Outfits September 1 - September 9 2019
In order to blend in with the changing foliage, the Margaret's outer coat turns various shades of yellow, orange, and red while maintaining some green once autumn begins.Just kidding, I wear fall colors all year round 😛 Also in the bay area there isn't really much fall foliage anyway 😢Saving September 11 through 15 for a travel post, coming soon! (Didn't get a photo on the 10th.)
September 1
This is the first year I've ever thought to do the whole #BackToHogwarts thing, but I was so pleased with how this Slytherin student look turned out 🐍I'm actually a Ravenclaw by personal identification + official Pottermore sorting, but I just own a lot of green clothes and snake-motifed items so I went for the classic green. I wore a button-down shirt, headband, and cardigan for some classic student aesthetic but toughened the whole look up with docs and a faux leather skirt.I wish I hadn't gotten this skirt hemmed quite so aggressively, as now it's a tad too short proportionally with crew necks and higher for my taste, but other than that I really liked the proportions and visual balance of textures and shapes here. I often feel like this shirt is too oversized and boxy but it ended up fitting pretty neatly under the cardigan, so I might try that combo more often.
Accessories close-up. Antiqued style metals for a stereotypical magical vibe.
After photographing this I remembered that I owned a snake brooch and added it along with some striped gray crew socks. No day like Back to Hogwarts Day to go all out!
September 2
No photo
September 3
This was a simple outfit that I made as part of my How to Look Older in Casual Clothes post. I wanted to explore how small changes like wearing your hair up or down, adding some light makeup, or changing classes styles can change up an overall look through the particular lens of how some items can make a look feel older or younger.
I did a whole bunch of detail comparisons, mostly focusing on outfits that featured graphic t-shirts. Check it out for some ideas for details to fiddle with in your own looks when you feel like going a bit more put-together on a casual day.
To be honest unless I'm straight up wearing a school branded t-shirt with jeans and sneakers, I don't think I really get mistaken for a student anymore. It doesn't show up in my outfit pics, but in person I have a pretty serious, cranky, and tired looking face (complete with hairline wrinkles) which I think probably ages me a lot.
September 4
This is a recycled photo, but I repeated this entire outfit because I was tired and but wanted to be cozy and cute. I love this jacket but find it difficult to style, so I really ought to wear versions of this more often.I think having the light colors in the tee and the sneakers keeps the whole look feeling more lighthearted rather than heavy and winter-y.
September 5
Yet another version of this witchy accessories-heavy look. Smock dress + fancy fishnets + patent leather pointed toe lace-up boots.
September 6
I think this might be one of my favorite outfits! Really hits the storybook style vibe: vintage inspired, earth tones, lots of depth from texture (satin, knit, corduroy, metallic), and details distributed throughout the outfit for visual interest (the buttons and the pleats on these trousers are 💯.
Accessories close-up. I don't wear these shoes that often (trying to change that this fall/winter), but when I do I feel like they really make the outfit! Not visible from a distance but I do always enjoy having witchy themed jewelry.
September 7
This was for the graphic tee Theme WAYWT challenge over on reddit. I wanted to do something with a t-shirt that didn't involve denim, and I was pretty happy with this 70s feeling outfit I came up with. I like that the sage green headband and pink tassel earrings increase the colorfulness of the look without exactly mirroring any of the colors in the shirt.
I actually was initially shooting for an outfit that would fit the maximalist theme, but I didn't really dig the dark florals combo. They were a simlar scale + all the darkness just made everything meld into one dark floral blob.
September 8
A relaxed weekend fit. I've worn variations of this top + red button-down skirt before, but I think this is the first photo this sun hat has made it into.I really like how the Ines de la Fressange skirts from Uniqlo have a wider yoke. It adds a smaller shape into the center of the outfit without a belt or even disrupting the color of the bottom piece. I still want to get this one hemmed a few inches though.I also enjoyed the matchiness of the hat ribbon, watch, and sandal straps, but I chose a brown purse to keep the whole look from feeling too "done".
September 9
I wasn't personally a fan of this one, although it still got a healthy amount of likes on Instagram. I think the blue jeans + docs just feels too workwear for my personal style tastes. I did like the yellow and green together though.
Conclusion
Well, if this month is any indication I think I'm significantly closer to my goal of being able to consistently make outfits that I love, easily. Looking at the results I'm pretty happy with most of it, but except for full-repeat outfits, styling things still takes a lot of time and work.I wish more advanced ootd instagrammers would discuss their outfit creation process more as well as post side by side "here's what I tried and didn't go with" photos for educational purposes. I've been enjoying the new #ootdindepth hashtag I started, but it is currently mostly other people who are figuring out their wardrobes and while that's still a good read and there are certainly some great outfits, it's mostly fairly pedestrian looks. My dream is still to find an account that does clinical outfit breakdowns on really interesting or maximalist outfits, not could-be-from-the-everlane-or-eileen-fisher-catalog fits that are more popular with the thoughtful-closet crowd.Does anyone know of any such accounts? The closest ones I can know of are Adina from Blue Collar Red Lipstick, who posts a lot of "style remix" photos and Katie from Alaskan Weredork often shows her outfit in different states of layering, although outfit breakdowns are not their primary focus. Interestingly they're both also long form content bloggers, so maybe I should look to that crowd for that type of account.