Wardrobe Round-up: September 15-21 2021
It's officially fall! Ironically I've actually worn less autumnal looks this week than the last, but I chalk that up to the minor heat wave and being enamored with pairing lilac + orange. I'm continuing on with my own closet clean out, and finally found a pair of hiking pants that fit!
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Purchases
Two items this week, both activewear!
Athleta 'Trekkie North Jogger' in cattail brown, size 8 regular – I've previously lamented the difficulty of finding hiking pants that are petite friendly (a lot of options have cuffs/cinches at the bottom that would make hemming more complicated) and curvy cut. After searching through options and getting recs from the find hivemind on Instagram, I initially ordered the Title 9 "Clamber" pant in short sizing, but it was backordered to 9/17, then recently pushed out again to 10/22. I wanted to have a pair of proper active pants before an upcoming trip we have so I decided to just go to the nearest brick and mortar Athleta and see if any of their pants worked. I was pleasantly surprised that this one wasn't too terribly long. If anything it's a more appropriate length to tuck into socks for more tick infested areas than if it was a cropped fit, and there's no pooling at the ankles so I'm actually happy with it. The orangey brown color and pocket zips were nice too.
The waistband on the size 8 is 16" across unstretched and the front rise is 10.5". The fabric is comfortably stretchy (2-way stretch, according to the tag) but at least in my initial wear doesn't seem to bag out. It does not make a zip-zop noise when you walk, but IMO the pants are still unmistakably technical fabric pants (but cute ones!).
Athleta 'Uptempo Hoodie Sweatshirt' in Flora Mauve, size M – The one long sleeve technical fabric top I had I donated quite a while back as it had become too small. I've been making do without one by just layering fleece or sweatshirts, but I do like having that option when it's a little colder out. I really liked the mauve/lilac color on this one and thought the cowl neck effect of the hoodie was cute. I've not been super into tunic length tops in recent years, but I actually really liked the proportions of this with the full length pant, and the tulip hem silhouette from the side adds a nice sporty touch and some definition. It's a bit long and I think a petite size would have fit better, but it's a thumbhole length anyway so I was fine just getting the one available in the store. I'd say this is more of a shirt than a sweatshirt as the material is more of a t-shirt weight.
Cropped patchwork cardigan – this was a Poshmark purchase from last week, but it's since arrived! It's a little snug to comfortably close, but I usually wear this type of cardigan open anyway. I got into the arts and crafts style pieces more from the cottagecore perspective, but I feel like the 90s colors on this one will also work really well with more of a granola casual vibe with Tevas or sneakers.
Closet clean out
My closet edit continues! I'll probably do a reflections post after I get through it, but so far I've done the 'reverse closet clean out' where I took everything out of the bedroom closet and freestanding clothing racks, and only put back items that I've worn recently or are off-season pieces that I know immediately how I'd wear them. Everything else I washed to refresh and put into leftover moving boxes. I'm going through a couple of pieces each day and deciding whether it's something I want to keep, sell, give away, or should go to fabric recycling.
For stuff I want to keep, I need to be able to style it in at least one outfit that isn't similar to another outfit in the same niche that I would likely opt for instead. For example, if I have a graphic tee, I can of course style it with some straight leg high-waisted jeans and Converse high tops since that's a winning combo for me. But if there are one or two other graphic tees in the same cut that I like more, why would I wear that one? I'm at a point now where pretty much anything that's still around it something that I at least like, but of course I favor some pieces more than otheres, so it's more of an issue of whether it's got enough charisma to ever actually wear it in an outfit over other pieces in the same category.
I am going to allow myself one bin of sentimental/ill-fitting/someday-costume items in our storage closet and one under-bed storage bin for off-season pieces, but currently I've got about three moving boxes worth of clothes that don't comfortably fit in the bedroom, so I figured it's time again to just go through everything. I'm informally documenting the process over on my Instagram stories instead of doing an extensive write-up for each if you'd like to follow along there.
Anything in good condition that is reasonable for a person to buy on Poshmark (i.e. not low-cost items that aren't worth the shipping or people are more likely to search for new) I'll be listing on my sale page. Unless otherwise specified in the listing description, my main goal here is to get things to someone who will actually wear them, so don't be shy about making offers.
Outfits
Enjoying my overalls with the classic tee and sneakers combo. Aerie rib-knit lettuce edge crewneck cropped baby tee in M, Free People 'Ziggy' denim overall in L, Converse Chuck Taylor 70 high tops in "parchment", vintage Timex watch from eBay, Etah Love 'snakebite' necklace (gifted)
An outfit repeat, though with slightly different hairstyling. I always get Halloween vibes from this, I think because in addition to the orange it reminds me of Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas. Handmade oversized patchwork cardigan (Poshmark), Free People 'Get Obsessed' dress in S, Solmate socks in 'amaranth', New Balance sneakers.
Really loved the lilac and orange! I see purple and orange flowers planted together all the time, I hope eventually it becomes more of a common pairing with outfit with all that secondary color goodness. Universal Thread cardigan in L, same dress and socks as above (socks are same colorway in the longer crew length), A New Day headband
It's officially calendar-fall now, but it's been pretty warm here. It got into the high 80s, which is really hot for the coastal Bay Area, where a lot of residential buildings (including mine) don't have any AC (even window units). I decided to just lean into it and give the old pleated-shorts and graphic tee formula another hurrah.
Hat from local garden center, vintage t-shirt from eBay, vintage Gitano shorts from Poshmark, Teva Terra Fi 5 sandals (I'm usually 7.5 and opted for an 8), Baggu backpack (older style)
REI sun hat, Target cactus tee in XL (runs small), Free People 'shorty pull on short' in L, Birkenstock Arizona sandals in mocha, Trader Joe's tote
Repeated this look with the froggy bag. As much as I like wearing it with black dresses for a full witchy look, I think this is my favorite outfit as the light taupe feels a little less serious.
San Diego Hat Co hat, vintage Katha Diddel frog purse from eBay, another Free People 'Get Obsessed' dress in S, Birkenstock Mayari sandals
And the rest
A new-to-me hashtag that I've been enjoying is #AnthroWindows. I have very rarely been to shops in person in the last year, and I love getting the installations in my Instagram feed! I love all things immersive theming and decor, and a lot of the people posting in the tag are the actual designers so it's fun to get a bit of insight on their favorite parts or some behind the scenes.
I crocheted a little mooncake for my dinosaurs for the Mid Autumn Festival! I freehanded it and then brushed on a little acrylic paint for a toasted look. After doing that I realized I could probably paint over the pumpkin choker from Target that wasn't quite my favorite shade of orange, so I hope to have an update on that for the next round-up!
I'm still not done putting up the Halloween decorations, but I've actually since rearranged the area in the first photo to include a tiered tray for my makeup and a gothic birdcage from Michael's for the ghoulish garden Target plant I got last year. I like how the extra black metal ties the dresser area in with the freestanding wardrobe! Before it was a little bit bright compared to the heavy colors of the dresser, which has a black metal frame and handles. Looking at this now, I think I need to add some of the leftover caterpillars from the standing mirror into the plant cage for some more action.
Looking forward to keeping all that up year round 🎃 If you're decorating for fall or Halloween, what style of that decor do you go for? I've been loving the apothecary/naturalist witchy pieces, but also of course pretty much anything with pumpkins (my favorite fall/Halloween motif).