Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Testing, Testing ... One, Two, Three




I made it to day three (of three days of plum/purple outfits)!  As predicted, the self-discipline kicked in this morning and I forced myself to wear a plum/purple outfit, despite my not having been happy with having to wear a plum/purple outfit yesterday.  What I didn't predict, or what I didn't call correctly, was that I wouldn't end up feeling miserable at the end of the day.  In fact, not only did I not feel miserable at the end of the day, I felt quite, quite contented ... with the outfit, the experiment and my resolve to see the experiment through to the end.  There is one thing about today's outfit that I feel I have to admit:  It isn't completely original.  It is a variation of the outfit that I wore this past Friday.  I switched the sweater, the colour of the tights and the boots, and I added a pin.  Frankly, I prefer today's outfit to Friday's outfit, so I don't really care that I wasn't being completely original.  I dress to please myself and I was pleased today!

coat: Zara, last season
scarf: ?
gloves: ?
blouse: Gap, last season
skirt: vintage (from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy)
sweater: Kersh, old
tights: ?
boots: Fluevog

Monday, March 29, 2010

Testing, Testing ... One, Two



Today was day two of three days of purple/plum outfits.  Here is how it went:  Yesterday, I was happy.    Today, I was decidedly less happy.  I felt trapped, constrained, boxed in.  I wasn't entirely comfortable in my second skin, which seemed to affect how I felt in my own skin.  Here is what I think will happen tomorrow:  I will want to break out of the box.  I will abandon any notion of wearing a purple/plum outfit.  Or, my self-discipline will kick in and I will force myself to wear a purple/plum outfit (even though it wasn't dictated that I wear purple/plum outfits on three consecutive days).  I will end up feeling miserable at the end of the day.  I suppose that I could call the endeavour off, but I feel that I committed to it and must now see it through, for better or worse.

coat: H&M, old
scarf: ?
gloves: ?
sweater: Gap, old
skirt: H&M, old
belt (not showing): ?
tights: Mondor
boots: Frye (from Get Outside)

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Testing, Testing ... One







coat: H&M, old
beret: ?
scarf: H&M, old
gloves: ?
shirt: Gap, old
jumper: from an off-price store, old
sweater: Gap, old
tights:?
boots: Hunter
pin: ?
purse: Nine West, old

I am testing out an idea for a project that came to me a couple of days ago.  I am not ready to reveal the idea (or project) just yet, but I will do so by the end of the week, regardless of whether the test is successful and I decide to go ahead with the project.

In the meantime, I have planned three days of purple/plum outfits.  Today is day one.  I don't know if I will wear purple/plum outfits on three consecutive days or if I will space the three days out.  Since I usually dress based on what I feel like wearing, I cannot guarantee that I will feel like wearing purple/plum outfits on each of three consecutive days.  But, I am aiming for three days, consecutive or otherwise.  One down, two to go!

A couple of points about today's purple/plum outfit.  First, there is probably as much turquoise in the outfit as there is purple, so I could have called it a turquoise outfit.  But I am calling it a purple/plum outfit.  Second, had it not been raining today, I would have worn a different pair of boots -- the Fluevog boots that I am wearing in the photo below -- the colour of which would have picked up on the colour of the buttons on the sweater (which, sadly, isn't apparent in the photo).

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  I wonder what I will end up wearing.



socks: ?
boots: Fluevog

Saturday, March 27, 2010

One in Every Colour






On Thursday and Friday, I wore the same sweater, but in different colours.  Today, I am wearing the famous (at least on this blog) Fluevog Calamity boots, although in natural leather rather than the black leather in which they have hitherto been seen.  You may have also noticed that the blouse I was wearing yesterday I have worn before, but, again, in a different colour (yesterday, in purple, previously, in red).  I am pointing all this out to highlight one of my tendencies, which is to buy the same article of clothing, or the same accessory, in all the colours it comes in that I like.  I am not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.  I seem to recall reading in a fashion magazine some time ago the advice that if you like something (or maybe it was if something looks good on you or suits you), you should buy it in a variety of colours.  Of course, this is no answer to the question of whether buying one in every colour is a good thing or a bad thing.  In any event, I have been trying to break this habit, sadly, without much success to date.  The dress that I am wearing today is a very recent purchase.  I liked the style so much that I bought it, not only in denim, but also in a lilac large gingham fabric.  Of course, to my credit (or so I will argue), I didn't buy it in every colour and fabric that it came in.

coat: Old Navy, old
beret: ?
scarf: H&M, old
gloves: ?
dress: Pure by Alfred Sung for Zellers
sweater: Zara, last season
tights: ?
boots: Fluevog
pin: ?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Bring on the Cold






I went on a little overnight business trip.  I left yesterday afternoon and arrived back this evening.  I wore my "A Little Bit of Effort" outfit from Saturday, although with a different sweater, as my travelling outfit.  When I wore the outfit on Saturday, the weather changed from what it had been during the week, for the colder not the warmer, to the point where I was under-dressed for my comfort level (meaning the outfit wasn't warm enough).  The same thing happened on the outfit's second outing, only this time, the temperature dropped even more than it did on Saturday, so that I was not just under-dressed but way under-dressed for my comfort level.  I am starting to wonder whether I should dub this outfit the "Bring on the Cold" outfit, because it seems to do that.  I will definitely think long and hard before I ever wear it again, in any kind of variation.  Right now I am going to go sit in front of the fireplace and try to thaw out.

shirt: Old Navy, old
sweater: JCrew, old
skirt: American Apparel
leggings: Gap, old
belt: H&M, old
socks: ?
boots: Fluevog

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Staying Cheerful


It seems rather tedious to always be talking about the weather, but since the weather is a rather big factor in clothing choices (it certainly is for me), talking about the weather when discussing daily outfits can't be helped.  Last week, when it turned warm and sunny, I was happy, because an end to the months of bundling up was in sight.  But, I also knew that it was too soon to expect that we wouldn't be seeing more days of cold and greyness.  And, sure enough, the cold and greyness came this weekend and continued through to today.  I was thinking today how strange it is that my tolerance of unchanging weather (from Winter to Spring), when I am expecting it to change, comes and goes.  Usually I just deal with it, but every once in awhile, I just can't stand it anymore.  It's strange because if I had to choose between a Fall/Winter wardrobe and a Spring/Summer wardrobe, I would definitely opt for the former.  I also like the feeling of being embraced by warmth when I come inside on a chilly Fall day or a cold Winter day.  So, why, when we are transitioning from Winter to Spring, do I sometimes have these feelings of not being able to live through another cold  and grey day.  Here's what I think:  I simply tire of wearing my heavy coats.  Everything else I can tolerate: the sweaters, the wools, the tweeds, the tights, the boots, the gloves, the scarves, the hats.  But, the coats, they just seem to sap me of all my positivity. Could it be because while I can mix up what's beneath the coat, so as to keep myself stimulated, excited and entertained by a variety of outfits, I am limited in this respect when it comes to coats?  Maybe next Fall/Winter I will have to figure out a way to make the coats work so that I can stay cheerful to the actual very last day of Winter!


coat: Gap, old
blouse: Gap, old
sweater: JCrew, old
skirt: Gap, old
tights: H&M, old
socks: ?
boots: Tretorn, last season (from Capezio)
pin: ?

Monday, March 22, 2010

She Means Business




Today was another one of those days at work when activities called for formal business attire.  I have been looking forward to photographing today's outfit since it was first conceived, about a month ago.  I have been wondering whether I would like the outfit as much on me photographed as I liked it on me just looking in the mirror.   I do!  The  first version of this outfit was different from the final version.  The first version included a long wrap skirt and a long jacket.  The long wrap skirt was discarded and replaced by a pencil skirt (miraculously, I remembered that I have a couple of black pencil skirts), principally because I didn't think that a long wrap skirt would work so well in wet, sloppy weather.  The jacket was discarded because, when I tried it on, the lapels wouldn't lay flat.  If I am going to be honest, at that point, I thought that the outfit was toast, but, for some reason, I just couldn't give up on it.  So, I checked my collection of jackets, and there it was, the "answer jacket".  It's strange how sometimes I give up on outfits, in the midst of their construction, and, other times, I don't.  I have already said how I dislike experiencing angst in putting outfits together.  Maybe, whether I give up on an outfit or not depends on my level of angst tolerance on any particular day

shirt: H&M, mens, last season
sweater: Zara, last season
jacket: H&M, old
skirt: Zara, old
leggings: Gap, old
socks: ?
boots: Fluevog
tie: Gap, last season
pin: Trove

Sunday, March 21, 2010

A Little Bit of Effort







shirt: Old Navy, old
sweater: Banana Republic, old
skirt: American Apparel
belt: H&M, old
leggings: Lululemon, old
socks: ?
boots: Fluevog

Last weekend I asked myself whether I should be making more of an effort in pulling an outfit together for the weekend (meaning, whether I should be less casual in my dress).  So, this weekend, I made a little bit of an effort.  Just a teensy, tiny bit of effort ... on Saturday.  Even then, I still ended up wearing leggings and my skirt was made of sweatshirt material.  On Sunday, I could no longer sustain the effort.  On a brighter note, based on Saturday's outing of the Calamity boots, I think that I am ready to declare the high heel ankle boot experiment a success!

The First Day of Spring, The Last Blast of Winter

According to The Weather Network, yesterday (Saturday) was the first day of Spring.  So, to mark the occasion, I thought that I would post some of my outfits from Fall/Winter 2009 that haven't seen the light of this blog (although they have seen the light of day).  A few of my favourite outfits are included in this set.  It seems somehow fitting to be looking at Winter clothes again, because, after a week of mild and sunny weather, it turned cold and grey again this weekend.  On Saturday, I definitely under-dressed for my comfort level.  I had to rush home and that made me cranky.  I don't like rushing!  And, I don't like being cranky!



coat: Canada Goose, old
hat: HBC, old
gloves: Gap, old
dress: The Embellished Room
sweater: Gap, mens
leggings: Lululemon
socks:  LLBean
boots: LLBean
pin: ?

(PS: I lived in this coat this Winter when the temperature was in the minus mid-teens celsius.)




coat: HBC, old
beret: ?
mitts: Gap, old
shirt: H&M, mens
grey sweater: Zara
black sweater: H&M, mens
skirt: H&M, old
leggings: Gap, old
socks: LLBean
boots: LLBean
pin: Trove





coat: HBC, old
beret: ?
mitts: Gap, old
shirt: H&M, mens
sweater: LLBean, mens
vest: LLBean, mens
skirt: RW&Co, old
tights: H&M, old
boots: Fluevog
pin: ?





coat: H&M, old
scarf: H&M
mitts: Old Navy
shirt: TNT
vest: H&M, old
sweater: H&M, old
skirt: H&M, old
leggings: Lululemon, old
socks: LLBean
boots: Hunter
pin: ?




coat: Gap, old
beret: ?
scarf: H&M
gloves: ?
shirt: Gap
sweater: Mendocino
vest: The Embellished Room
skirt: Gap
leggings: Lululemon, old
boots: Bogs
suspenders: H&M, old
pin: ?

Friday, March 19, 2010

I'm Tired


Look familiar?  I have worn the same coat for three days straight now.  There is nothing wrong with this, it is just a bit unusual for me to do this at this time of year.  In the dead of Winter, when it's really, really cold, I wear no other coat but my parka for days (even weeks) on end.  I wouldn't even dream of fussing around with different coats.  But at this time of year, in fact, at any time of year other than the dead of Winter, I usually switch things up more.  So, what's going on?  This week has been somewhat strange.  Every day this week, I have been going to bed much later than usual (I would say about two hours later) but still getting up at the same time the next morning.  The result is that I am very tired -- strangely, not unhappy tired, but contentedly tired.  The result of my being tired, even if contentedly tired, is that the brain isn't firing quite as quickly as it would normally do, particularly in the morning.  Answers to the question, "What coat should I wear today?" aren't coming or at least not rapidly enough.  So, being happy with my coat choice on Wednesday, and it being within easy reach around the house, I have just been "grabbing and going".  Lucky for me, I guess, that even on the third day, I am still happy with the coat (and scarf).  In fact, I think that I am starting to fall in love with this coat and scarf.




coat: H&M, old
scarf: JCrew
shirt: Mexx, old
sweater: from an off-price store
tights: H&M, old
belt: ?
boots: Frye (from Get Outside)
pin: ?

P.S.  When I pulled out my transit pass this morning to enter the subway, I realized that (coat aside) the colour scheme of my outfit matched the colour scheme of the transit pass.  Was I subliminally influenced by the transit pass in selecting my outfit today?  I did say that I was tired!