On Sartorial Evolution

April 24, 2017

Cupcakes and Cashmere jacket (c/o Shopbop) (similar)
Lovers + Friends dress (c/o REVOLVE)
Le Chateau boots (c/o)
Celine sunglasses
Madewell rings
La Vie Parisienne earrings (similar)

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my wardrobe since we arrived in Paris. This kind of reflection is hardly unusual – writing about your personal style is like putting your wardrobe under a microscope and treating it as an ongoing experiment. For the past six years, not a day has gone by that I haven’t given some kind of thought to what is missing from my wardrobe, what pieces I’m no longer in love with, and how I can restyle the pieces in my closet I’m excited about. What has changed, in Paris, is my daily life. Two years ago, I left the office to work from home. It was, in so many ways, the best decision, particularly for my health, since it allowed me to adopt a schedule of taking exercise breaks instead of coffee breaks. These breaks have gone a long way to keeping me sane, but they haven’t exactly lead to sartorial excitement – I spend most of my day working in some form of activewear, because it just makes more sense than changing my clothes three times a day. And while it’s comfortable, it is not exactly what anyone would call stylish. My tastes have evolved significantly over that two year period, but my wardrobe hasn’t really caught up – it hasn’t needed to, since I really only plan about four outfits per week instead of seven. It occurred to me as I was packing for Paris that most of my everyday staples are clothes I bought in the fall of 2014, shortly because I left the office for good. When you only have to get dressed if you want to, it’s easy to feel justified in shopping for totally impractical clothes that look better in photos than they feel to wear. I did my best to pack a suitcase full of clothes I would truly want to wear on a daily basis in Paris, but it seems, upon reflection, that I only halfway succeeded. And so, in a moment of utter frustration while getting dressed a few weeks ago, I made myself a promise – from now on, I will not allow anything into my wardrobe that I can’t feel totally comfortable in after we’ve put the camera away. It’s going to be an adjustment – a slow one, probably, since we had already taken an awful lot of Paris photos before I came to what should have been a pretty obvious realization. A full length gown is not practical in every situation, although they are always beautiful and this one remains a favourite; if you want to wear one, you should never let anything or anyone stop you. But if you reach a point in your life where you don’t want to wear them all the time anymore – and that is exactly where I’m at right now – that’s okay, too.

J’ai eu beaucoup de temps pour réfléchir sur mon dressing depuis notre arrivée à Paris. Ce genre de réflexion ne m’est pas inhabituel – le fait de tenir un blog mode, c’est un peu mettre son dressing au microscope et le traiter d’une expérience en cours. Pendant les six dernières années, j’ai passé au moins quelques minutes chaque jour à me demander ce que j’ai besoin d’ajouter à mon dressing, ce que je n’aime plus et comment je peux remettre les fringues que j’aime de façon différente. Ce qui a changé, à Paris, c’est ma vie quotidienne. Il y a deux ans, j’ai quitté mon bureau – depuis, je travaille à domicile. Ce fut une excellente décision, surtout au niveau santé, car ça m’a permis de remplacer mes pauses-café par des pauses fitness. Ces pauses remontent toujours mon moral, et cependant, elles n’engendrent pas des belles tenues. Je passe la bonne partie de mes jours de travail en activewear, car c’est plus logique que de changer mes vêtements trois fois par jour. Et bien que je travaille donc en tout confort, mes looks du bureau ne sont pas du tout inspirants. Mes goûts vestimentaires ont bien évolué pendant ces deux ans, mais mon dressing n’a pas évolué au même rythme – quand nous nous habillons quatre fois la semaine au lieu de sept, une évolution rapide ne semble pas nécessaire. Je me suis rendue compte, lorsque je faisais mes valises pour notre séjour à Paris, que la majorité de mes vêtements essentiels datent de l’automne de 2014, juste avant que j’ai quitté mon bureau. En plus, quand il ne faut pas que vous vous habilliez tous les jours, c’est facile de légitimer l’achat des vêtements incommodes qui sont plus jolie que confortable, car souvent, l’autre option, c’est tout simplement de ne rien acheter. J’ai fait de mon mieux n’apporter que des vêtements que j’allais vouloir porter souvent pendant notre voyage européen, mais finalement, je n’ai pas tout à fait réussi. Et donc, lors de moments de frustration totale il y q quelques semaines, je me suis dit que c’est le moment de changer tout ça. Dès maintenant, je n’achète rien si je ne serai pas à l’aise dedans après un shooting. Il va falloir que je m’adapte – lentement, sans doute, car nous avons pris beaucoup de photos parisiennes avant cette illumination assez indéniable. Une robe de bal n’est pas toujours pratique, bien qu’elle soit toujours belle et bien que celle-ci demeure parmi mes préférées ; si vous voulez en mettre, vous ne devrez pas hésiter, peu importe ce que pensent les autres. Et pourtant, si ça vous arrive, comme moi, de ne plus vouloir les porter tout le temps, ça, ce n’est pas grave non plus.

5 comments so far.

5 responses to “On Sartorial Evolution”

  1. Cee, it’s definitely important to only allow pieces into your wardrobe that you feel comfortable with 😀 I’m still working on that goal. LOL I’ve given away and sold many pieces that were just not me. I tried, but they didn’t work. Always be true to you. I will say that everything I’ve seen you in looks totally like you 😀 You look lovely in that dress & leather jacket.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

  2. Courtney says:

    I feel like I made a very similar transition several years ago when I left grad school behind and reentered the workforce. I went from a situation where I just needed a few pieces for teaching, supervisory meetings, and classes that were more traditional and could devote the rest of my closet space to more impractical things that I also only wore for short stretches and on my terms (ie, I never had to wear those metallic leopard print pants to the office for 8 hours!). It was definitely a bit of a slow transition for me as well but letting my personal comfort level become a major factor in the curating of my wardrobe was, ultimately, a really positive change for me.

    Side note – never part with that dress or jacket…they are stunning on you.

    Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines

  3. Lyddiegal says:

    It is an interesting dilemma, that cross section of clothes we wear because they are pretty and clothes we wear to be functional. In recent years my office wear has become little more than jeans, black jeans if I’m feeling fancy. Often times on my drive to work I’ll spot other women walking into their offices and see their pencil skirts and heels and lament my denim, but my office neither demands nor encourages that kind of attire. As I’ve been shopping this month I’ve been making a lot of impractical purchases and subsequent returns – it is no easy task to curate a wardrobe that is both practical while still feeling glamourous. Though I’m confident that if anyone can do it, you can.

  4. I’ve always been a bit of a hippie in terms of style, but I still had the same realization as you did. For me, it was after I had kids and no longer consistently traveling and attending constant music festivals, when I realized that buying clothes and accessories that only made sense for those occasions and not so much the everyday (boho printed maxi dresses with excessive fabric and way too much turquoise jewelry) no longer made sense for me. I’m slowly learning to buy pieces that are functional but still have a hint of what I consider to be my style. (This is funny, but I know I haven’t lost my sense of style in through doing this because I’m the only mom at preschool drop off not wearing a sweatshirt and work out leggings; even in what I consider to be subdued dress, I’m still the most “dressed up” those mornings. One of the other moms told me I always looked so put together, which I was grateful to hear but also found odd considering what I often wear those days.)

  5. Firstly, yay, I’ve been SO excited to see this post… because ahhh, the outfit, photos and location are truly sunning + breathtaking!! And there’s certainly nothing wrong with having an impractical dress or two, or more! 😉 But on that note, I definitely sympathize, so much of my blogging has been about what works for a post, or a location and I haven’t always taken my day-to-day into consideration. Hence, why I’ve started working on a curated closet — happy to report it’s been helping a lot!! xoxo

    http://www.girlandcloset.com

Cee Fardoe is a thirty-something Canadian blogger who splits her time between Winnipeg and Paris. She is a voracious reader, avid tea-drinker, insatiable wanderer and fashion lover who prefers to dress in black, white and gray.

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