View of autumnal railroad tracks, as we were walking home from the pub yesterday evening. Obviously, given how early it gets dark now, we are serious late-nighters . . .
These tracks run right through our town and neighborhood --- if we walked down them about a quarter of a mile, we'd reach our own street and the greenway trail that crosses over at the railroad crossing. We don't hear as many trains as we used to, as I've been noticing over the last year or so. It used to be that coal trains ran continually between somewhere to the west of us and either Gastonia or Charlotte, but they don't anymore, and I don't really know why. We do still get trains, but again, not so regularly. I like them, though: the distant blasts on the horn getting closer and closer, the growing rumble that becomes a roar, then the diminishing into the distance again, going places I'll never see in my own road-bound life.
As you can see, the leaves are changing, though we're still far behind the higher elevations. I like the juxtaposition of those bare white branches on the yellow-going-to-ochre of that one changing tree.
Here again is my date-night outfit, for this quite short-and-early beer date:
I'd been wearing a pullover sweater, but I took that off, stripping down to the base outfit: my Wool& Maggie dress, navy Snag merino tights, Birkenstock Madeira shoes (thrifted). I thought about changing the shoes for boots, but they're comfortable for walking, so I didn't.
Next, I added this ThredUpped blazer from three years ago. I like the moss green on the intense midnight blue of my dress, and am making a note that this is an outfit to wear for cold-weather readings. I really wish it had been cool enough in Dallas last month for this uniform. I could wear this as is, with maybe just the addition of a longer necklace to dress it up more, and boots instead of Birks for more polish.
I could have left it as is last night, but did make one final addition:
This grapey-lilacky linen scarf is a good layer when the temperatures are iffy. As it turned out, even walking, even on the way home, I was plenty darn warm in what I was wearing, even though the morning temps had been just above freezing. I really like the pale note that the scarf adds --- I don't really have much pattern going on in my outfit, unless you count the texture of the corduroy blazer and the weave of my fisherman's sandals, but I do have light-dark-color happening. This outfit felt really especially successful to me, which again is why I'm noting it. It's color-blocking that works, I think because all the colors are in the same muted zone. The blue and green are a lot more saturated than the lilac scarf, but there's no jarring contrast, nothing shouting, "Look at ME." The pale scarf might kind of whisper it, but that's okay. It feels in keeping with everything else.
Meanwhile, TODAY! It's Saturday, and I'm dressed but definitely not dressed up.
Here again is the base outfit: grape merino Ibex tee (thrifted), old purple microfiber leggings, Wool& Camellia dress (lapis, redyed royal blue) over the top, with Xero Oswegos on my feet. I'm really trying, among other things, to WEAR the shoes I have. I feel that I have a perfect complement of shoes to take me through the year, and part of what makes them perfect is that most of them are excellent for walking long distances. These little Oswegos are definitely in that category. I don't really wear sneakers --- in fact, the last of my sneakers are bagged up in my car, ready to drop off at Goodwill --- but these shoes are close and fulfill the same function.
I've outboxed a LOT of synthetic-fiber clothes this year, including a pair of charcoal-gray leggings I'd taken with my on my Dallas road trip last month. It makes sense to me to pay real attention to how things fit and feel on my skin, and if they don't fit or feel good on my skin, to pass them along so that somebody else can use them. I am hanging onto these purple crop leggings, however. I had impulse-bought them at Ross a few years back, liking the color and the buttery softness of them. I still like those things, even though I don't love the synthetic-ness. They are actually comfortable on my skin, and they fit exceptionally well, with a high-rise waist that doesn't roll down and does offer some gentle shaping, which my aging body appreciates. So: these stay, and I anticipate getting another winter's good hard wear out of them.
One reason why I think I'd like an Audrey maxi dress is that the lower scoop neck would work, I think, with tees like this one. The v-neck isn't that deep itself, but it's just enough that it looks maybe a tiny bit weird with the higher scooped neckline of the dress I'm wearing today. It's fine, basically, and I appreciate the extra layer of wool in this cool, glorious weather, but I could see its looking better with something else.
On the other hand, this is one of the reasons why I dyed my light-gray-blue Camellia dress this darker, more saturated color. It just looks better with things like this saturated pinky-purple tee.
To be outside, I added a cardigan, and pulled my hair back again into a half-updo:
I was perfectly warm and comfortable walking the dog earlier. I like that I can be casual and comfortable, as if I were wearing pajamas, but still look halfway put together, like I've made an effort. This outfit is the perfect weight for a bright, cool-but-not-cold October day. And where this time last year, two days away from the end of my 100-day challenge, I was really struggling to feel appropriately seasonal in this dress, this year doesn't feel like a struggle at all. Granted, a lot of that is down to not wearing the same dress for a hundred days straight. But it's a lot easier to make this dress feel like fall when it comes in a darker, more intense color. It was perfectly summery all summer, but it doesn't feel like summer's hangover now.
A pensive close shot of me in these colors. I do wish the whole neckline of the tee showed with my dress, but it's okay even so. As usual, this is no makeup and no filter, in natural light by the bathroom window. While my face is not remotely perfect, and nobody is going to mistake me for a 35-year-old, still wearing the right colors does play up the good and de-highlight all the flaws --- again, without my really even trying.
Sure am glad I let Marly Youmans talk me into buying this alpaca cardigan at the chichi Highlands thrift store last month. I don't know what I'd be wearing day after day right now if she hadn't.
I still need to run my outboxed things to Goodwill, and I need to pick up an order from Dollar Tree (of all places!): they had case lots of tall purple votive candles, so I bought a case for Advent. I still need a tall pink candle, but I bet I can find one, or else paint the outside of a white votive. Pretty excited by the prospect of Advent candles that will actually last the entire season --- which is going to be upon us before we freaking know it.