Wardrobe Round-up: September 22-30 2021
I was in Yellowstone National Park last week! Went all out hiking outfit for that trip, including wearing the same pants four days in a row, as one does. I always enjoy the break from having to think about picking outfits when I'm limited to the contents of a carry-on suitcase, but I'm glad to be back home now, where I'm limited only by my desire to wear the same three dresses and pair of overalls on rotate 😆
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Purchases
I didn't buy any clothes this week! An embarrassingly rare event, but I suppose that's what happens when I'm in a low-signal wilderness area for most of a week.
Outfits
As usual, the images are linked to the original Instagram posts, which have more notes.
Hadn't worn this top for a while! I wore it a lot pre-weight gain but basically forgot about it this last year while I didn't have many bottoms that fit well. Trying to bring it back in rotation!
Old season Anthropologie square neck puff sleeve eyelet blouse (similar blouse from American Eagle), Target Universal Thread high-rise vintage straight cropped jeans in size 12 short, MIA 'Madeline' clog (similar platform clog from same brand)
A "throw on random comfy stuff" day.
Hat from local garden center, Free People Oasis midi dress size S (it's currently in stock again!), Baggu nylon tote in 'backyard fruit' print, Teva Terra Fi 5 hiking sandals in celestial print
An extra-fall outfit inspired by the amazing and ridiculous MissCandyholic pumpkin bloomer overalls below. Worn to go eat some homemade pumpkin pie with neighborhood friends.
Madewell balloon sleeve sweater (old season, similar), Free People Ziggy Railroad Overall size L, Chuck Taylor 70 high top sneakers in parchment, Target candy corn choker
Another fall look! Just the basics, sweatshirt-jeans-boots-backpack. I love that the turkey's cartoonishly bright coloring goes with all my orange things.
Vintage turkey sweatshirt (feels really 90s to me) via Poshmark (current listing of the same sweater!), Madewell curvy sizing "perfect vintage jean" in sumner wash size 29 (runs small, similar Madewell style), Dr Martens "Leona" boots size 7 (normal sizing for docs, i.e. runs small), Loungefly 2019 pumpkin mickey backpack
Some outdoorsy looks from the Yellowstone trip! That Athleta top was SO great in both warmer and cooler weather. The highest temp was low 60s F and lowest was I think 17F. The pants were great too! We didn't do any super hardcore hikes on this one, but I wore them four days in a row and found them very comfortable.
REI Co-op sahara guide hat in L/XL, Athleta Uptempo Hoodie in flora mauve size M regular, Athleta 7/8 leggings size M (old colorway), Exploratorium raglan sleeve baseball tee with retro graphic, Athleta Trekkie North jogger in cattail brown size 8 regular, Keen hiking boots (linked their current version)
A more layered-up mix. I still can't pack appropriately for cold weather because I always pack like it's going to be a humid cold like the clammy oceanside weather here. I brought a second jacket I hardly ended up using because the above was plenty warm even for like 20F because it was SO DRY.
Golden State Cider beanie, Patagonia full zip synchilla fleece via eBay, Athleta Uptempo hoodie in flora mauve size M regular, Athleta Trekkie North Jogger in cattail brown size 8 regular, Smartwool medium hiking socks, Keen hiking boots, Baggu canvas backpack.
Closet clean out
Continuing to list stuff that doesn't get much wear anymore on Poshmark (more items listed than pictured here). I've been documenting this more on Instagram Stories but for the most part things fall into the following categories:
Doesn't fit and I don't love it enough to feel it's worth the storage space it's taking up, or it's a generic enough item I feel like I could find something similar that I like if I wanted it again.
Just not my style – either color (muted greens, blues, grays) and/or more minimalist in style than I'm into now. When I first started getting into clothes, I was starting from random tees with black leggings or dark blue and gray jeggings and wanted to have a more polished look, so I went for a lot of jersey items and things in simple cuts.
Duplicate item that I no longer wear often enough to justify multiples – I'm all for having multiples of frequently worn core pieces. But as tastes change, sometimes I still like something but it doesn't make sense to have more than one anymore. For example during the period last year where I didn't have any structured bottoms that fit, I was wearing a lot of sweaters and sweatshirts with leggings. I actually only had the pink sweatshirt at the time, but since then I've gotten a few more that I like and that piece no longer needs to carry that entire category. Generally I've found that I've enjoyed the simplicity of wearing a more one-and-done base like a dress or overalls so I'm mostly been cutting down on separates.
And the rest
The big thing last week was the vacation! Not in my top vacations ever list, but it was possibly the most actually-relaxing vacation that I've had. We purposefully underscheduled everything and had at most two things planned for each day and no strenuous PTSD-inducing hikes, and it was great not to be in a rush.
Overlook of Old Faithful Geyser. The trail has some elevation gain obviously, but it's pretty short and IMO great view-for-your-sweat value. We brought a pair of binoculars for this trip and 10/10 would recommend getting some for any trips with vistas or wildlife viewing!
As expected, there were bison everywhere. Also elk. I was sorely tempted to buy a sticker that said "do not take selfies with the fluffy cows" from a gas station but I abstained.
This is Watson. He is a tester fluffy/'angora' triceratops I brought along to test how much this yarn would shed. Happy to report that while he does seem a bit fuzzier now than a week ago, there was no shedding so I will be offering these on the Etsy shop as soon as I get a batch finished.
If you're not into the stairmaster style hiking, Yellowstone is a great option because the park is quite flat, and a lot of the trails are actually boardwalks that only go about a mile out from the parking lots! Walking on this sort of thermal feature is probably not the best idea, and this way you can get a better look at the geysers/mudpots/fumaroles/springs.
Grand Prismatic hot spring
Tried a couple of the local beers and ciders. This one was my favorite, because it was basically a combination beer-cider.
For smaller fauna, it was mostly crows, chipmunks, and squirrels. The squirrels there were a lot more compact and athletic looking and less fluffy/chunky than the ones in Berkeley.
FOR THE GRAM!
Overlook at the top of Elephant Back Trail next to Lake Yellowstone. This trail was a nice moderate 3.5 mile loop, but tbh the trail itself was mostly fairly boring monotonous tree scenery and I don't think I'd repeat it even though the lake view was pretty.
We stayed in the Yellowstone Lodge 'frontier cabins' but checked out the other fancier hotels because I like National Parks Rustic style architecture buildings. The Old Faithful Inn is one of the largest log structures in the world!
I mean, check that OUT.
Masks still required indoors. Apparently even for bison.
Mammoth Hot Springs was one of the most otherworldly areas! One thing that was a bit of a letdown about the visit was the lack of interpretive signs compared to say, Yosemite. There would be names of features and usually one or two signs explaining the basics, but for example in this area the signs would only say that these terraces were formed by mineral deposits. But why does it end up becoming a terrace instead of a lump like the sinter deposits around the geysers?? Isn't that the interesting part about this area? WHERE IS THE INFORMATION? There's no cell signal in most of the park so it's not easy to just look things up on the spot, either.
The visitor center with the park history also didn't really discuss the Native American history in the park beyond like, one sign that pretty much just said "Here is a list of tribes that are/were associated with the area prior to settlement by the US" 😒. They also didn't specifically mention the 1988 fires which seem like a PRETTY MAJOR EVENT given that a third of the park burned down? I didn't learn about that until after we got back and I read up more on the sad-looking state of a lot of the forested areas. I know it's good to read up on a place some before visiting, but personally I find a lot of this stuff pretty dry without seeing the sights in person first and am more motivated to read up after a visit, but I was just surprised how scant info was when as this is one of the more developed parks.
This was in the Mud Volcano area, which was my favorite of the smelly thermal areas we visited because the whole thing just had fantasy danger-swamp vibes.
Aptly named Dragon's Mouth Cave
🦬 🍑 I was also tempted to buy this glorious stuffed bison but I didn't have space for it
We drove through Grand Teton National Park on the way back and that was actually one of my favorite parts of the trip 😅! I'm more of a plants and animals person than a geology person and the trees in Yellowstone are pretty meh (it seems to be mostly the same type of new-growth pine trees), but the scenery here was absolutely stunning. My partner wants to do a short backpacking trip out here at some point, but I think the next park we have on our list is either Sequoia or Death Valley.
