The second part of my birthday treat to myself was a red jacket to replace my BR military style red jacket. That is a fun piece but the red was too orange for my complexion and increasingly I felt uncomfortable wearing the style. I like how military themed items look on me. Not camo. I mean double breasted, buttoned, high collar or pop-able collar, epaulets, etc. -- these elements tend to suit me. It is a rare item in this style that doesn't light me right up!

But I'm uncomfortable with some of the associations. And particularly in bright red, the combination of these elements seemed to make a statement I didn't want to make. I still have my short navy military style jacket and own several trenches, and I wouldn't be against adding more! But there was something about that jacket...I'd reach for it, put it on, and then take it off and put the blue on on instead. Anyway. I haven't donated it ... yet...but it's now in a holding zone while I deliberate further.

A short red jacket seemed like a good alternative, so I ordered the Hackness (which Angie also owns) from Hobbs.

Hobbs is a new-to-me brand (although I did own a pre-loved Hobbs jacket years ago). I almost sent this back because it is a bit snug across the shoulders. But the next size up would be too large, and sending back to the UK would be a huge pain. So I wore it around the house and it seemed to relax some. Also, comparing it to other jackets I realized it was not that much different -- I'm just unused to wearing jackets!

Other elements here are J. Crew. (tee and wool culottes). J. Crew didn't get much love from most people on Carla's thread, but a huge proportion of my wardrobe comes from there. That's probably about to end, since there are no stores in Canada now so returns will be much trickier and pricier. For now, though, I'm grateful for the many long-lasting pieces I have from them in my closet. These culottes are gorgeous quality, were quite fashion forward when I bought them in 2014 or 2015 (?) and still don't feel dated to me, and are in terrific shape.

Nothing fancy or special, just a double plaid stripes and red teaching day. Oh, I wore my red mask instead of my N94 and the students loved the matchy matchy. Also, we had a great submission in class about second-hand shopping.