So as you can probably guess, I've been sitting on these photos for a while. A last minute post-brunch decision, from before the world went to hell. And then as things got worse - and worse - and somehow worse again, it became really hard for me to imagine a time when I'd be back to regularly posting. Which is not what this is (I'm sorry, think you'll have to find someone else for your at home/quarantine content), but I decided I wanted to remember this day, and this friend, and the lovely weather and brunch we had at Unconventional Diner.

The end.

So it turns out that that rule about not buying a piece that requires you to buy other pieces works pretty well. Each of these were separate purchases over a decent span of time, and none of them were bought with this outfit in mind. But I think together it results in an obviously historically inspired but contemporary outfit, that brings me a lot of joy.

I'm not going to lie - one of the reasons I don't do buying guides or wishlists is that I rarely have a very specific piece in mind when clothes shopping, and even when I do, it's rare that what I'm eyeing fits the way I like. I am a person who buys a lot and keeps very little - it's a gift and a curse, because I'll try on almost anything and sometimes that works in my favor even when I don't want it to. I think that's the hardest thing to explain to people about my wardrobe. I try on, and even temporarily buy, a LOT because the percentage of what I actually like and keep is negligible. Ok, well may not negligible, but it's certainly not HIGH. I like clothing and admire how other people look in them, which influences what I decide to try, but it doesn't change what I decide to keep because if it doesn't look good it doesn't look good.

Which is all well and good as a philosophy until I find myself in the dressing room at a Christy Dawn pop-up and all of the seemingly large and oversized "one size fits all" pieces look like sh*t. Like all things in life it's a work in progress.

I know that it's August and people are ready to start winding down on the whole "summer" thing, but DC DOES NOT STAND FOR THIS BLASPHEMY.

If there is a chance for it to be hot as hell and humid it will take it, and for moments like that I glad I splurged a bit over the winter on this LACAUSA (care of Anthropologie) dress. I did a little surgery and brought the neckline up a little, for obvious reasons, and I have to say I can see this is staying with me for years as a rooftop/vacation/hot-as-balls dress.

Plus, it looks perfect with flats.

In case you're as obsessive about my wardrobe as I am (doubtful), you may have noticed a distinct lack of skirts on the blog over the last year or two. Slowly but surely I got rid of almost every one I owned, with the most simple of reasons - I just didn't want to wear them anymore. It took a lot of online mental convincing to even get me to the point of trying any on this season, but Reformation got me over the finish line.

I got exclamations of shock from some of the associates when I said this in store, but I do actually find Reformation to fit true to size. It might not fit well, and it might not look great, but it does fit, and so I wasn't totally shocked that the size 12 did here. What did shock me was how well it flowed over the parts of myself I'm most self-conscious about, and how fun the bright green was. I considered the investment in one skirt I truly loved worth it, though after wearing it a couple times in real life I've also decided that for my own comfort I'm going to be sewing down the slit an inch or two hahaha.

And in an effort to be totally transparent, this lovely cross-body bag did a number on the weave of the skirt, causing some picks over my hip that did destroy my life a little. BUT. I am buying clothes to wear and you know what happens? Picks, runs, stains, LIFE. I refuse to invest in a skirt that makes me happy and never wear it because I'm scared of messing it up. I'm woosahing about the whole thing, because if you don't wear your favorite pieces, what's the point?

With these boots I've officially decided I'm not going to keep trying black ankle booties. I like them on everyone else, which in theory would imply I'd like them on myself, but alas. On me all I see are boots that make my legs look short and wide, which is not really what I'm going for. And it doesn't matter what I've worn with them, the color or length of the jeans, or the top. It is what it is. But does that mean I don't enjoy these relatively recent Free People purchase? Hell no, because they're comfortable and have a slightly longer base to protect the pointed tip of the boot which, by the way, is GENIUS. What this new information does do is let me know that there will be no Acne Jensen or other boots in my future, because the style doesn't make me happy enough for a real investment.

In another tale of "Dana over analyzes past purchases", we have this Eileen Fisher top. I bought it during a phase of admiration for true minimalist bloggers, in an attempt to emulate the particular type of neutral/clean lines/etc characteristics that they look for in pieces. In the end I'm not sure I was spectacularly successful. This top is comfortable, but the for the price I can't help but feel delicate with it, and I'm just waiting for the day when the armpits take on that dreaded yellow tone. And I feel like the neckline isn't as flattering as it could be, since I really only wear this top when I'm able to wear my hair down, the help frame things better. All in all I'm mostly glad that I bought it so I could experiment with the look, but the more I follow ethical/minimalist bloggers, the more I become convinced that I'm too attached to more a culturally mandated sense of "flattering" for it to actually become part of my look long term.

Sometimes a print or a shape alone is enough to get me to walk into a new-to-me store, and that's exactly what happened with Me Two Designs. I had never seen the storefront before in Tyson's, but I loved the combination of more modern shapes with the traditional African print. The sizing is a little strange - this large fit perfectly, but others weren't going over my hips or boobs without divine intervention - but it's definitely a label I'd like to explore more in the future.

Oh, and if you're taller than me this dress would probably be perfect for you to wear with flat sandals, I had to hem about 3" off the bottom.