Lands End

Top | Oiselle
Pants | American Giant (read my review here)
Shoes | Nike Cortez

     Today's post isn't really about fashion. It is about the fact that I went to Lands End, the place, since there is a clothing company also called Lands' End, and before you ask, I double checked and the place has no apostrophe in the name, per the National Park Service website. It was a perfect, fog-free day and I was pleasantly reminded how much natural beauty there is in San Francisco; it was also a perfect opportunity to play photographer. 

Review: Grana Silk Jumpsuit

Outfit 1:    |    Outfit 2:
Cardigan: Halogen  |  Sweater | Everlane
Shoes: Coclico Banks Sandal

      As part of a Black Friday flash sale, I purchased the Grana Silk Jumpsuit, in size XS (I also bought the v-neck tank, and you can read about that here). It retails for $129, and I bought it for half-off. I was a little nervous, as finding a well-fitting jumpsuit can be tricky, and I wasn't sure if I would like Grana's silk, having never purchased anything from the brand before. I ended up really liking it, and wanted to share some photos, as well as a look at two ways I styled it. My bottom line is that (i) I think this was a great addition to my wardrobe on sale, but I probably wouldn't buy it for full price (although, to be fair, I feel that way about basically all clothing), or would wait to see if it goes on sale again, and (ii) it makes me curious about Grana's pant offerings, since these would be amazing as just elastic-waist pants.

Light

Top | Modern Citizen
Jeans | DL191
Shoes | Coclico
Purse | Mansur Gavriel

     I am somewhat surprised to say that I avoided all of the clearance sales that start after Christmas and continue into the new year, and that I have not bought any clothes, shoes, accessories or jewelry in the year 2018. Nada. This definitely isn't a value judgement - I like shopping. I think it is, however, a continuation of what I started to express in my year end superlatives post, that I am really happy with my wardrobe at the moment, although it could be better organized to display what I do have, for all those mornings I stand in front of it and feel like nothing I see speaks to me. Also, to be frank, I don't really have a ton of room left in my closet. My hangers are packed in tight and, when I am lazy about folding my sweaters, the overstuffed knitwear drawer is difficult to close. 

     I definitely do intend to buy clothes, shoes, and accessories this year, but for now, I suspect a clean-out and reorg is next on the docket.   

     

Did You Forget It?

Dress | Alice + Olivia
Blazer | Theory
Earrings | Banana Republic

     Cause I didn't. I brought it. ☺ 

     It is a new year and a short work week, so I thought I'd rise, like a sartorial phoenix from the ashes, eschew the urge to pick comfortable, familiar outfits, and step it up this week. What better way to start the new year with a little clothing fun?

     This dress was actually my last clothing purchase of 2017, and is the Alice + Olivia Jacki Dress. It is a high neck sheath dress in Guipure lace (10 points to Gryffindor if you can tell me how to pronounce guipure - I honestly don't know). Normally, I would have paired it with a shapeless black cardigan, to balance out the fact that it is sleeveless and the v in the front is a bit low, but I decided instead to add a crisp blazer and some colorful, bejeweled earrings. The red in the earrings is a nice contrast to the blue lace, and is a little more festive than my typical minimalist jewelry. I thought people at work would think my earrings were too much for a Tuesday, but I actually got a ton of compliments on them, so there you go - statement jewelry is a crowd pleaser. 

Sparkle

Sweater | Rebecca Taylor
Pants | Citizens of Humanity
Shoes | Coclico
Bag | Mansur Gavriel 

     Happy New Year!! This is the last outfit that I wore in 2017, and it felt like a fitting first post for 2018, even though everything seen here was purchased in 2016 or earlier (did you follow that?). I decided to wear a sparkly sweater, in order to fully embrace the New Year's Eve spirit. This sparkly overlay kind of looks like gold leaf up close, and I like that it is spread out unevenly - denser at the neck and then lightening out across the body of the sweater.  You can't really see them in the photos, but the sweater has a zipper on each side. I like to wear it to work layered over a voluminous white button-down, and unzip the zippers half-way, in order to show the shirt underneath. My Main Squeeze, on the other hand, likes to reach over and unzip them throughout the day, to annoy me. I kept the rest of the look very simple, with my favorite 2016 jeans and black accessories. 
    Speaking of sparkly and new, I'm trying to decide if I should make any blogging-specific resolutions this year (and fun fact, my 2016 resolution was to start a blog, which, you guessed it, I did). I think they would generally be the following: 

2017 Superlatives

Another year has come and gone, which means it is time for me to look back at what I've purchased. If you'd like to look at last years' superlatives, you can click here.

The Past: Starting in 2014, I have kept an excel chart of my purchases, documenting brand, price, size, and end of year reflections on the item (how much have I worn it, alteration costs, and so on); a few insights:

1. This year, only 35% of my wardrobe was purchased secondhand, which is a bit down from last year. 
2. The single store/website that I purchased the most items from was Nordstrom Rack (16 items) and my most purchased brand was Rag & Bone (8 items). 
3. I ended up going about $100 over my budget (although I did buy a wedding dress this year, which was a one-time purchase and caused the total budget to grow above what I'd normally expect it to be).
4. I did save a whopping 81% off the retail price of my clothing (up from last year)! (For anyone wondering how I calculate that number, some clothes - like from Nordstrom Rack, still have the tags so you can see what the retail price was, and for items that are secondhand, I do a google search to try and locate the exact item, but take a guess when necessary, based on comparables). 

The Future: In looking ahead to 2018, I'd like to increase my second-hand purchases to make up at least a majority of my total overall purchases. I said that last year too, so I guess I want to try to actually achieve it this year. There are a lot of good second-hand and vintage stores in the Bay Area, some of which I already know about, but I bet there are even more, waiting to be discovered. Also, I honestly like mostly everything I bought in 2017 and there isn't anything currently that my heart desires. Usually there is a specific item, or a general category that I want to tackle, but right now I feel pretty content. My plan is to try to capitalize on that feeling and do a better job of  organizing and displaying my clothes, so that I remember what is in there. One of my favorite things about the spreadsheet is that it is always a good reminder about what is in my closet, and what (if I see it on the sheet and haven't thought about it for a whole year) should probably go.

Anyway, enough of that, let's get to the roundup: