Outfit Diary #26
New Color Combinations + A Few Links
Sunday was an absolutely perfect day - the temperature was in the 60s and after a weekend of grey skies, rain and wind, it was sunny and calm. The perfect day to spend a few hours out in a boat! We are extremely lucky that we have close family friends who own a boat and allow us to use it when they or their kids aren’t 💕
We decided to pick up some food (sandwiches, bagels and lemonade) to have a family lunch on the water.
I kept my outfit super comfortable and covered for sun protection and warmth. This sweatshirt that I took from the kid’s recent clothing declutter has become a staple in my wardrobe - I’ve only had it for a few weeks and I feel like I’ve worn it so much already! I chose to wear my loose-fitting cargo jeans and my Birkenstock clogs. I was a little worried about losing them in the water when I was getting on/off the boat but that worry was unfounded, thankfully!
My Patagonia black hole bag that I got around 2021 is my go-to bag for activities, as well as it being my personal item when we travel. I wore it as a tote this day but I can convert it into a backpack which I do when we travel.
I layered a similarly colored t-shirt under the sweatshirt in case I got too warm (I didn’t). I’m surprised by how much I’m enjoying a little bit of cream in my wardrobe!
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 9/10; Fun - 8/10
Outfit Rating System:
Comfort - Was I too hot or cold? Did it fit me properly? Did I have to adjust any of the items constantly? Style - Did I feel stylish in the outfit? Did it feel like a “me” outfit, or was there something about it that was off? Fun - Did I try something new? Was I really excited about the outfit, or was I bored by the outfit?
* denotes a secondhand item.
I’m happy that it’s a little cooler out this week as I just got this sweater for Mother’s Day and I want to enjoy it before it gets too hot! I’m so in love with it and now I want all the Babaa sweaters 😅. Just kidding, but one in chocolate brown wouldn’t hurt!
I just realized that I’m wearing all of the new items that I got this month in this outfit. I really had no idea how much these jeans would add to my wardrobe. I feel like I’ve always wanted a pair of white or cream colored jeans but I’ve never been able to find a pair that I liked, mostly because I was looking at the wrong styles.
The trick for me is more room in the thigh area, aka I need to stay far away from skinny jeans!
I love red and brown paired together so I decided to wear these brown ballet flats with the red sweater and I love how it looks. I wanted a small bag that had brown tones in it to compliment the shoes so I borrowed this vintage Coach handbag from my daughter - she picked this up in Toronto a few years ago when we were there visiting one of my best friends. She has a little silver Toronto pin on it as well which I think is really sweet!
I really liked this color combination. Did you read the Sewing Daydream Newsletter that I published yesterday? If so, imagine the wrap skirt in a chocolate brown linen in place of the jeans, and maybe with a pair of white slingbacks 🤔
Sewing Daydreams - A Pant Set and a Skirt
The really great thing about doing a no buy year, followed by a low buy year (there are honestly so many), is that without the constant mental noise around shopping - looking for the perfect item, wo…
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 10/10; Fun - 10/10
This was purely a wfh day with a lot of sitting around. I hadn’t worn these black pants in a while and since they’re really comfortable (aka, have stretch) I figured that this would be a great day to wear them.
I paired them with a grey crewneck that I’ve had for years. It (plus it’s matching pants) was a Christmas gift from my family one year. I actually wear the pants as pajama pants and they are becoming quite worn and there are holes developing. However, the sweatshirt has been barely worn and was almost decluttered earlier this year, but after trying it on, I realized that I really liked the fit and color. It’s honestly a very nice sweatshirt and I’m glad that I kept it!
I added my silver sneakers as a way to make the outfit a little more interesting, even if the only time I went outside was to take the dog out or to do school pickup!
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 9/10; Fun - 8/10
I noticed this morning that I hadn’t worn my black dress pants in a while so I started with them, then I added my brown ballet flats because I wanted to see how the two would work together. I tried a dressier black long-sleeved top but I didn’t think the shapes of the 2 pieces worked together, so I tried my cream sweatshirt and I liked how it’s casualness contrasted with the dressier elements on the bottom.
I chose my brown vintage Coach lunchbox bag because I love how matchy-matchy it is with the shoes. I decided to add my grey silk hankie as a necktie to throw in another casual element.
I really loved this! The color combo felt like perfection 🤎🤍🖤
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 10/10; Fun - 10/10
I’ve been really frustrated with my spring style these past few weeks!
While I’ve liked the majority of the outfits, I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a style rut. And while I think that repeating outfits/items is great and all, I start to feel uninspired after a while. I think the weather is also impacting me (from hot to cold and rainy), but I’m trying to take advantage of the cooler temps to wear my knitwear!
On Wednesday evening, I found myself watching some videos on Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s style and I felt inspired to put this outfit together, putting my own spin on it!
I used her love of cardigans, blue jeans and loafers as the main inspiration. Then I added a white tank top and white socks (because it’s still chilly and these shoes are a little too big so it helps them to not slip off my feet). I kept the jewelry minimal, as usual, and added my black circle bag.
I really liked how this outfit came together and I felt really good in it. I still really want to remove this hardware on the shoes though (or just get a solid black pair)!
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 10/10; Fun - 10/10
I’d tried to wear this top earlier in the week with my black trousers but I didn’t like the 2 together (hmm, maybe if I had tucked the top into the trousers instead of leaving it out over, it would have worked better - something to try next time). I was thinking that it would work out over a pair of wide leg pants (tight top/loose bottom) and I do like how it looked. Both of these items are textured and make for an interesting combination. I added my silver sneakers because the top has silver knot covers at the end of the ties.
It was low 60s so I wanted to wear something over the top. First, I tried my long denim dress left open. Something about the dress length/the wideness of the leg/the flat sneaker is not working for me.
Not wanting to change the other elements of the outfit, I tried my oversized wool blazer and I really liked how it looked with the other pieces, so that’s what I went with. It almost felt like I was wearing sweats under the blazer!
I couldn’t stop thinking about the denim dress over the top/pant combo though, so I decided to try it with my white slingbacks and I think these work! I added in my silver handbag (converted to a clutch/wristlet) and I think this would be so great for an evening out - too bad our dining out budget is maxed! Maybe next month.
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 10/10; Fun - 10/10
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how much I enjoyed the black/brown/white combo from Wednesday and I wanted to see if I could recreate it using a few other items in my wardrobe, especially with a pair of black jeans that I hadn’t worn in a while.
I started with a base outfit of a black tank top tucked into my black straight-legged jeans. I have 2 options for brown shoes - my new ballet shoes or a pair of chunkier fishermen sandals. I opted to go with the ballet flats for more elegant effect. I did momentarily think about wearing my cream sweatshirt again but then I saw my white vintage tie-front top and knew that it would go perfectly with the other pieces. I got this in the time between my no and low buy years and at first, I was a little precious about it so I wasn’t reaching for it, but it brings me so much joy to wear it and I’m really trying to lean into that!
For the final touch, I added my brown vintage Coach bag, which I feel like I’ve been wearing more and more since I got these shoes.
Comfort - 10/10; Style - 10/10; Fun - 10/10
Perfect Scores: 5/7 outfits this week got perfect scores from me - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. When I started this week, I was feeling really “blah” about my wardrobe and outfits, so I really wasn’t expecting so many outfits to get perfect scores. Sometimes I tell myself the old lie that if I’m not constantly adding new items then I have nothing interesting to wear, but that’s simply not true. Sometimes I just need to think of new outfit combos (like in Wednesday’s outfit when I paired a sweatshirt with trousers) or new color combinations (red/white/brown or black/brown/white) to make things feel fresh again!
Absolute Favorite: my ABSOLUTE favorite outfit was…ok, I actually have 2 - I just loved the cardigan/jeans/loafer combination from Thursday. I felt really great and I loved the softer color combo with the contrasting black elements (and the socks felt so fun). My other favorite was Saturday’s outfit - I just really love the fit of these black jeans and I love, love, love the detailing of the top. And of course, the color combination!
Most Comfortable: This one is much harder this week! Friday’s outfit was extremely comfortable, almost like I was wearing sweats, but not. However, it was a little fussier (with the wide legs) than Sunday’s or Tuesday’s outfit. So, I guess I had 3?
Most Likely to Repeat: I’d repeat all of these.
Least Likely to Repeat: I honestly have nothing for this category!
Item Source: Of the 25 items that I wore this week (excluding jewelry), 15 of them were secondhand (60%) and 10 were purchased new (40%). I’m happy to see the pendulum swing back to more preloved items this week after last week’s anomaly but it’s also interesting to see the changes in my buying habits evolve this year.
Just watched…North of North (Netflix) and if this isn’t the cutest show on TV right now, I need to know what other shows could possibly be cuter, because I need to watch them! I binge watched this in one afternoon (8 episodes, approx. 25 mins each) and now I’m sad that it’s over, but season 2 is confirmed!! So, if you’re looking for something light-hearted, with a focus on community, as well as some beautiful clothes, I’d recommend this!
I’ve been on the hunt for a good sunscreen for my kids that won’t cause breakouts, as they have acne-prone skin. After perusing the Acne subreddit, I learned about a pore-clogging checker and I ended up using one from Clearskin. And while this is a brand with it’s own products, I appreciate that the checker is available to use for other products. All I had to do was copy and paste ingredients into the checker and I found 5 sunscreens in which no pore-clogging ingredients were found! We will work through each of the sunscreens until we find one that they’re happy with.
Ended up buying this one to try first:
Did you know…that there are different grades for matcha green tea? I had no idea and was actually making my matcha with culinary grade matcha, until I ran out and noticed at the shop that there is also ceremonial grade matcha, as in…what they use for tea ceremonies! And the difference is huge! I think that it blends better and even if there is a little of the concentrate left at the bottom, it isn’t bitter.
If you enjoyed or discovered something new this week, I’d love to here all about it in the comments. I’m always looking for new things to try!
As always, thanks so much for being here and for your support - it means so much! I hope you have a great week 🫶🏻
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I was so excited reading this post. It really made my heart sing to hear that you loved my all time favourite colour combination - black, brown, white/cream. It is my go to whenever I am feeling blah or just don't know what to wear, I always feel fab in it and I feel a cohesion with nature. Absolutely loved your outfits this week! I have a feeling some choc brown bottoms may be your next purchase...
Love the red and brown color combo!