A What-I-Wore Wednesday Round-up

As promised, a round-up of some recent OOTDs, during this very transitional weather we’ve been having. . . I bared my legs and slipped my newly pedicured feet into my white Birkenstocks for an Easter Egg hunt at my sister’s last month.  Decided to try combining my new off-white,  cat-print, All Saints sweatshirt with this white tufted-cotton full skirt I bought at J. Crew last summer. It’s a stretch for me, combining the print with the texture, the white with the off-white, the could-get-dressed-up skirt with the laid-back-vibe sweatshirt. But I liked it, and my daughter gave me a thumbs-up. . . .

Even with the sunshine, I wrapped a cashmere scarf around my neck for warmth. . . That was three weeks ago, but it hasn’t got much warmer since.

So I’m still wearing a coat most days, but I’ve mostly switched from a wool peajacket to unlined cotton. I picked up this swingy little navy coat at The Gap five or six years ago, and it’s perfect for these few weeks of the year. With a scarf at my neck (and an umbrella in my purse), I’m all set…. I do think of changing my bag to a more seasonal colour, but honestly, so far the weather had neither demanded nor inspired a switch. . . (those Denham jeans and Vince sneakers you’ve seen too many times already, but I love how well they’re working for me these days).

I wore this for dinner when we snagged a reso at the hot new restaurant in town,Kissa Tanto (Japanese-Italian fusion, small-plates sharing, so good, fabulous room in a cool old Chinatown building). We walked the two kilometres there and back, so comfy shoes were de rigueur, and the area’s a bit rough, so I wanted to wear something special, but more “street” than fussy.

A perfect outing for my leather skirt, and I wore it with this three-year-old J. Crew navy sweatshirt. And again with the Vince sneakers. . . .

I had a few more to show you, but my hope was to post this sometime on Wednesday, and it’s already noon, so maybe I’ll save the others for another post. Perhaps by then I’ll even have been able to break out some warm-weather clothes — you know? because it’s already May? Although I’m not getting my hopes up, since the official forecast at the moment is for rain and clouds through to next Tuesday, with a possible mix of sun and clouds on Monday. . . .

At least this weather is making it easy for us to care for the container plants on our terrace garden. Not sure the the Sweet 100 tomatoes will be yielding any fruit at all, never mind in numbers approaching the hundreds, but at least we’re not having to water much yet. Garden post coming up. Stay tuned. Now over to you — what’s the relationship between your wardrobe and your weather at the moment. I know that some of my Canadian readers back East are in gumboots and rain slickers and crossing their fingers that rivers don’t invade their closets. Your plight helps me keep my complaints in check, and I hope you see some relief soon.

20 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    10 May 2017 / 9:26 pm

    Even down here in Virginia its been too cold to really put winter things away, altho I refuse to start wearing the down jacket now that its been cleaned. An odd May indeed. I love the tufty white skirt…..

    ceci

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:48 am

      I hear you on refusing the down jacket — although I did pop my down vest on the other day, in lieu of a coat. . .

  2. Madame Là-bas
    10 May 2017 / 11:46 pm

    That white skirt is really fun! I'll bet that you can put it together with all sorts of tops. I'm still in capris and t-shirt but next Monday's homecoming will be a shock!

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:48 am

      Oh, you will truly be in shock when you get home. But at least you have memories of heat and sunshine. . .

  3. hostess of the humble bungalow
    11 May 2017 / 4:03 am

    Is it as effortless as it looks as you slip into the new season of dressing? You look so confident embracing the combination of the JCrew skirt and All Saints top…I have been in a funk wearing mostly my Yoga gear as I have been going to the studio almost every morning and by the time I get home I feel lazy…perhaps it is the lingering grief.
    Thanks to you I feel inspire to kick it up a notch!

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:50 am

      That's such a nice thing to say — it did feel easy to pull those two pieces together, wear them with the Birks, and feel as if it was enough.
      I think you're allowed comfort wear as you adjust to your loss! The yoga habit you're establishing is far more important than worrying about style, although I suspect you have that even in your casual gear.

  4. Anonymous
    11 May 2017 / 6:10 am

    You've been very brave for Easter hunt-bare legs!
    Love your tufty white skirt,lovely sweater and the combo of navy and black.
    A couple of weeks before it was warm and I started to wear white jeans (even summer dress with cardi,but with tights,once),but I had to change it for jeans,my navy burberry trench (even for winter coat and – washed for winter,too,-cashmere dress)with a removable liner. I've wear it very rarely till now,only for concerts and trips,but this year ,it was the staple of my wardrobe,and something I could crumple when in hospital with my dad.
    Let's hope for spring (summer actually :-))
    It seems we'll have more of rain but with higher temperatures
    Dottoressa

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:52 am

      Thanks, D!
      I haven't pulled my white jeans out yet, as it hasn't been warm enough to inspire that. You can't ever go wrong with a navy Burberry trench, can you? Winter or spring or even summer sometimes. And cashmere — I think you need the comfort when you're at the hospital so much.

  5. Leslie in Oregon
    11 May 2017 / 7:28 am

    Now is the time for you to meander down to Portland: we had an 86°F day last week, and temps in the mid to high 70°s with no rain for the last five days. The second wave of spring blooms is going strong, and it is glorious! Hoping lasting Spring drifts north to you soon, Leslie

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:52 am

      Now you're just tauntint me 😉
      But yes, it's bound to make its way here soon, that warm weather, no?

  6. Studio
    11 May 2017 / 12:26 pm

    It's Autumn here on South Australia so jeans, trousers with light jumpers and a scarf. There hasn't been much rain yet though.

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:53 am

      I suppose you'd like us too ship you some of our rain, and honestly, if it could be arranged. . .

  7. Charlene H
    11 May 2017 / 5:26 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

  8. Charlene H
    11 May 2017 / 5:27 pm

    My closet is a shambles as I switch from cool to warm to cool and back, again, to warm! Even in So. California there has been quite the variation in the last few weeks from 90+ to hi-50's with rain. The few days of hot weather fried the lush green hills to golden browns. The "super bloom" has gone. Allergies continue with record levels of pollen. But I cannot complain…well, at least about the weather and our environs.
    Love the Easter white outfit! So comfy! I, too, wore an off-white as in a linen pants suit for church. The rest of our quiet day was in jeans and tee.
    Hope you are well…

    • materfamilias
      13 May 2017 / 1:55 am

      That's a wide spread, those 30 degrees of Farenheit, so no wonder you're having to switch back and forth. I'm a bit surprised the hills can dry so quickly, but I have so little experience with a hot, dry climate.
      And yes, we're all well here, thank you. Alison's coming to visit this weekend, and I'm looking forward to catching up.

  9. Linda
    13 May 2017 / 7:42 am

    Basically, if your daughter gives an outfit a thumbs-up, that's all you need. It can be hard-won sometimes! Envying you that short navy swing jacket…

    Wardrobe/weather relationship here? Non-stop sunshine with a biting east wind. Temperatures 14C, real feel 6C. Therefore multiple light layers just in case you come across a sheltered corner and can peel off (yesterday was a Uniqlo Heat-tech long sleeve top under a cardigan under a Uniqlo micro down under a Uniqlo hooded lightweight down parka. Plus a scarf). Oh and very rare for me – sunglasses. Hate wearing them, but this hard, bright sunlight has been trying. Used to the grey here!!

    • materfamilias
      15 May 2017 / 5:54 am

      Right? That's just how I feel about the thumbs-up from a daughter! (although with the oldest grand coming up to nine soon, there's a veto power lurking just behind the curtain)

      Oh, I'd love to get some wear out of my new-last-summer sunglasses. They were ferociously pricey (my prescription is heavy-duty!) and right now the CPW is still around $100 an hour (okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but still…)

  10. lagatta à montréal
    14 May 2017 / 1:18 pm

    It has indeed been le Déluge around here, and a great many households affected throughout the Ottawa (Outaouais) Valley and here on Mtl Island. People have died. However Petite-Italie, where Duchesse et le Duc live, as do Livia the magical black cat and lagatta, is on high ground and rarely experiences flooding. A friend who is currently in Cuba asked me about the weather here, and I was careful to first state that there has been no flooding in her neighbourhood (Mile-End, just south of here) before the dire flooding news, so she wouldn't freak out!

    • materfamilias
      15 May 2017 / 5:55 am

      Yes, that's a very good way to handle giving that friend the news. Glad you're staying high and dry, and I hope the waters are beginning to recede.

  11. LPC
    17 May 2017 / 1:39 am

    Especially love that white outfit!

Copyright

Unless otherwise stated, all words and photographs in this blog are my own. If you wish to use any of them, please give me credit for my work. And it should go without saying, but apparently needs to be said: Do not publish entire posts as your own. I will take the necessary action to stop such theft. Thanks.