- clogs. Not especially flattering in the photo, but warm and comfy. 

3. Wednesday, (5-6) the weather was cold and snowy. I felt I needed to wear sliim pants to avoid the snow piles on my long walk. These are my last skinnies -- I don't feel current in them but they are exceptionally useful in some weather and/or activity situations (e.g. on bike). These are old Kit&Ace and the quality is so fab -- a wool stretch blend. 

4. Thursday. (7-8) Birthday Blues. We had more snow and cold and had to cancel a trip to the mainland and  a special birthday celebration. So we stayed at home and tried to stay warm. BF jeans don't drag in the snow. Shoutout to Ms. Mary for the fab blue infinity scarf. This was a "secret Santa" gift from her, many moons ago and I still adore it for its interesting textures! Thanks, Mary! 

5. Friday: (9-10) Snow, sleet & rain. I can't say how glad I am for waterproof footwear. I was in an evening class that night -- the start of a weekend course. 

6. Saturday. Long blues. (11) Love this very old J. Crew sweater in cobalt. It has a zipper detail down the back. In class all day. I really enjoyed this outfit. 

7. Sunday: Class followed by birthday dinner, belated. (12-14) Easy velvet pants, my way.  The first outfit looks very similar to one a few weeks back, but the underlayer top and the footwear differ. that was for class. Then I switched it up for my dinner out to a silver foil sweater. Loved this outfit, too. 
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I successfully blended older and new in every outfit, easily avoided a repeat outfit (though of course I have repeated multiple items) and incorporated several of Angie's formulas. 

Thanks for looking and for any observations you might have!

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No Repeat Challenge Week 2

 I've joined in with SarahDB on this challenge, and fully agree that it's making depth-of-winter dressing both more fun and more enlightening. My extra wrinkle is that I am supposed to pair something new with something older. So far, I have succeeded in this. 

1-2 Monday -- Lilac and grey, with layered outerwear as per Chris  On the floodplain near my house I saw this still-decorated tree. 

3. Tuesday.  Wide legs and Fair Isle. This was the week when cashmere really did feel like a near-necessity in our neck of the woods. It wasn't brutally cold yet on Tuesday, but it wasn't exactly warm, either. 

4-5. Wednesday was a Heat-tech and cashmere kind of day. We hadn't reached our true lows, but I had to meet someone and sit outside with her for more than an hour. Brrrr! 

7 Thursday.  Now we are starting to get serious....more cashmere. Repeating the pants from #1. I can't remember which coat I wore that day -- forgot to get a photo. But it was likely the big parka, because the temps. were dropping. 

8-10 Friday. Minimally and neutrally coated. Definitely wearing the Heattech! And the big parka for my actual outing. 

11-13 Saturday. Another brutally cold one! This outfit is based on an Angie formula from last year. Winter White Denim. 

14-17 Sunday. After all those neutrals, I was ready for some colour! I played with the coats, and liked all versions, but the reality was, this was a very casual day of outdoor ice skating on the floodplain (!!) and so I actually wore my lightweight navy puffer and my grey toque because it is cashmere and therefore, warmer than my other hats.  

My discovery: When it came to the neutral outfits, I felt more "myself" in the white crops with grey sweater outfit than in the navy and white outfit from the previous day. Is it the belt? Is it the crops vs. full length pants? Is it the lower contrast? I honestly don't know. I don't think one necessarily looks objectively better; this is a matter of feeling. 

Thank you for looking and sharing this adventure! 

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Minimally & Neutrally Coated

Here are two versions of today's forumla. 

I'm wearing a J. Crew rollneck sweater (because I believe those first became a thing in the 90s, if I am not mistaken? and this is a 90s throwback style). Because the sweater is cotton and it is very cold here, I'm also wearing Heattech base layers! 

Wit & Wisdom pants, Sam Edelman boots, Bernardo coat. You can see here, a little bit, how the stance is a bit low for me -- my arms are almost not long enough for the pockets. But they do make it. 

This was interesting for me. I like the version with the coat. But without the coat, I feel too minimalist. I kept wondering how to make it an "outfit" without pattern. (There is some textural interest, but...). Meanwhile, the version with the bag felt like "too much going on" for me. In these little discoveries we find our own style, no? 

My last picture is the real-life version. It is way too cold here today to go out in a wool coat, even with multiple layers beneath. I am wearing my distinctly non-90s (but still neutral and minimal) parka when I venture forth! ;)  

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Denim blue, pink, lilac, bone

Today it's cold here so I am going with cashmere! This is my take on the blue, pink, lilac, bone formula. 

First (because the insipiration is an outdoor outfit) showing with jacket, scarf, hat, bag. Next, the indoor version. 

One thing it might interest you to know about this outfit: it includes pieces from this season, all the way back to some of my earliest items at YLF. The cashmere tee has been an incredible purchase. Those older J. Crew collection items, if you can get them on sale (or second hand), can be fabulous quality for price. 

Thanks for the inspiration, Angie! 

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Formula One (my way)

I loved outfit #1 from today's blog post. I would love to own that dramatic coat! Alas, I don't. But I do have a bunch of options for versions of the outfit and I plan to try them out over the next week. Here's my first attempt. My 23 year old kid gave it the thumbs up! 

I have the slouchy red pants. I don't own a lilac pullover but I do own a sort of lilac-pinkish cardigan. Wearing that over a boldly striped white and blue shirt. I did try with the shirt untucked to come closer to the original but the proportions felt off on me. So I tucked again. I might experiment some more another day. Added a red and blue abstract patterned scarf. White boots, lilac coat, red hat, red bag with a guitar strap that includes pink/ lavender tones. 

Next version will likely have more blue going on. Stay tuned! 

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Red & Bling at Home and Away

I wore the same red outfit to a recent Hannukah/ Holiday party (live music!) and for a festive dinner we cooked for my cousin and her husband six days later. Casual but festive and fun. 

Love the Colettes! They are so comfy and easy to wear. 

Love the Garçonne shirts from J. Crew. I now have 3 of them and am enjoying them so much I would love to add more. They have a fun cut -- slightly oversized in the body, with long cuffs meant to be worn scrunched. 

The Bling is very old Banana Republic. 

I'll probably wear this again on Christmas Day. It's such a fun and easy outfit. 

Oh, and I finally got my hair cut -- it had been more than 3 months and I was going insane!! Decided to keep the asymmetrical longer fringe in front this time. 

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Another packing post

In the keeping it real tradition.... WIW for the last two weeks. 

I'm just back from a 10 day working retreat at a friend's oceanside cabin. Preceded by two days in Vancouver visiting friends. Activities included sitting on my bum writing or trying to write. reading, hiking in the woods, and swimming. Visits with friends included at-home suppers, watching butoh dancers on the beach, listening to the tail end of the folk fest. And more hiking and swimming. 

In other words, this was super-casual. 

No outfit pics because no mirrors. But I will say, I wore every item I brought (most more than once), I did hand laundry for undies and a stained top. It rained for a day and a half, so I did need the raincoat. I also had sun hat and sunnies, of course! 

I wish I had photos of the hummingbird on the branches of the old apple tree, the eagle snatching a fish from the waves, and the flicker who came up on the porch with me and initiated quite a conversation from less than a foot away. 

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