Pix-Elated

I had to laugh at myself, getting ready for this event yesterday. It was something between a "gallery opening" and a lecture, held in our country's oldest synagogue. (Friends were part of the study group that responded to a rabbi's lecture series with works of art in different genres/ forms.) But, ahem, I didn't exactly show April's New York sophistication and aplomb and drop dead killer style.

Sigh. Instead I reverted to blue and white type, which made me think of Kkard's recent post about how consistent her style has been over the years. I guess I am similar in that way. I felt similarly preppy yesterday, too, and wondered at how that translates into this west coast setting. 

But honestly, it was hard to know what to wear. I knew the event was not going to be dressy. (Nor was it -- the rabbi was in jeans and tee.) The temperature was still summer hot (daytime exhibition and no AC). I tried on and discarded a bunch of options before deciding just to be comfortable and neat and not worry too much about it. 

So here's what I wore, my "fragment of fall" being the transitional shoe, the loafer that I kept from the NAS. And the sweater thrown over my shoulder (and then stuffed in my bag, unneeded.) 

Loafers are always a near impossibility for me. And I only walked about six blocks and stood for a while. But so far, they pass the test!! Mind you, I did not wear socks. If I tried to walk further, I'd have blisters, for sure (and yes, I did use bodyglide). And if I wear socks, they will likely flip flop off my feet. But for this occasion, they worked and felt like a fun update of my usual jeans and shirt. 

I really like these super baggy Old Navy crops. They are fun to wear. Baggier on me than on the model in my regular size. 

Jeans: ON, this year.
Shirt: J. Crew from....I dunno, maybe 2012? 
Sweater: Diane von Furstenburg, consignment
Loafers: Franco Sarto from this year's NAS

Confession time: I would never have thought of Talbots except for Angie's post. But you know what? Ten days ago the zipper on my favourite Mexx white shorts finally broke. They are eleven years old (from my first year at YLF!). I think I can get them fixed, and I will if I can, because believe it or not, apart from the zipper, they are still in fantastic shape. But in the meantime, I've been going crazy without a pair of white lightweight shorts (my denim ones sometimes feel too heavy and because white shorts are a wardrobe essential, with only one pair I end up with laundry bottlenecks). I had already searched (online) in all the usual places and had come up empty handed -- either they didn't have white shorts, or didn't have the style I wanted or the fabrication or my size, or the cost was astronomical, or I wasn't sure about the fit model, etc. etc. 

Another confession: I'm always a bit self-conscious in shorts. I'm verging on petite in height. My legs are on the shorter side even for my shorter height, not always perfectly toned (ahem), and my proportions are a bit off (longer thigh, shorter calf -- which can exaggerate the impression that I am short-legged.) I'm sure a shorter short would be more conventionally flattering to my vertical proportions,  but I feel more comfortable in a longer short because I like the coverage, and I hope these are JFE. 

Despite my self-consciousness in shorts, I wear them all the time in the summer months. With my casual suburban bike riding, gardening, and hiking lifestyle they are quite simply the most practical choice. Yes, I  wear dresses and skirts whenever I can -- even for some bike outings -- and I love them! But most days I wear shorts for at least a few hours even if I later change into something a bit dressier. In summer, shorts are a wardrobe essential, in other words. With white being the most essential, since it works with all my summer tops. 

There's a Talbot's store at the local mall. Without a lot of hope, (because, really, Talbots?) I biked down there this afternoon, and lo and behold, they did indeed have a pair of shorts for me. Two, in fact! 

These are the "Perfect short" which is basically a chino Bermuda with a bit of stretch. I ended up sizing down in regular sizing. I tried petite but (as usual) the rise was not good for me. If they'd had my regular size in petite, that might have worked, and I'd probably have liked the length better, but available sizes were extremely limited and I felt lucky to get what I got. I can always cuff these (as in pic 3). 

If you are looking for something similar, sizing is generous. They call these "waist high" but they are not, on me -- instead they come to just below my navel, which on me is 3 inches below my true waist. :) But this happens to be my favourite mid-rise place for pants -- much more comfy for me that true low rise or high rise.

I got white and sagebrush. I have been wearing for a few hours now -- they stretch a bit but not at all in a bad way. Cotton is soft, substantial, well-finished, and pleasant to the hand. 

Wearing with my new Ecco flip flops. For years I've been a fan of Fit Flops but alas, they stopped making the adjustable straps and the shoe is simply too wide for me now. I have been feeling unstable and "floaty" in them and that's not a good feeling. The Ecco Corksphere thong runs narrow, for Ecco. It would not work at all for a wide foot but would work for a narrower to regular width foot. The footbed has a small ridge all round -- those with longer toes might find that uncomfortable but it does not affect me. I wear this kind of shoe as my "house shoe" in summer. (Indoors and on the deck, with an extra pair for beach wear.) 

At Talbots, I also tried on the jungle friends shell --- lovely lightweight cotton voile and a fun pattern which looked great on me (ivory and charcoal) but alas, the ruffle was a deal-breaker for me so I left it there. 

Two pair of shorts for $50 CAD isn't bad these days. Thank you, Angie! 

In a recent thread (can't remember which one now, sorry!) Sal (I think!) mentioned that some clothing items do take time to come into their own or to prove their value. 

This little top from Club Monaco is one example. I bought it years ago to go with my black and white tube skirt, but after I passed that skirt along, it didn't get much (um, any) wear. Yet I didn't edit it out because I kept telling myself a black top is so useful and you never know, etc. etc. 

Yesterday, mid heat-wave, it proved its worth. All my light coloured bras were in the wash, most of my tops were in the wash (yes, it was wash day chez our house) and I needed something easy and very cool. It's basically a crop top with a split back overlay (not sure if you can see from the back view). Perfect for really hot temps with the trusty Ripskirt. 

I think I'll have it in more regular rotation now that I see it works with the skirt. Maybe for a few years I didn't have much that was high waisted enough to work with it. But now I do. So there you go. 

Also, I do wear black now and again. Here's proof. 

So, I loved the oversize blazer trend back in the 80s but as I mentioned in the comments, it did not love me back. I'd need to take more care with the details were I to try it again -- but I'd be willing, assuming opportunities for leaving the house! I will keep my eyes peeled in the fall. 

Still, overall, I prefer my regular and cropped or shrunken  blazers. In the blog comments, I noticed a lot of members saying they don't wear blazers as much any more. I understand that -- I don't wear them at home, so during the height of the pandemic they languished in my closet. And of course I wear them less in hot weather than in cool weather. 

And yet...blazers are part of my fashion DNA and I crave them! Even in summer. And where I live, nights cool down enough as a rule that toppers are required for at least part of the day, even in high summer. 

My consignment find Paul Smith cropped blazer was a huge hit for me a couple of seasons ago and I still wear and love it. 

But I wanted to report on a new purchase -- a regular sized Sandwich linen / stretch linen blazer that turned out to be the star of my recent trip to Ontario. 

Photos are not great, and for that I apologize -- the light!  But it's linen with stretch linen panels on the sleeves and in back so it is as comfortable as a sweater, not quite as wrinkly as linen can sometimes get, and a really great summer topper. They say it is "light olive" but I would call the colour more a light sagey green -- it is a cool toned olive, in any case. It works well with denim, white, silver, dark pinks, burgundies, navy, even grey. 

I tend to wear my denim jackets much more often in summer than I wear my blazers but I'm still glad to have this fun new option. Thinking back, one of my oversized blazers in the 80s was in linen. Maybe this is my non-trendy response to the trend and my memories. 

Before the trend was even a whisper, way back in 2019, I had some fun playing with versions of this look. For "shorts" I used my knee length sarong shorts, which look like a skirt from the front. For jacket, I wore my thrifted Paul Smith linen blazer, a much beloved summer item. 

The day I wore this outfit I also tried on (in various stores -- I do not own jacket 2 and 3) what were then the new longer jackets so you can see how it looked with those. The proportions are not great for me and would have been even harder to manage with a completely flat shoe -- these sandals have a 2 inch heel. Even so, I didn't mind either look. 

I will definitely wear the first version again this year. 

I was inspired by Angie's tulle skirt/ blazer looks to try a couple of my own. Tonight we went out for dinner to celebrate my child's successful semester (and year) -- straight As! 

When I got the tulle skirt in the fall, I thought of casualizing it with with denim jacket, graphic tee and sneakers (no photo, but I wore it this way in the early fall, and here's a version with stompy boots that I also wore, pic 5) and semi-casualizing it with a knit military jacket, sequin cami, and booties (wore it this way, too, pic 4.) 

Tried it today with 2 blazers -- shocking pink J. Crew and red Hobbs. 

There is hot pink in the plaid but it works well enough with red, I think. I ended up wearing the red jacket version with the stompy boots (pic 1)  because rain was in the forecast and it was cooling down a bit when we headed out. Plus I think the proportion of the shorter jacket is a bit easier to work with. 

Thanks for the inspiration, Angie! I'm going to try it with other blazers, too!! 

Edited to add -- my dressed up version also included a blazer -- I'd forgotten! I did take the jacket off for most of the evening but the photo shows it. 

A friend of mine gifted me this merino dress the other day. She is trying to make room in her closet for a new partner's belongings and had a duplicate of this item in another colour that worked much better on her. It wasn't until I tried it on that I realized it is essentially an upscale sweatshirt dress -- and I had been wanting to get in on that trend -- just had not found my perfect dress!  Win-win!  I prefer midi lengths, but for work-from home this might be better, in fact. And with toned-in tights, I think it works. 

It's from a company called Ibex. They don't seem to make dresses any more but I see some on Poshmark. 

I don't wear earth tones but I do wear burgundy and cranberry a lot in the fall, so here I am in autumn colours my way, in spring. Got compliments on this outfit right out of the gate. 

Showing it as is, with a scarf, and with my cranberry cardigan and bag. We are having a gorgeous day so I was able to go out without an additional topper! 

I've been enjoying Lana's posts so much and taking inspiration from her colour scheme (or maybe I should say her neutrals) since like me, she wears a lot of grey, blue, silver, white in various combinations. And I realized that I snapped a pic of my own "softer edged" version of her "grit and minimal glamour" look the other day. 

Nothing out of the ordinary for me and nothing new but I was so excited to wear white sneakers on a rare sunny day (last Saturday). As ever, sorry about the light. My bag's not in the photo but I did carry it. Scarf  and mask not in Finds. 

Sidenote -- in version 2 I am wearing 3 patterns! 

As I wrote in the blog, it should come as no surprise that I got through the 90s mostly wearing this combo. But I also happened to wear it the other day -- or a version of it, at least, spiked with red rather than white, which is my other favourite way to wear it. This was the last official day of masking for a while in my district, although I will continue to wear one while classroom teaching and on transit, etc. for a while. 

Sorry for the poor light -- it is what it is. 

There's nothing new here at all but I am trying to post an outfit once in a while just for the joy of getting dressed again in real clothes! 

Here I am layering a button front white shirt and braving yesterday's PNW atmospheric river to dine at the Legislature. Yes! Who knew you could do that? Not me. My reporter friend from out of town had to reveal this well-kept secret. 

This shirt is of the soft rather than crisp variety. (I like both). This one doesn't need ironing but is all cotton, which is a treat if you are travelling. 

I love white with my silver hair and love patterns with white in them. In fact, I've stopped buying any pattern that does not include a bit of white or very pale grey or blue or silver. One reason this scarf works well for me is the white. 

I got my hair cut last week and am back to classic pixie while I consider next steps. That meant shorter back and around the ears and even a shorter fringe while we aim for a bit more length on top over time.