I think, *think*, it might be safe to say that DC is transitioning to Spring. You can never completely tell, but I get the feeling the next couple blog posts are going to be the end of straight hair for a while. Once my scalp starts sweating it's a no go, lol.

Also, is anyone else doing a wardrobe culling? I'm trying not to be too hard on the winter stuff that didn't get worn because the season just wasn't that cold this year, but looking forward to Spring/Summer I feel the need for less even if I'm not sure how that will exactly look. Take today's outfit. Before pulling it together I would have said it was time for this turtleneck to go. It's a super slim fit and kind of sheer, neither of which really appeal to me. But like this? It was the perfect non-black/white neutral, balanced both of the corduroy pieces, and really made the whole thing complete. I know I shouldn't keep a piece just because of one outfit, but did remind me of the efficacy of sometimes boring pieces, even if there are a couple things that aren't ideal.

I feel similar about undershirts - I know, objectively, I have too many t-shirts. BUT, now that I'm wearing thinner knits more often, these shirts function perfectly as a sweat barrier, and having more of them on hand means I'm not doing laundry as often. Which for a person who doesn't have a washer/dryer in unit, really speaks to me. It's a bit of a conflict in my closet right now, a desire for less while also making sure that the pieces I love are around longer to be worn when I want to. Combined with a deep hatred for laundry.

CONUNDRUMS ABOUND.

I'm not going to lie and say the majority of this outfit wasn't purchased due to Influencer marketing. Truth is truth. Last year I can attribute this sweater to Lizzy Hadfield, and the jacket to Brittany Bathgate. And probably the pants too, though Brittany showcased the jean version of this style and I decided I had enough of those.

I think all in all this whole look is a good example of the direction I'd like my wardrobe to go in, at least when I'm not wearing sweatpants (shrug).

1) It's too cold to wear half of the outfits I want to, kinda like this one. I feel cool and awesome and almost froze to death taking these photos.

2) Even though it's progressively getting lighter in the afternoon/evenings, as far as pictures go the lack of ambient light is shit. Especially because upping the ISO levels as I did below, result in fuzzy pictures  (which I kind of knew it would but I was hoping I was wrong.

Maybe we should collectively decide I'm going for a "vintage" aesthetic? That could work. In fact, screw it, I put these in A Color Story and now they're *deliberately* retro. I'm fashion forward, that's right, and not a procrastinator.

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 feel like it's a rare moment these days for me to fall in love with a print - let alone fall in love with onw enough to acknowledge its place in my increasingly more neutral and solid wardrobe. But this N&Co dress got me, with its ridiculously bright Versace inspired print that made me think of both 90s AND 70s. I'm not going to say this dress is gonna be in my wardrobe for years and years, but I definitely have the feeling that I'm going to enjoy every outing in it while I can.