Soooooo......

I'm not sure what to say. I feel like if I actually take the time to write about how I'm doing it's going to read as the manifesto of a depressed person that it is, but I guess I can say that I'm still here. I have not acclimated to this new normal. It makes me sad, lonely, and the onset of holidays I can't celebrate is just another reason why most things suck. I don't know if I want to keep my wardrobe or donate half of it, though donating it feels like giving in to the idea that I'll never be in a position to enjoy that type of life again which, WOOF, is rough.

I don't know friends. I just don't know.

In the past I've talked about how I'm a bit of an instant gratification person (SHOCKING). That doesn't mean I keep everything I buy - I'm a shopper at heart and really enjoy trying things on, but if it doesn't work it doesn't work. But when I saw Hester Sunshine's final show for Project Runway on Instagram I was HOOKED. The diverse selection of races and body types was inspiring, and this dress tugged all my heart strings. It is impractical for my life style and not actually that "consistent" with anything else I own, but the joy it brings me doesn't matter.

Delivery was a bit delayed due to...well everything, and I think every event I would have worn this to this year has been cancelled, BUT WHATEVER I LOOK GREAT AND CAN WE JUST GIVE ME THAT ONE THING.



*This dress fits perfectly once on, but I just wanted to let y'all know there's a bit of struggle getting the waist over my hips. The fabric doesn't have any real stretch, so I would say so far the brand seems true to size, but just be aware of how your body carries its weight.

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.

1) I know these pictures are a funny color, I can't tell if the white background or the shadowed area did me in, but here are.

2) I refuse to lie and say this is anything other than an aspirational outfit. At this point in Winter I'm over everything. Even the pieces I like. Leaving my house in anything other than leggings and a sweatshirt is an exercise in effort. I felt bad leaving y'all hanging so I wanted to throw something together highlighting a relatively new piece I got a ridiculous deal on, but honesty is important right?

Unrelated to anything except to my own lazy frustration, has anyone taken an online Photoshop class that they liked?

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.