what I wore 023

corduroy, long walks, and a Concert Fit

This was a slower week (elastic measurement of time for the purposes of these posts) for me. The weather was mostly beautiful and cold, and I spent much of my time walking, reading, and quilting—on my own, save for the company of my dog. Since these outfits weren’t seen by many people I know IRL, I’m glad they’ll get to live on here. =)

I try to provide a secondhand option for every piece of clothing in these posts, whether it’s the exact item or an approximation. You can assume anything I link to is secondhand unless otherwise stated!

Wearing rented Dunst leather jacket (similar here and here), Everlane beanie (similar here), TSE cashmere sweater via the RealReal (similar here), Agolde pants via Rent the Runway (similar here), and Nike Blazers (exact ones here). Green and pink as a color combo sometimes reminds me of this era of Victoria’s Secret… anyone else?

Wearing the same leather jacket and jeans, burgundy Bass loafers (exact ones here), and rented Rails rugby sweater (similar in shirt form here). Felt meh in this outfit and I think it shows in the photo. There’s something about the sweater (the open collar, the difference in drape compared to a typical rugby shirt?) that I’m just not wild about. I also think that, as

Hey Mrs. Solomon on Style

said recently, “an entire, recent look can feel random, thoughtless, somehow impersonal on me without the friendship of something I’ve had for a while.” I feel this way about rented clothing. When everything I’m wearing is a current rental item, it often feels like the ‘real’ Eleanor isn’t fully there. I’ll likely end up buying these jeans if they dip below $100, and I’ve already worn them fifty (!) times since renting them, but wearing too many current, zeitgeist-y pieces that aren’t vintage starts to feel less like my own style and more like I’m just following a recipe.

I sent this selfie to Lexie the day I wore this, noting that this is the kind of outfit I feel most like myself in. This is actually what I want out of a rugby shirt—more structure, a placket with buttons, something that could have come straight out of a nine-year-old boy’s closet—not a fAsHiOnAbLe tWiSt on it. I decided to return the rented Rails rugby sweater after this realization. This outfit is also giving children’s YouTube channel host again, but whatever. Wearing rented DL1961 jeans (similar here), GAP rugby shirt via eBay (similar here and here), Coach beanie via eBay (same one here), Nike Blazers (same ones here) and the same leather jacket as before.

You can’t see it very well here, but I’m wearing the necklace I made at my jewelry-making party! I wore this to sew with a group of friends from the quilt guild. Wearing the Everlane beanie again, tights, Sam Edelman boots (same ones here), a thrifted corduroy overall dress (almost the exact same one here; similar here in a burgundy/brown), thrifted silk leopard (cheetah?) print blouse (exact one here in a 10P and here in a 2P). If you’re curious about the sizing of that blouse, I own it in two different sizes, an 8 and a 14P, and they both sort of fit. Helpful!

I changed when I got home because it had gotten a bit colder and I wanted to go on a long walk before the sun fully set. I swapped the blouse for a turtleneck from Muji (exact one here) the pink beanie for the blue one, and added the leather jacket again.

Just wore this for work and a long walk! (My husband was out of town for work for a couple weeks and the weather was chilly and sunny so the dog and I spent a lot of time together outside.) I’m wearing a COS beanie (similar here), this Levi’s x Karla shirt I got last month via Poshmark (some really fun similar options here here and here), rented DL1961 jeans again, Ralph Lauren corduroy bomber that my friend Kara found on a stoop (similar here and here), and Nike Blazers in cream. Another outfit that feels very solidly me.

Yet another day of work and walking. Wearing the Dunst jacket, Coach beanie, and Bass loafers again, along with my W’menswear pants (similar fun options here and here), and an old white button-up shirt layered under a cropped Miami Heat sweatshirt (similar here and here).

The weather called for tights and this new-to-me Akris dress via the RealReal that I got at the beginning of October (similar—but not the same—here). Wearing it with a thrifted faux fur coat (similar here and here), an old beanie (street vendor acrylic beanie, not even gonna link one because I know you have one buried in a closet somewhere), and Sam Edelman boots again. I didn’t have anything to do after work, which was a shame, because I wanted to take this outfit out on the town! Instead I (say it with me) took the dog on a long midday walk to the park, just to know that some people at least passively absorbed this outfit as they walked by.

Another great thing about winter (so sorry, this is my season, I’m going to be insufferable while all of you are dealing with seasonal affective disorder) is not sweating. I can wear something multiple times before I have to wash it! I just changed the outerwear (and the tights) from yesterday and kept the dress. I’m wearing a Tibi coat I bought from Rent the Runway for $70 (here on Poshmark Canada) and an Acne scarf via the RealReal (in a slightly different shade here).

It seems as though I am becoming a Bakery Person. This is not the worst development. I am powerless to resist the siren song of the mango labne maritozzi—and if I’m spending the rest of the day indoors on Zoom, it’s nice to at least have someone bear witness to my corporeal form (can you tell I get a little *emo* when my husband is out of town for a long time?). Wearing a thrifted red cashmere sweater (similar here), red COS cashmere beanie (similar here), thrifted chain necklace (similar here), Agolde jeans and Sam Edelman boots again. I layered the fur coat over this to walk to the bakery before coming back home to work… the combo of red cashmere and fur feels very luxurious. I think next time I’ll try my dark brown sneakers instead of a black shoe.

I recreated the Bruce Brown look from my tunnel fits styling post! There’s something intoxicating about wearing a western shirt… I see why Bruce Brown is into it. Wore this outfit to my quilt guild meeting—left inspired and weighed down with more fabric, as per usual. The second outfit was my Concert Fit—my sister-in-law came to Brooklyn for the night and we went to see Kacey Musgraves at the Barclays Center. I’m wearing a mesh turtleneck by AFRM (exact one here), rented skirt by Sea New York (sort of similar vibe here… hard to find a skirt with this structure and silhouette!), vintage velvet vest (similar here), and suede Marni boots I got on the RealReal a couple months ago (similar here).

The boots are… not the most comfortable… but strangely, only on one foot. The top of the boot is soft and stretchy—it doesn’t press on my bunion or rub against my ankle; it’s more that the angle at which the shoe is pitched is not conducive to me walking or standing normally. Anyway, they won’t be errand-running shoes, but they’re certainly good enough for a party or a concert as long as I’m not standing the whole time.

It was fun to people-watch in the merch line before we went to our seats—this is the first concert I’ve been to in a while where people really Dressed For the Vibe (or for Instagram). My sister-in-law borrowed my white fur vest and looked incredible. 😊

You can find previous installments of weekly outfit posts here!

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