James Perse leggings | THE BEST LEGGINGS
Sundry oversized chambray shirt | old, sold out
Lauren Manoogian Alpaca Capote coat | via credits from Garmentory
*(get a $20 credit in your account via my referral link)
Golden Goose sneakers (second hand via The Real Real)
Rag & Bone nylon backpack
I love Mondays; I get back into my “normal” routine, and can’t wait to start the week. But today, is a MONDAY. The kind people don’t like. I’d like to go back to bed and start over again please.
Last night we had a major storm blow through starting around 5-6 in the evening and it continued through midnight – 1AM. I dread thunderstorms because Dagny is literally a basket case. She shakes like a leaf, and spends the duration in the closet, curled up, panting like she’s run miles. She won’t eat, she won’t go out, she is just scared to death. I may have mentioned how sensitive I am to her discomfort, so I was also anxious during the storm, for her sake. Which I know probably doesn’t help her any, but I couldn’t help it either.
And, it was loud. Hail, thunder, lightening; so I would fall asleep and then wake up again. Finally the storm was over around 1:30, Dagny came out of the closet and started wandering around, so I took her out thinking she needed to go to the bathroom, and she’d be finished quickly. Ha. No such luck. She wanted to smell EVERYTHING (smells are much more potent after the rain, I learned) and just be outside. Ugh.
Anyway, when it was time to get up at 5:30, I felt like I hadn’t slept at all. But there was Dagny again, ready to go outside and eat breakfast! So.. up I was. And then my 8:30 Pure Barre class was HARD AF and I barely made it through.
Reset, please!
But, onto the outfit. Leo and I spent Saturday afternoon together, and went to the Arlington Museum of Art to see the Picasso Ceramics exhibition, and then stopped for BBQ on the way home for an early dinner. It was in the mid-40’s on Saturday and I was super-cozy in my alpaca coat, but my legs were freezing. Leggings are NOT WARM.
Anyway, I only wore this coat because I was thinking about getting rid of it (I would have defaulted to my Patagonia jacket, which I do lately). But now I’m not. I really love it. It’s not the sort of thing I’m going to wear all the time: it’s not great for air travel because it’s really heavy and LARGE if I want to remove it, it’s not so easy to just wear shopping or running errands because it doesn’t stay put on my shoulders all the time, and it’s tough to carry a bag with it because of the dropped shoulders. But, I love it. It was wonderful yesterday for wearing in the car on the drive to Arlington, and wandering around the museum.
I need to get better about keeping things in my wardrobe that I love, but that I may not wear ALL THE TIME. I don’t have to wear everything every day for them to be useful to me. If it turns out I NEVER wear something for several years in a row, then maybe it’s time to let it go, but now, I do believe there’s value in having “special” things for “special” occasions, or not-so-special occassions – and I’m getting better at identifying those things. This coat, my leather jacket, long black cashmere cardigan…
Do you easily get rid of things you don’t wear very often, but that you love? or do you try to hang on to them a bit longer?
Before I read your post I was admiring how wonderfully you could carry this style of coat!
It’s just as I imagine it should be worn. Glad to hear you’ll hang on to it – and wear it once in a while!
Hi Grechen,
Happy Monday! Im much better at being realistic and letting items go that dont work or that I’m not wearing. I do hold on to items I love even if I only wear them 1 or two times a year. Today I was looking for a navy cardigan and pulled out this ancient navy turtleneck from Donna Karan. The wool and shape of the sweater has held up. Score! Over the summer I bought a beautiful camel long cashmere cardigan from Fred Seagal. Almost immediately felt cognitive dissidence over buying it because I only wore it twice and it was expensive. I was going to return it. I wore it again on one of the last nice days of the year with a khaki t-shirt dress from EF and felt so comfy and delicious. I’ve kept it ,and like you feel it’s ok to have certain pieces that aren’t meant to be worn so frequently if the joy factor is there.
Your coat looks wonderful on you, or at least it photographs extremely well. When I have items I don’t wear frequently that I don’t get rid of, it’s usually because they’re more specific to occasion or weather. I live in southern California so I don’t need warmer clothes most of the time, but for the once or twice a year trips back east to visit family I need to hold onto my long silk underwear and one puffer coat. I usually can dress very casually in lightweight tees, jeans, and sneakers, but I have a handful of button-down shirts and flat dress shoes that I can’t get rid of because a couple of times a year I have more formal meetings where I need to impress someone. Sounds like your alpaca coat is beautiful but isn’t practical for everyday wear. Well, if you are okay with pulling it out once in a while on casual occasions where you want to stand out as wearing a beautiful casual coat instead of a “blending-in” practical jacket, the alpaca coat will serve that one purpose. Anyhow, I feel you on having an anxious dog during storms. Our dog isn’t quite as anxious as yours, but she goes crazy hearing lawnmowers, trucks down the street, phones ringing, the dishwasher… rain outside? Forget about going potty at all and we resign to wet spots on the carpet.
thank you chandler!! i love the coat, but it’s not the most practical thing ever. it’s good for movies and long car trips 😉
my previous dog before dagny was anxious with storms too, but not like dagny – he would just have to be in my lap or next to me during a storm, and she goes and cowers in the closet. she cannot be consoled, he could be. luckily, she doesn’t wet the carpet though – which is weird, because you’d think she would! and i’d be okay with that, honestly, but i think she’s just too terrified to do ANYTHING at all. poor baby…
yes, well said 🙂
thank you 🙂 i know i will enjoy it even if i can’t wear it ALL the time!
I have gotten rid of things that I regret tossing later on, but most of the time I’m pretty ruthless: If I haven’t worn it, out it goes! Of course, I haven’t finished my closet project yet, so I have a ridiculous number of clothes in bins, on chairs, and in the top of my closet. And my daughter that is in the Peace Corps commandeered my “extra” closet for the 2.5 years that she’ll be gone, so I cleared all of that out in bins, too, but haven’t taken it to consignment…YET. And my daughter’s closet puts me to shame…so damned organized!!! 😉