A star shines on the old year and the new . . .
FAVORITE OUTFITS OF 2022
(backwards chronologically, from most to least recent):
Maggie + secondhand cashmere cardigan + Snag merino tights + Taris
Christmas Day! Audrey + thrifted, redyed Talbots cotton cardigan + Snag merino tights + Birk Madeiras
Audrey + old thrifted J.Jill ramie pullover + old linen scarf + Snag tights + Taris
Fiona + thrifted Athleta cardigan + linen scarf + Snag tights + Taris
Sierra + Icebreaker tee + bamboo leggings + really old snow boots
My birthday! Fiona + ThredUp blazer + Snag tights + Dream Pairs boots
Maggie + thrifted Pierre Cardin crocheted cardigan + old cheapo pink belt + fake Birks
A lot of variations on themes, especially here toward the bottom of the series, early last year when I had only two wool dresses. I haven't counted, but at least in my impressions Sierra emerges as the versatile winner of the "Most-Worn Dress" category.
There were also a lot of outfits in the "Nice Try" category . . .
I mean, this isn't bad? But I just decided that the dress-over-a-maxi look was a little weird, especially if you add a cardigan, and even more especially if the cardigan fits you like a bathrobe, not a cardigan. I might keep that cardigan as a bathrobe, now that I think about it. But yeah, not repeating this look in 2023. It's a little much.
Again, in the bottom photo, we have the bathrobe issue, but neither of these is . . . fabulous. None of it's awful, but none of it makes me go wow, let's do that again.
Still and all, the handful of acquisitions I've made in this putative no-buy year --- three dresses, two pairs of shoes, all pretty carefully thought out --- have served me well. I have felt better dressed overall in 2022 than I did in 2021, which was better than 2020, when I first started taking daily style-diary pictures. I have better colors for me, and colors that go together better. I have a better variety of shapes. I have elements for making better outfits. I can get dressed and not feel weird or dubious about what I'm wearing. That makes me feel more confident.
Tomorrow I'm going to start a new style-diary photo album for the new year, and link it in the sidebar. We'll see what 2023 has in store! As I move into some new territory in my work life --- this summer-residency visting position at UST, plus a new job with my poetry publisher (as an associate editor for the Able Muse journal and a copy-editor for the press) --- I'm happy to be able to look the part, even though most of my work is work I could do in my pajamas. But I do my own writing better when I'm up and dressed. I take myself more seriously when I'm up and dressed. I'm more ready to do whatever the day demands when I'm up and dressed.
So here's to being up and dressed for 2023!
ALSO:
OH AND!
Wearing on this the final day of 2022:
Something old, something (relatively) new, to ring in another year. I've had this cotton jersey J.Jill top for about five years. It was bought for me by my mother, who had managed to talk me into going shopping with her. I've kept it all this time because I like it: the softness, the pretty neckline, the color, the drape and flow. I haven't had much to wear with it, especially since I've more or less given up wearing trousers. But enter my lovely Audrey birthday dress! One of the reasons I wanted an Audrey was that I thought the long, slim length would function well as a skirt. There are just things you can't wear with A-line shapes, things you can't wear with skirts above the knees. A tunic top like this is one of those things. You really do need either trousers or a long, slim skirt.
And I think I'm pretty happy with the look. It could be a little boxy, but the top has enough drape that I think you can still see that I have an actual body shape.
But also, there are times you just want an arty, flowy, shapeless thing. Some of the most striking, creative women I've ever known dressed habitually in arty, flowy, shapeless things --- and they looked great. Granted, this probably needs another necklace: a string of beads to fill in the neckline, at least, or a longer silver necklace to layer over. OR a scarf. I did put one on to go walking in the rain, but it wasn't that cold, so I took it off, and also my cardigan ---
--- when I came inside again. The cardigan was not a great addition. Right color, but too much the same hemline as the tunic. I could do a duster-length cardigan, for example, and that would keep the sense of flow by breaking up the hip-level line.
And again, I didn't really need the cardigan. I wore my puffer jacket, anyway, and was plenty toasty.
My beloved Tari boots, with Snag merino tights in Silver Lining.
A final recap of my so-called no-buy year:
*The rule covered clothing. Not books, not entertainment, not anything but clothing.
*Exceptions:
-underwear (I did replace all my underwear this past year, with no regrets)
-tights (I bought 4 pairs of Snag tights early last spring; again, no regrets)
-small accessories like belts and scarves (bought two belts at Texas Thrift last January, but lost the one I really liked --- I did replace it with another belt purchase).
-my birthday in November (per my own agreement with myself, I treated myself to one dress [teal Fiona], and was able to choose another [black heather Audrey] as a gift)
What I didn't buy:
*Other than those belts, anything out of a thrift store.
*Everything I saw that I happened to want.
Where I did flex my rule:
I found out in the spring that I would be presenting on a panel at the Catholic Imagination Conference at the end of September. I thought that that merited an addition to my dress supply (at the time I had only Camellia, in rather ratty shape) and Sierra. I also thought a new pair of shoes was warranted. I bought my Maggie dress and my red Xero Cassie Mary Janes, and wore them at the conference --- though I actually wore my redyed, refurbished Camellia for my panel presentation. I would not have expected to get that kind of wear out of Camellia, but the dye job really raised her back to best-dress status.
All in all, although I've felt that I acquired a lot this year, when I break it down, it's not that much, and only two items, the Maggie dress and the red shoes, really fall outside my initial rule. I felt guilty doing two dresses for my birthday --- but I had told myself on the front end that I would treat myself on that occasion, especially since I'd have made some money by my work this year. And then my mother gave me some money, so I used that for a second dress and a Poshmark long-sleeved tee (that dusty rose one), as my gift from her.
Oh, yeah, and the Xero Tari boots. I was going to buy those boots in their winter sale, but they pushed the sale forward about six weeks. I was afraid they'd sell out, so I bought them at half price, and have not been one bit sorry.
So I think that this has not been a bad exercise for a year. Mind you, I'm ready for it to be OVER. As livable as it's been, I'm really sick of it. My plan is to look on 2023 as another "building year," as 2021 was, although by "building" I mean "judicious additions," not "go wild."
Plans for 2023:
*I'd like to do a 30-day dress challenge, in a purple dress, for Lent. This would NOT be my Lenten discipline, just something that would be part of the whole picture.
*I'm also thinking a no-buy Lent, with possibly a wider application than just clothes. We already give up alcohol and sweets every year, not that we normally eat that many sweets. Last year I gave up buying Ngaio Marsh mysteries for my Kindle. Something like that could apply this year as well.
*I'd use my gift certificate from the 30-day for a spring/summer dress. Probably I'd wear one of my current dresses for Easter --- I've been trying Maggie with various pretty ribbon sashes, and I like that look for spring. I could also wear her or Camellia under my blue floral maxi skirt for a garden-party Easter look. So then I could buy a garnet Summer Midi . . .
I'd then be set with seven dresses. Whichever dress I choose for Lent --- it's a toss-up between the marionberry Sierra and the purple sage Sofia --- again, I'd buy a long-sleeved tee in the same color, to simulate a long-sleeved dress for the colder weather, as well as having a sleeveless dress to wear in the summer. This feels like good value for money to me, because it would give me three outfit elements with two purchases: a sleeveless dress, a long-sleeved dress, and a top to wear with other things.
*I am also prioritizing cardigans and other top layers, including one linen big shirt, for more warmth, variety, and versatility in my core wardrobe year-round.
I might do another no-buy in 2024, with the same rules I observed this year. But I think it's a good idea to have a year in between for building and reset. More and more I do have exactly the clothing I want to wear. I want to settle in and enjoy wearing it. But as things wear out, and life changes, and gaps in what I have begin to stand out to me, it's good to take some time to address those things in a thoughtful way.
Also, maybe this year I really will replace my 30-year-old hiking boots. I love them so much. But they hurt my feet. I've been watching Xero trail shoes and boots on Poshmark, and this might be the time.
I obviously have other goals besides clothing ones:
*to try to place my new poetry MS (my editor at Able Muse wants to look at it early in the new year)
*to polish and get my short-story collection ready to place (hopefully Wiseblood will be interested in seeing it, possibly for the 2024 catalog)
*to push my new novel forward
*to write some new poems
*to balance work and life, especially writing life: in addition to my ongoing job at the Sun, I will be teaching two poetry courses a semester through the online Homeschool Connections program, and serving as an associate poetry editor and copy editor at Able Muse Press. I'll be a visiting writer at the MFA Summer Residency at the University of St. Thomas in Houston in July. I'll be giving readings, though hopefully not traveling too often or too far to do that.
ETA: Almost forgot! I want to do a whole year in wool. Maybe not a whole wool dress EVERY day (though in practice that's what I've been doing for months), but some wool on my body every day in 2023. I've started a separate Instagram for this, just for fun, so be on the lookout.
ALSO ETA: I missed a couple of days in my Bible-in-a-year reading over the days when we had company, but am back on track. We're in Exodus, man. The people are complaining. Also still Psalms and Matthew, plus Book 2 of The Imitation of Christ.
What are your thoughts and goals for 2023?
Happy New Year to all!