19 months into the global pandemic, and things have been tough and tricky at best. Most of us are going through something that is a little or very stressful. Many of us are feeling restless too. But when I’m annoyed or impatient about something, or with someone, I remind myself to be positive and compassionate, and to cut others some slack. Onward we go with hope and peace in our hearts.

On that positive note, today we’re giving ourselves a well-deserved pat on the back for something fashion or style-related. I’ll go first.

First, on this leg of my style journey I am VERY attracted to patterns. They make me happy, and I like to pattern-mix my outfits. As a result, many of my wardrobe additions have been patterned. But I need to hold back on the pattern before my wardrobe becomes a chaotic mess. I have to focus on solids, and sometimes tear myself away from glorious patterns if I’m to maintain a versatile and balanced wardrobe. I’m happy to report that many of my recent purchases have been solid.

Second, I’ve also done a good job of not straying too far from my annual shopping list, despite the fabulous temptations. Apart from rubber rain boots and some dressy attire, I can tick most things off. Dressier ankle boots were not on my shopping list, but I’ve bought two pairs on sale — in cream and burgundy — which fit into my budget. Since I have very fussy feet and a walking lifestyle, it’s hard to plan my footwear purchases. I grab what feels and looks good at the time and I’m grateful for comfortable shoes that go the distance.

Third, I built a burgundy capsule five years ago, which I wore a lot for a couple of years. I remixed it with all sorts of reds, oranges, creams, blue denim, and navy and loved it for Autumn and Winter. For no apparent reason, I went off burgundy, but held onto every burgundy item apart from the boots that I wore into the ground, and a scarf that began to aggravate my skin. This season I’m back into enjoying burgundy, and was delighted to already have a capsule in place. I just added a pair of Merlot boots. I am VERY happy I held onto my stuff, just in case my mood changed. And it did.

Your turn. Share a bit about what you’ve been doing right in your fashion and style life, and give yourself a pat on the back.

If you live in wet, icy and snowy Autumn and Winter weather, and you’re not wearing snow boots yet, you might like to weatherproof your leather and suede footwear. I do this by spraying new footwear thoroughly with weather proofing spray outside before I wear it. The spray does not change the colour of the leather and suede once it has dried an hour later. The odour is quite strong, so I leave the shoes outside to dry. I will respray old footwear once a year with the same spray. If you’re wearing footwear from brands like Aquatalia and Blondo, the footwear is weatherproofed already, and there is no need to use a spray.

The spray helps keep your feet dry (or drier), and your shoes looking pristine for longer. Scuffs and marks are minimized, especially if you wipe down the footwear regularly. The spray does not create a 100% waterproof shoe, so avoid walking into deep puddles like you would with rubber rain boots.

There are many, many types of weather proofing spray on the market, so go with what looks good to you. I use separate sprays for leather and suede because suede is quite delicate. But I’m not convinced there is a difference.

These are the most recent footwear additions to my wardrobe that I’ve effectively weatherproofed with spray. I live in rainy Seattle and I’m on foot most of the time. The shoes are barely scuffed because they are protected. I don’t usually spray my sneakers, but metallic leather scuffs very easily, so I’ve protected them too. I haven’t sprayed my assortment of leather hi-top sneakers, and Summer suede footwear, and wonder if I should do that too.

A monochromatic outfit combines a single base hue and different tints, shades and tones of that hue. Remember that a hue is the pure colour, tints are achieved by adding white, shades by adding black, and tones by adding grey. 

For example, to create a tint, white is added to a red hue to make pink. Black is added to a red hue to create burgundy. Pink, red and burgundy create a monochromatic colour scheme. By combining lighter and darker versions of a colour, monochromatic combinations create visual depth and interest. The contrast between the lighter and darker combinations can be extreme or subtle. You can also simply choose ONE colour to wear head-to-toe, and not add variations of tint, shade or tone of that colour to the outfit.

Some people use the terms monochromatic and tonal outfits interchangeably. Others believe there is a slight difference. To them, tonal dressing means combining outfit items that fall within the same colour family. A colour family includes multiple base hues that are relatively close on the colour wheel. So to be pedantic, tonal outfits are made up of colour variations from a few closely related base hues, while monochromatic outfits are made up of colour variations from a single base hue.

For example, I am creating a TONAL outfit when I combine tomato red, Dutch orange, and shocking pink in an outfit. The brights are the same intensity and close together on the colour wheel. I am wearing a MONOCHROMATIC outfit when I wear a column of the same red separates, or tints, tones and shades of red.

It can be hard to differentiate between monochromatic and tonal outfits. I certainly mix up the two. It’s also fine to use the terms, interchangeably. Personally, I LOVE wearing monochromatic and tonal outfits in brighter and lighter colours. I like to do the look with dark blues too. How about you?

Harper’s Bazaar rounds up 14 pairs of tights that are “stretchy, silky, and most importantly, tear-proof.”

Finding good-quality tights can be tricky if you are plus-size, Refinery29 suggests these 7 options.

If sustainability is a factor when buying tights, then have a look at Hannah Rochell’s responsible guide to buying hosiery.

Fab Links from Our Members

“17 Cute Halloween Costumes Your Pet Will Hate.” “Pet shaming at its finest! Happy Halloween!”, says suntiger.

Suntiger also wanted to share this Jezebel post about how the shacket trend is harder to pull off than it looks.

Nuancedream directs us to this article that looks at the considerable and harmful impact on the environment of free returns. 

Katerina thought “Bored of Your Wardrobe? Try Wearing One Colour at a Time” was interesting. She adds: “I am experimenting with colours a lot these days, shopping my closet and having fun. I am very drawn to tonal and monochromatic looks.”

Nikki likes that Vogue published an article on Native fashion for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Vildy is really enjoying BAMF Style, a website detailing iconic men’s style items as shown in the movies that feature them. 

UmmLila wanted to share this Wall Street Journal article about the return of the low-rise pant.

Recently The New York Public Library staged a pop-up exhibition about fashion in Harlem. Stagiaire Fash let’s us know that you can find quite a few resources related to the exhibit online, including photos and a video.