Wardrobe Round-up: November 2018
Similar to last time, I’m going to go over:
- my favorite outfits this months
- an overview of my item wear counts and wardrobe inventory
- what I bought, returned, and donated
- and what’s on my wish list and purge list
Been really busy recently so I'm opting to get out a pared-down version of the round-up post rather than not post one at all! So it'll be lighter on the links and stats this time.
Favorites
I'm taking it as a good sign that each month I have a harder time paring my outfits down to a few favorites.
I like pretty much every outfit with this skirt tbh. I've had a harder time figuring out how to pair outerwear that isn't cropped with dresses and skirts, and I like how the trench worked here. Bit more of a streamlined shape, but still fairly fitted so it's not overwhelming.
First outfit with docs (the classic 1460 boot)! I wore a different pair of boots to go get them and then I wore this around the house for an hour to start breaking them in. Definitely the most painful shoe break-in I've done but they were very comfy after about two weeks!I dig the rosie the riveter vibes here with the scarf style headband with the workwear vibes in the clothes.
Worn on the first rainy day after like two weeks of awful smoke from the wildfires! I know the dress is more of a summer weight item compared to the rest of the outfit, but it was fairly warm out and I feel like compared to many fashion-interested folks I consider matching fabric weights a bit lower on my priority list.It can be tricky to pair untucked sweaters with skirts, but I found I tend to like them more with shorter skirts. I shortened this dress by tying a fabric belt around the waist and then hitching it up and over the belt a few inches.
Wardrobe Stats
As usual, all these numbers have some nonzero error bar associated with them. I’m not perfect at logging things but I’m hoping that over time, this will help me learn more about my buying and wearing habits.This month I wore:
- 46 items of clothing (not including loungewear or activewear)
- same number as last month!
- 26 of which I wore once (56%, up from 48% last month)
- 32 accessories (shoes, jewelry, bags, scarves),
- Down from 42 items last month. I think this is partly due to sticking to boots as it's gotten a bit colder.
- 12 of which I wore once (38%, up from 33% last month)
I've been pretty happy with the direction my accessories diversification has been going. I used to rotate through like two pairs of earrings and two pairs of boots, and I think diversifying the types of accessories I use has been helpful with making my looks more interesting, especially since I tend to favor more minimal clothing items. Continuing on from last month's use of fancy tights, I've now expanded to visible chunky socks! Just in time for winter.
Purchased
Green short sleeve linen blend button-down shirt, Goodwill, $4.99 – probably won't get to wear this until it gets warm again, but I think it'll look cute tied to a crop style with jeans. I'm still not sold that I'll end up loving the really boxy style that's been popular in recent years for button-downs (like the ones at Madewell and Everlane), so I think this is a good way to try it.Black sleeveless velvet maxi dress, Goodwill, $6.99 – I like that the slit on this one isn't too high! It allows for more movement but the dress doesn't become scandalously flappy in the wind. Also it didn't need hemming. Hurray!
Embroidered mesh overlay dress, BaronHong brand on Amazon, $36.99 – trying to find a less goth-y dress since I'm going to be watching a couple of shows at the SF Ballet in 2019 and didn't want to go in all-black every time. This is still mostly black, but it's a bit cheerier with all the florals! I'm not 100% digging the oversized sleeves/shoulders on my petite frame, but I think with a thin waist belt and a different cami dress than the provided one (which is laughable quality) it'll look nice. For this price, I'm not as picky.
Red suede block heel sandals, Nine West via Zappos, $71.10 – got these to replace the black suede block heel sandals that died a few months ago. I was hoping to find one that was better quality, but I'm starting to think that these are just intrinsically not a super sturdy shoe. But they work well for more dressy events, so I just got a similar pair from Nine West. It was the only low-heeled ones I could find in a red colorway. They seem okay, quality-wise. Not everything needs to be an out-of-the-park home run.
Black faux leather A-line skirt, Forever 21, $16.03 – A-line midi skirts forever! Hoping this lasts a fair amount of wears. Forever 21 is either really hit, or really miss. This has a raw edge which I normally hate but with this particular material it's okay. I like that this one was on the shorter end of midi for me. I feel like a longer one would be a bit overwhelming with this fabric.
Green christmas bauble earrings, Amazon, $11.19 – got these to dress up my black dress for an office holiday party. I really liked how the thread has a nice sheen, the weight, and the size, but I did not like how the metal bits were not glued on straight. Not too noticeable when moving around though.
Brown cable-knit thin sweater top, Stradivarius via ASOS, $32.00 – I realized I liked my fitted sweaters the most, so I got an orangey brown one to go with the cream, dark green, and black ones I have. It's in the pleather midi skirt photo.4-pack wool blend chunky socks, Amazon, $21.19 – more chunky socks for heavy boots. These seem pretty solid, though not like, outdoors/hiking brand solid.
Dr Martens 1460 boots, Bill's Footwear, $140 – from the wish list last month. The one and only combat boot. Although I finally internalized (despite being told earlier) that these take like five minutes to get on, so I may still end up getting a chelsea style flat boot for when I'm in a hurry or just wanna go out to take out the trash or something 🤦🏻♀️These are pictured in the velvet maxi dress photo above, as well as the "rosie the riveter" outfit in favorites.T-strap pumps, Børn via Poshmark, $46.49 – also from the wish list. I always check current stock for shoes because 1) more sizes 2) easy / free returns and 3) less chance of getting some foot fungus from used shoes, but for things like this which are just so out of trend that nobody sells them, ebay and poshmark it is. The T part of this is actually not as sharp as I ideally like, but it's close enough. As usual for Born, these are really sturdy and comfortable. The leather's a bit scratched but I actually like the effect here. I feel like t-strap shoes that are too shiny tend to look like "character" dance shoes.
Returned
"lady love song" green velvet dress, Modcloth, $97.23 – I feel like they must have had some special lighting or pinned the dress for the photoshoot because on me the ruching on the bust was significantly more .... ruched in person than the texture of rest of the dress and it looked mismatched on the bust and body parts of the dress. Someone else on reddit mentioned they had the same issue with it too.
Embroidered velvet sleeve mini dress, Amazon, $19.99 – Sometimes the cheap stuff is surprisingly good. This was expectedly meh. The design was cute and it fit, but the mesh sleeves had a bunch of tiny rips in them already.
Rust corduroy wide-leg pants, ASOS, $40.00 – Trying to get another pair of not-black pants. These fit but I didn't like how the thicker fabric meant that it was wide but had less drape. I felt like I had tree trunks for legs particularly with this colorway lol.
Rust wide-leg pants, ASOS, $48.00 – I liked these but they were simply too small in the hips.
Silver art deco style clutch, Nordstrom, $79.00 – I really liked the design of this but it was absolutely not worth the price. Lots of cheap-looking details. The fabric lining inside was glued down with lumpy air bubbles. The little interior pocket only had accordion folds on one side so it didn't expand evenly. The hinges that held the chain to the bag were super flimsy. Booo.
Red sparkly sweetheart neckline dress, Macys, $19.99 – the fabric on this was incredibly cheap looking in person. I usually don't order from the juniors section because of the cheapo fabrics, but I was getting more desperate to find a holiday dress and juniors stuff is short. Probably never going to even look at a jrs section again after this. Also wish that sweetheart necklines were more common!Black faux leather A-line skirt, Forever 21, $16.06 – same as the one I kept, but a size M instead of LGray herringbone pinafore dress, Forever 21, $17.43 – I had a suspicion that pinafore dresses might not work on me, but this confirmed it. I am not at a point where I want to join the #potatosacksisterhood and this was just not conventionally flattering. Pinafore + boobs adds like 15 lbs, and the little triangle thing I felt made my back look wider by comparison to its tiny triangle-ness. Also when I sat down the buttons bunched up a ton, but I think that's intrinsic to the stiffer fabric + fitted cut rather than a pinafore style specifically. Compare it to the more commonly known as conventionally flattering A-line skirt outfit.
Gold hand rings, ASOS, $8.00 – I generally collect realistic hand and eyeball motif jewelry as I come across it. These were just particularly cheap looking in person.
Purged
Mostly loungewear this month."I'm too cold for this" blue waffle knit pajama tank – This top is a conundrum. By the time it's actually cold enough to wear this, it's too cold to wear it. I got it out of the $2 bargain bin at Old Navy in high school and I think it's had its run.
"I need coffee" blue pajama t-shirt – this is really thin material and I find that I have other tacky t-shirts that I reach for over this for my slightly more substantial but still soft t-shirts. This was from Forever 21, back in high school.
black and white polka dot popover shirt – this is a slippery material and whenever I wear it I end up fussing with it every 30 seconds. The last time I wore it was January 2018 and have not really felt like wearing it since. This was from the Merona brand at Target.
cream shawl collar cardigan – I've come to favor a more polished/fitted look generally, and this one is a bit too loose-boho-loungewear for what I'm going for. Also it's not super luxurious / notably enjoyable to wear from a tactile standpoint. This was BDG Urban Outfitters from consignment.
wrap white stretch cotton crop top (loungewear) – this was comfy, but not as comfy as enough of my other loungewear items that I just never reached for it. It was also too boobtastic to wear outside for my tastes tbh. This was from Forever 21.
Purge Purgatory
Carrying over from last month: Eileen Fisher cream open-knit cardigan and the Garnet Hill black linen maxi cardigan. I try not to donate off-season items. Much easier to feel like you will never wear something when it's been the wrong weather for it for months!Navy floral-print long sleeved blouse – this used to be one of my most-worn items. I still love the print and the little rouleau button details on the cuffs and neck fastening, but the blue doesn't go as well with a lot of my current color palette (e.g. if I'm deciding between this and something cream/white/brown/olive, I always go for the earthy tones) so I never reach for it. Also it's that polyester "silk" fabric that tends to be less breathable. I used to have mostly "silk" or chiffon poly blouses for my workwear and I think this is the last of that era.
Gray boxy cotton cardigan – This is very comfy but 1) it has no pockets, 2) I prefer to wear it with skinny bottoms. These used to be my go-to 9/10 times but now I wear fitted bottoms once a week at most. Also leans a bit into the loungewear look which I have been trying to avoid for work outfits. Might get more use of it when it gets colder as a layering-only item during commuting.
Unintentional purgatory: I know I had at least two more long sleeved heattech thermal shirts, but they seem to have disappeared along with my black pleat-front culottes. Where could they go?? My apartment is 425 sq feet!
Wish list
Camel coat – carried over. Long outerwear in a lighter color option!
Concluding thoughts
Pretty pleased with how things are going in my wardrobe generally, although it has been pretty frustrating trying to find some petite formal dresses. Partly because I wanted to find one that fits off the rack and even most petite items are a tad long, and the ornate fabrics in formal dresses I think wouldn't even always be alterable without spending as much as the dress. Probably going to keep an eye out, but with the floral mesh maxi and the new shoes, going to stop actively looking those now.