she's addicted to clothes

Oh hai, citizens of the future. I stepped into a time machine on my way to a Nirvana concert, and ended up here like 20-ish years later.

Seriously, I did attend the very concert in the above link, and I wore something almost totally identical to this outfit right here, including the nerdy glasses and the straight hair. (The major difference is the lack of a Black Flag tee and Doc Martens oxfords, which I really need to replace. Also, I am not high this time.) They say you shouldn’t follow a trend the second time around, but to hell with Them: I never entirely stopped following this one. I always feel like myself when I dress like this.

Details:

Cardigan: Cynthia Rowley, remixed.

Necklace: Boots, remixed. Very luxe, eh?

Tee: H&M, probably remixed.

Belt: Dsquared, remixed.

Boyfriend shorts: H&M, remixed.

Cuffs, etc., remixed.

Tights: M&S, remixed.

Scuffed moccasins: Klacson, remixed. These need replacing, for sure.

There are times when I think I should probably just say to hell with it, and get rid of all my clothes that aren’t black, white, or grey, because it seems as if that’s all I’ve been wearing for a while now, and I’m yet to get bored with it. Every night, I think I should wear some colour the next day, and then the next day rolls around, and I try, really I do, and then I kind of go into this anxiety spiral about OMG WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR, and then I give up and pull out something black, white, or grey, and suddenly it all seems easier. And that’s when I crossly tell myself that I should just give up on the colour already — even though I do, in fact, love colour — and fully embrace my monochromatic being.

Then I spot one of my Desigual dresses, and think, oh hell no. Not giving those up. I’m just going to accept that I’m apparently in a very, very long monochrome phase, and wait it out. To be fair, it could be that I just need some reasonably consistent spring weather to get me back into the colour groove. In the meantime, I’ll just be here in my comfort zone, waiting it out.

Details:

Jacket: People Tree. Thrifted, new with tags, and ethically made, which is like the feel-good trifecta. This is my slightly-warmer-weather replacement for my heavy grey wool/cashmere blend Jaeger coat. I realised over the course of this seemingly endless winter just how bloody useful that coat is, and I was pretty pleased to find this, and figure out how to use it in much the same way. I don’t think the crappy photo is showing it very well, but it’s a collarless empire waist coat with three big buttons up top, and then open down to the hem. I’d describe the material as super heavyweight sweatshirt-style fabric. Super comfortable, and a very good weight for the sort of low/mid-50s F weather we’ve been having.

Scarf: All Saints. TK Maxx got another shipment of All Saints in, and I’ve acquired a few lighter-weight scarves (black, grey, white, cream, or a mixture of all of the above) at a hugely discounted price from AS’s usual obscenely expensive one. (Seriously, they can, with a straight face, charge in the neighbourhood of £100 for a viscose scarf. Hahahaha, right.)

Long-sleeve tee: Gap. Could there POSSIBLY be a more me garment? Faded black and grey STRIPES. It’s also at least a size, and probably two, too big, which is also me, with the oversized-and-drapey thing I’ve been working of late.

Pants: Uh, Gap calls these jean leggings, or something like that, but really, they’re just heavy ponte and cut like skinnies. Remixed.

Chelsea boots: Deichmann. These are totally different from my Faith Chelsea boots, I swear! These have no pleats along the uppers, and a buckle on the side.

So this is what happens when my spouse is about and has his fancy-pants DSLR camera close to hand. The sunshine didn’t hurt matters, either. 

This is the grown-up version of a look I’ve been wearing my whole life, never get tired of, and in which I feel completely comfortable and totally like myself. I anticipate wearing some version of this for a long time to come. Much like Friday’s look, actually.

Hooking up again to Patti’s Visible Monday, because I felt so comfortable and confident in this outfit. Check us all out!

Details:

Leather jacket: Aviatrix, remixed. This was SO worth the long, long search.

Jumper: Fenn Wright Mason. This is a fairly loose linen knit, and alas, you can see the cami I wore under it in this shot, but rest assured, I fixed that before I went out.

Arm candy: Various, remixed, some thrifted, some Fat Face.

Belt: Gap, remixed.

Bag: Rowallan.

Boyfriend-style denim shorts: H&M, remixed.

Casual Friday. I dress something like this on weekends (or days when I don’t have anything to do that requires smarter clothes) more often than I’d almost like to admit. Shorts, including, and indeed, almost especially, denim ones over black tights is a look that’s been going strong in my area for several years now, and shows no sign of ending. Me, I dressed like this back in college, and haven’t really seen any reason to quit doing so in my more advanced years, because, well, I suppose I’d wear a skirt this short with black tights, right?

Anyway, it gets me into shorts before the weather is ready to, so I’ll probably keep it up at least a few years longer.

Have a great weekend!

Details:

Necklace: Fat Face. 

Jumper: Zara, remixed. This has been the jumper of the winter for me. With any luck, it’ll be too warm for the weather soon. HAHAHAHA.

Tank: M&S, remixed. Glad I got this; olive green is not a passing fancy. Maybe I’ll branch out into a new murky neutral, in lieu of grey. Also HAHAHAHA. Seriously, I looked at my archives the other day, and I have worn so much grey/black/white this winter that even I’m shocked.

Belt: Roma, remixed. Made in England, hooray!

Shorts: Label says “S.C.O.U.T.” I have no idea what that means, and Google isn’t terribly helpful. I bought them at TK Maxx last year, and I sort of wish I could find a long version of these, since they’ve got front pockets like classic jeans, and not side slit pockets like most chinos. I don’t know if I’ve worn these on the blog before, but they’re certainly very remixed.

Tights: M&S, remixed.

Shoes: Deichmann, remixed. My feet are appreciating these a lot, while I treat the bloody corns on my little toes.

Pretty warm today, but very windy! So my hair got trashed, but I was too chuffed by the sunshine to be bothered much. I was very pleased to be wearing this jacket again, and also the blouse, which was a rare full-retail buy, purchased during the week of snow, in hopes of spring. Definitely a case of retail therapy. I hope to get a lot of wear out of it, as I continue to be besotted with drapey, largely unstructured clothes. Also, it’s white, instead of grey, so perhaps I’m branching out a bit as I explore the slouchy silhouette further. It still seems to be slightly edgy in my area, but it definitely is catching on a bit.

Details:

Scarf: Urban Outfitters, remixed.

Jacket: Zara, remixed.

Tank: Zara. I kind of wish this had sleeves, since it’s so pretty, and covering it up with a jacket is kind of a shame, but it has to hit the mid-80s before it’s even vaguely possible for me to consider bare arms, or even half-covered arms. It’s also kind of shockingly low-cut, something I didn’t realise until I’d been wearing it around the house long enough for it to sort of settle. I wouldn’t call it obscene or inappropriate or anything, but I’m really not one for revealing much skin. Still, it’s beautiful, I love the asymmetry, the drape, and the gather at the waist, and I’d be thrilled to have something similar with sleeves.

Skinny jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch, thrifted, remixed.

Desert (style) boots: Deichmann. I may go buy these in blue as well; they are SO comfortable, and my feet are getting fussier all the time.

Another one of those formulas, this one hearkening back to my post-Goth ’90s self, in a lot of ways. The silhouette’s been updated, though, with boy cut jeans, and a vaguely army-ish jacket with exaggerated lapels and hood. This, like yesterday’s black-and-white look, is something with which I am very comfortable, and also the sort of thing I’ll instinctively reach for on a casual day.

Details:

Jacket: Zara. This is nice; it was just heavy enough, over a light jumper, to keep me mostly comfortable outside today. I like the way the hood and lapels play down the width of my shoulders just a touch, or so it seems to me, and the adjustable fit at the waist and flare over the hips also helps to balance my figure a bit. I hope to wear this a lot over the spring.

Largely unseen jumper: Jigsaw, remixed. I’ve worn this twice, on the blog, before now, and both times I misidentified it as being from Whistles.

Scarf: All Saints, remixed.

Belt: Roma, probably remixed. Made in England!

Jeans: Boy Cut, Gap, remixed. When I despair of most pants not playing nice with my body, I console myself with how well a boy cut works for me. They hang nicely from my hipbones, and skim over the rest of my lower body, and they are the most comfortable jeans imaginable. Plus, these have a button fly, and I love those!

Boots: Dr. Martens, Darcie. I was stunned to find out that these came in a UK 9/US 11, and even more stunned to find out they fit me. Like all Docs, they need breaking in, but with the sturdy, cushioned platform effectively shortening the (considerable) height of the chunky heel, they’re amazingly walkable.

This outfit is incredibly similar to the one I wore on the 6th, and normally, I probably wouldn’t bother blogging it, just because, yawn, nothing new, but I wanted to post these flawless jeans. At long last, I have found a pair of skinny jeans that fit perfectly in the ass, hips, and thighs, and I am so happy about it. I like the H&M and Gap skinnies I’ve been wearing for a couple of years now, but the Gap ones really fit more like straight legs, and the H&M ones quickly bag out in the butt and hips, and are a bit too loose in the waist besides. These? Perfect fit all over. And but for thrifting, I never in a million years would’ve found them, because they’re originally from a shop I’d never even think of entering, Abercrombie and Fitch.

Anyway, perfect jeans, still looked and fit great after wearing all day, so that’s £2.49 well spent, yes?

Have a great weekend, everybody! 

Details:

Jumper: Zara, remixed. I love this thing so much, and I’m now totally sold on high/low shirt hems. I find the easy belt exposure delightful, since I am hopeless at the half-tuck thing.

Tank: M&S. This is actually a silky viscose camisole, intended to be an undergarment, but it’s opaque enough to work as a regular tank.

Pendant: Thrifted. I am very fond of heart-shaped objects.

Leather cuffs: Thrifted and Oasis. I’ve gone a bit nuts for this kind of wristgear lately. I’m considering knitting and felting something similar.

Belt: Roma, remixed. Made in England! 

Skinny jeans: Abercrombie & Fitch, thrifted.

Boots: Deichmann, remixed.

Hey, did you know French Connection calls this a dress? The stripey bit, that is, and I suppose it is, but even with my very high tolerance for showing a hell of a lot of leg, you’ve got to be kidding me. Fortunately, I planned on wearing it as a tunic when I bought it, so when I put it on this morning, I didn’t freak out at the shortness of it.

The reason I bought is as a tunic is because it matches these awesome leggings I’ve had for ages now, but didn’t have anything that felt quite right to go with them. I knew I had nothing to go with the leggings when I bought them, but I wanted them anyway; I love the colour, and more to the point, they’re made of this ribbed velour-ish fabric that feels just lovely, and looks very textured and rich in tone, even though that’s not quite showing to its best advantage in the photo. The colour is called “tobacco,” and it is a lovely golden olive/brown, which also happens to be one of those weird colours that suits me.

Anyway, that’s a lot to say about a tunic and leggings.

Details:

Duster: August Silk, remixed. This was a really good addition to my wardrobe.

Necklace: Debenham’s, remixed. Thank goodness for that archive feature, since I couldn’t remember!

Tunic: French Connection. You know, for all my “omg so short!” thoughts as outlined above, I can well imagine on the right person, this would look great as a casual summer dress, with bare legs and sandals or espadrilles.

Leggings: Marks & Spencer. Oh, I can say more about these; they’re great! Lovely and warm, and they fit like a dream.

Boots: New Look, remixed. It’s been years since I wore these, and they were actually in the giveaway pile, until I really needed something comfortable. (Another blister, sigh.) So they got a temporary reprieve, but they’re not terribly supportive, and I expect they’ll end up going away in the end.

This total nothingburger of an outfit brought to you by my urgent desire to not freeze to death today. I always feel like a bit of a heel complaining about how cold it is, here in the UK, when I grew up in Michigan and I know from REAL cold, but fifteen-odd years here have turned me into a total hothouse flower, and the high-20s temps today felt brutal to me.

The really important thing about this particular outfit is that I could fit my merino wool long underwear under it, and that helped a whole lot in coping with the cold. It’s also a mark of how unskinny these skinny jeans are on me that I had no problem in using them as a top layer. 

Details:

Jumper: White Stuff. This is some kind of cotton/wool/viscose blend, and it’s actually pretty warm. I am really loving the chunky knits this year. I do prefer my chunky knits to be on the oversized end of the spectrum, and I’m truly not concerned about whether or not they add visual bulk to my shoulders and rack, so I’m glad they appear to be back in style.

Jeans: Gap, Premium Skinny, endlessly remixed. I should probably go out to the Gap outlet one of these days and try them in a size down, to see if I get a sufficiently skinny fit in the thighs and hips, but honestly, do I need another pair of jeans? No, I do not.

Boots: Debenhams, remixed. Thick socks, people. A total necessity right now.

Wow, the weather was actually decent today! I was able to get away with exactly what I’m wearing in this photo, with no need for an overcoat. We even got a fair bit of sunshine, which is always good for my mood in the dead of winter. Because we get these reasonably mild winter days fairly frequently (although, alas, not necessarily mild and sunny) there’s actually quite a bit of space in my wardrobe for pretty lightweight jackets, or at least that’s what I tell myself, when I thrift yet another one.

I wore this for running errands, logging steps, grocery shopping and climbing all the stairs I could find today, before coming home and making dinner for my husband and father-in-law. (Shepherd’s pie, salad, and fruit, for the record.) And then I ordered a pair of boots from Duo, as an Xmas pressie from the spouse. (Planned, but I told him I wanted to wait until after the holidays, so I’d be likely to catch them on sale, which I did.) I’d been stalking them for ages, and they finally knocked them down a bit. They’re still pretty pricey, but all my Duo boots have held up very well, and I anticipate that if these fit, I’ll get years of wear out of them, just like the others. They’re a style of boot I’ve wanted for a very long time, but couldn’t find in my size until I came across these, so I’m pretty excited about them. Now watch them not fit, heh.

Happy weekend, everybody!

Details:

Suede blazer: Thrifted, remixed. I think this is Lakeland, but I’ve put it away, and can’t recall.

Scarf: Cynthia Rowley, remixed.

Necklace: Thrifted, probably remixed.

Pullover: Whistles Outlet. This is kind of an oversized, vaguely deconstructed wool/cotton blend long-sleeved tee. It was a sample, and I’m pretty sure it’s a men’s, due to the length of the sleeves, bigness of the shoulders, and size. I can’t imagine a women’s medium being this enormous on me under most circumstances. I love it though; it’s been a great addition to my pullover collection, especially since I am all about the oversized/slouchy jumper this winter.

Jeans: H&M, remixed.

Boots: Duo, remixed.