I finished reading Autobiography of a Wardrobe this morning, and while I found most of it disappointing, the last thirty pages were really fascinating. The author's suitcase is stolen from a train, and she finds herself in Venice left with only the clothes on her back: tan trousers, a salmon coloured sleeveless shell, and a stone-coloured linen jacket. This suit-like ensemble turns out to be perfect for sightseeing, and she describes it as follows:

Let's say that wardrobes of the West found modernity first in the figure of the flaneur dandy, that singular nineteenth-century Paris city observer, strolling through the streets in suave black suit and snowy white shirt and cravat, sporting a cane and maybe a turtle on a leash, empathising with all, detached from all. Free to be anyone, because of his anonymous clothes, yet always himself, the man of leisure, the man of means. He haunted the nineteenth century.

So who's not to say that here...was a light, unfussy, beige-toned female version of the flaneur's costume? A costume mixing high-class elements and low, restraint of line and extravagance of fabric. Who could deny that here was the flaneuse, absent from history till now (except for stray lionnes like George Sand in flaneur days)? The woman with the privilege to roam...

Who wouldn't want to be a flaneuse? She also discusses jackets and their appeal, indeed almost magical powers, and it reminded me that I've been meaning to try to wear a blazer all day, like a cardigan, so that my jacket collection would see more use. Combining those two inspirations, I went to my closet and picked out this chocolate brown velvet jacket, which is lovely and soft and not at all constricting (I thought it would be a good introduction to indoor jacket wearing). I had looked for a velvet jacket for ages before I came across this one while thrifting: it's a silk/rayon blend, and I can't convey to you the deliciousness of the fabric, and how it's almost iridescent in how it plays with light, via photos. When I tried it on and discovered it has a frilly little peplum/tail thing in the back (I took a detail shot of it since it didn't show well in the full outfit shots), I knew I was a goner. So I brought it home, even though it was brown, and I wasn't sure that was a good colour on me (this was the first of my little brown capsule). Wearing it feels decadent.

It seemed like it'd be fun to pair it with corduroy for the texture play, so my grey corduroy trousers came next. And then this washed silk pale grey blouse, with its ruffles and tie, seemed a tiny bit cravat-like. The shirt tails looked a bit long just hanging there, so I tucked them in and added a chocolate brown belt and brown socks to bookend.

I love the gender bending aspects of this outfit, so no brooches, just a couple little rings that are barely visible due to the long sleeves of the jacket. I felt quite fabulous when I saw it all together, ready to stroll about Paris for sure. For my actual walk I wore my brown vintage hiking boots, but I also needed to run some errands, and I thought it'd be fun to throw on mary jane heels, a very traditional shoe, with a non-traditional outfit. I only have two pairs of heels, and the brown seemed the better option. Thanks to the low, sturdy heel and cushioned inside, these are quite comfortable.

It's been almost a full day of jacket wearing, and I'm happy to report the jacket has been perfectly comfortable! Hopefully this will stop my mental block, and I'll be wearing more jackets as indoor toppers from now on. Or I could just wear this one every day. I'm thinking of shifting the buttons over so that when I button it it's a bit more fitted in the waist, but the shoulders and back and sleeves already fit beautifully, so I feel confident in it regardless. Clearly, happiness factor was very high! I just need to a copy of Proust to carry about with me to complete the look. hehe

Feedback welcome! Even if I love an outfit, I'm very open to criticism and suggestions, I promise. I'm not used to tucking into trousers and belting, especially with a jacket, so let me know if it looks funny. Or anything else that needs tweaking or wholesale renovating!

ETA: I realised I'd missed a word in the quote and edited to add it back in, which somehow messed up the formatting. I can't seem to figure out how to fix it, so sorry about that!