A quickie, because Dora and I have things to do. My Pact cotton sheath dress arrived from Poshmark yesterday, and I'm wearing it today. I'm glad it was a large –– at least in this style, I could not have worn anything smaller, thanks to the breadth of my hips. But it fits well overall, not too large on the top. As I had suspected, the armholes are very large, which is probably why I've seen multiples of this exact dress in secondhand venues, but it's easy to wear a tee or cami under it. I could see a merino or bamboo base layer, if I had such a thing, even in warm weather. So the armholes are not a dealbreaker for me, but they are the one real design flaw, other than the absence of pockets.
It's a nice basic dress in a heavy cotton knit, not quite as thick as the Sierra's wool French terry, but close. I love the color, which was the real reason I bought it: to have one more dress with purple, both because I like purple generally and because I wear purple daily in Advent and Lent. This is a lovely, slightly grayed grape purple, a perfect shade for me, at the right level of intensity, neither too dark nor too bright nor too washed out. It's soft and comfortable, and I think I'll wear it a lot, even given that it lacks the marvelous thermal properties of wool or bamboo.
Today I threw it on first thing, with a tee under, but then this off-white thrifted sweater over, plus Snag tights in navy and my trusty Birk Madeiras –– a little muddy at the moment from being trodden on by enthusiastic puppy paws in the backyard. With a puffer jacket, I was plenty warm for a 7 a.m. walk and ball-throwing session. We went out a little while ago for another ball-throwing session, and I was warm without the jacket. I need to figure out some easily accessible way to carry treats on my person at all times, when I don't have pockets: a cross-body bag with an open treat bag inside, maybe. Dog treats are suddenly the fashion accessory I cannot be without.
The dog, too, will be part of every outfit I wear. See what a helpful dog, assisting me with these photographs. What did I ever do without her? Really, it's been thirty-six hours, but I can't remember . . .
Another slightly clearer shot of the dress/sweater combo. I like the off-white with the soft grape. It's nice with navy, and I could imagine blue shirts under it or tied over it. Camel boots will look nice, to dress up a little more, say for Mass. My gray-green Docs will work as well. Belts will be good. Overall, I find this longer midi length very comfortable and versatile.
With the arrival of this dress, I feel that I have all the dresses I need: at least one, sometimes multiples, in every color I like to wear, especially blue. One gray dress (I've moved my old gray t-shirt dress to nightgown status, leaving just my Sierra); two floral dresses in pink (plus rose-brown jumpsuit, which could count as a dress); two in purple, one of which is darker and patterned. And then, let's see . . . going to count . . . five blue dresses in various shades, including teal. Five is maybe a lot of blue dresses. I will continue to monitor what I reach for. On the other hand, blue is my best color and very much a default, so maybe, considering that no one blue dress in my closet is much like another, that's not so excessive after all. We shall see.
Anyway, I think I'm at my limit for dresses. As I finish out preparations for my no-buy 2022, I have my sights on a navy blazer and/or cardigan, but not that much else. I could do with a thin tan belt, since the one I used to wear all the time broke, but haven't yet seen one I like. And I could do with at least one merino tee and a bamboo tee, either long- or short-sleeved, as base layers to wear under, for example, the dress I'm wearing today, but also lots of other things. We'll see whether I find anything before the turn of the year. In the meantime, I certainly have enough to wear as it is, enough to keep me from being bored, enough to provide a rota so that no one item wears out too fast, but also enough to create a good supply of staple outfits to fall back on when I just need something reliable. This seems like a very good place to be.
Back to work now. Since I've finished other projects for the time being, I'm back to novel revisions. The publisher is expecting the revised manuscript before the end of the year, so I'm combing over it (again) exhaustively, always finding something to be improved. Of course I could go on forever finding something to be improved, and eventually I will just have to say, Enough, but it's good to have this time to make it as excellent as possible before somebody else reads through it.
Also continuing my reread of Rosemary Sutcliff's The Shining Company. I love her so much, but this, I think, is my favorite novel of hers –– though it has stiff competition, especially in The Eagle of the Ninth.
Anyway, back to revisions, then maybe a good long walk with Dora before lunch. She is lying here on her bed at my feet, being the perfect little housemate, but this is contingent on regular outlets for her energy. Fortunately those regular outlets also provide some shape to my day, which makes it easier for me to concentrate on work and not just sit here scrolling the net when I get bored. ALSO: needed exercise, for me as well as her. I was getting a little doughy, not ever leaving my house, but no more!