So after a nice weekend in DC we have of course gone back to cold, rainy, awfulness and WOW winter is a trial for my sensibilities.

I didn't realize my mid-30's was going to be the time when I no longer picked being cold over being hot - even with cool coats like this.

(I hope y'all appreciated that segue.)

I'm a little proud of myself for this coat purchase because 1) I feel cool as f*ck whenever I wear it, and 2) I actually saw it way back in the Fall and refused to even consider it at full price, but eventually stumbled back on it for 40% + 10% off. And it's carbon neutral!

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.

Took a bit of a break there, didn't I?

October, despite the joys of Fall and Halloween, is not my favorite month. Thus it's been harder than usual to find inspiration for outfits to share here - especially when you consider everything happening in the world around us. I don't have anything smart to say. I think it's really scary to be aware, especially as a black/bi-racial woman, and it's been a particularly troubling time for my brain.

I hesitate to say that something as superficial as buying new clothing could alleviate all that, but I do kind of also feel like this hoodie is made of love and joy and I'd wear it 24/7 if I could. Make of that what you will.

Also, I blame this whole belt bag/crossbody thing on bloggers much cooler than me in general, and more specifically on Katie Jane Hughes, who featured it in an Instagram story forever ago. I'm not saying I don't look bulky, instead I am saying it's actually large enough to hold enough sh*t to be useful.

If you know me you know I'm not someone who keeps her mouth shut on issues I'm passionate about. Abortion rights, access, affordability of basic healthcare - all of those rank right up there. As I nicely tell the ground teams when I see them around, "people find it much easier to give money for children or trees than they do for poor people to have access to safe healthcare providers", and I think this is especially true when it comes to sexual health.

When ALLRIOT reached out to me it was like they'd read my mind because I was already considering a few options to add to my social justice wardrobe and their brand has a lot going for it. ALLRIOT is WRAP certified for their commitment to ethical, humane and lawful conditions and practices in all manufacturing facilities and they have a 12 point system of principals that their suppliers must comply with (see more details on their Ethics page). Plus, items go up to either a size 2-or-3XL and the price doesn't increase at the higher sizes (woop woop!).

When they generously offered to let me try a shirt from their collection, this "Keep Abortion Legal" shirt immediately jumped out at me. I don't mind being a bit confrontational in everyday life, and if you're someone who wouldn't talk to me because I was an advocate for abortion rights for all then... perhaps enough said about that. I strongly believe in safe, affordable access to abortions as a part of ones basic healthcare - if you have a uterus, then you should be able to make whatever choice is best for you and your family. And I'm proud to partner with ALLRIOT in highlighting that.

Plus, on a superficial note, this shirt is SOFT. Super soft and the unisex "t-shirt" fit is exactly as they said - true to size but on the slightly more form-fitting side, so I stuck to a large and it's perfect. I'm trying not to add stuff to the closet all willy nilly but getting this one in hand makes me want ALL THE SHIRTS (plus, it's tagless so an extra A+ for them).

I really have to give inspiration credit to Lee from Style Bee for this outfit. One of her most recent posts was a review of the Thea Wrap Top by Emlee and watching her style it was kind of a revelation. Yes, I did really enjoy the original way I had envisioned wearing this top (seen here) but to repurpose it and make it pretty much work appropriate at the same time? REVELATION. I feel like I missed out on all these ways I could have been wearing it, because my brain was so attached to the "right" way. And the "right" season.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, these new Madewell jeans are going to by answer to every Emmet/Jesse Kamm pant suggestion. I've tried a few and they just never felt right/looked as good as they did on the women of the interwebs, but the "slim wide leg" and uber high rise of these jeans are perfection.

1) When the weather is determined to flip flop between Winter and Spring it's best just to go with it and hope that your allergies forgive you later.

2) Sometimes you get through an entire set of photos before you get home and realize that your spiffy camera decided that the parked car behind you was *actually* the reason for each shot and focused accordingly. So no bother squinting, except for that last shot all of these really are just that bit soft focus. FML.