On the last day of January, here's a first: our first daffodil of the season!
It's the end of the month, and you know what that means --- it means the January Best-Outfit Retrospective, that's what, otherwise known as Top Ten Things I Would Actually Wear Again.
That's usually how it shakes out, right? Some days you think, Yeah! And some days you think, This was nice once.
So here's the Yeah! countdown for January:
Maggie, always a winner. She got a lot of love this past month. Here she is on New Year's Day with a gray cardigan, navy tights, layered necklaces, and a pop of red on the feet.
Sierra, also always a winner, paired here with a thrifted denim shirt, my trusty marble-pattern bamboo leggings, and EVA Birks, because it was warm that day. And wonky hair.
From wonky hair to wet hair. Here's Maggie again, worn as a top with this thrifted red linen skirt, charcoal tights, Tari boots, and the gray cardigan again.
Maggie again! Dressed up this time with a thrifted linen-blend duster cardigan, layered necklaces, gray tights, Tari boots.
Audrey, also a favorite this month, shown here with thrifted merino blazer cardigan, merino tee, tights, and Tari boots.
Fiona, not to be forgotten! This was another warmish day, when I took my new-to-me linen button shirt for a spin, with bamboo leggings and Xero sandals.
Maggie again, layered with my rose-pink base-layer tee, gray leggings, and Xero Oswegos.
An outfit I've repeated a lot since last fall: Camellia with alpaca cardigan, striped bamboo leggings, Tari boots.
Audrey for another round, with a thrifted pink merino tank over, and a thrifted merino cardigan over that, and warm tights under, and Tari boots, and a thrifted scarf I've had for a long time. I really loved this interplay of colors.
And finally, one more for Sierra, in what has become another favorite combination, with this redyed cardigan, charcoal merino tights, and the Tari boots.
It's been a good month, with a lot of variety in the weather, and a number of fun new items to play around with in different combinations. I'm looking forward to more of the same in February --- varied weather, varied possibilities for things to wear. As I said yesterday, I'm not buying anything new in the clothing department this month, and possibly not till after Easter. January has been a nice little no-more-no-buy frolic, but it's time to hit the pause button and just wear the clothes I have.
Which of course includes the last items still to arrive. My new-to-me hiking boots should arrive by the end of the week, and while I'm not sure hiking boots exactly count as a style item, they have always been part of my style. I anticipate cycling them in, because they'll be good for dog-walking --- if I wear 'em, they're my style.
And then there's my Willow dress, which is out there somewhere. She was supposed to arrive last night and did not, possibly because of inclement weather across the central U.S. Now the tracking is saying she will arrive later than expected, and is not giving me a projected date. She'll get here eventually. But she was my dress plan for today, when other than a dentist appointment at 1:30 (note to self: you have MANY HOURS in which to get things done; do NOT tell yourself that there's no point in trying to accomplish anything because you have this appointment; don't do it), I don't have anything in particular on.
Well, work. I spent three hours in a Zoom meeting yesterday, which was very productive: Jody and I scheduled nine weeks' worth of poetry, all the way through Holy Week. Now we just have to get our intros written. Our plan is to bang through the first two weeks' worth this week, and then we can take our time with the rest. Meanwhile, I've just received the first draft of the novel project that I'm reading for a University of St. Thomas MFA student. And then I need to attend some more to the poetry submissions at the magazine. Save for the dentist, I could do everything I need to do in my pajamas, though of course I won't. Getting dressed puts my head in the right place to focus --- it's a weird little executive-function hack that way.
So today we're playing Spot the Wool Dress.
See her now? It's Audrey, in hiding, being a shift/slip today. She'd show a little over the cardigan's v-neck, but her own neckline is deep enough (the one thing I don't love about this dress, to be honest) that I felt a little filler-in was warranted.
I didn't think this cardigan would button shut very well, because it's a small, but it does. I really like the fitted shape for a change.
Of course I'm not nearly as willowy as I like to delude myself that I am, but that's okay.
Meanwhile, here is my patient face, waiting for my new dress to appear:
I haven't worn this infinity scarf nearly enough, so I'm glad to have had a reason to reach for it today.
Also: I have done a hack! Among my January aquisitions, though far less trumpeted, have been two Allbirds merino bralettes, bought on Poshmark. They're great, I love them, EXCEPT: they don't have pads/cups. But they are both double-layered, so this morning I took my sewing scissors and snipped little slits in the inside layer of the one I'm wearing today, and I inserted some extra bra pads I happened to have. These come from a bra that had worn out, but the pads were still just fine, so I cut them out, thinking I'd use them sometime. I have a little collection of these, so I plan to give my other new bralette the same treatment. Now I have nice merino against my skin, AND the level of coverage/support (minimal, but still) that I get in my bamboo bralettes. It's not great. I do not have lift and support going on. But I'm not completely braless, either.
I have to give credit to someone in the Wool& Facebook group for this hack --- I didn't think of it myself. But I'm glad I read it. Things like this are why I stay in that group, even though it does give me FOMO and makes no-buys a little harder than they might otherwise be.
And now the dog is clamoring in her crate, so I need to sign off and launch myself into this day for which I have dressed with such care.