Day 17-21 WATC Challenge: Urban Snow Queen runs out of clever titles

Day 17:

Light gray raw-hem straight jeans, black henley tee, Gray/multi Nordic cardi

New piece(s): Light gray raw-hem straight jeans, black henley tee, Gray/multi Nordic cardi

Assessment of new item(s) – fit, etc.:

Light gray raw-hem straight jeans: Too big. Removing them from my active wardrobe and looking for something similar in my current size.

black henley tee: love this top and am surprised it took me so long into this challenge to wear it. I realize the details are hidden by the cardi and hard to see in the photo, but this has my preferred scoop neckline, henley buttons, and a pintucked yoke – basically a casual, jersey knit analog of my workhorse pintuck popovers.

Gray/multi Nordic cardi: This is a handknit cardigan that I purchased on a trip to Stockholm with my mom in 2002. The quality is amazing and it’s very sentimental to me, but it’s difficult to wear. The wool is quite scratchy and requires careful layering to be comfortable (which I have very much NOT achieved here). Plus this style with a square body and dropped shoulders is, I’ve since realized, pretty much the worst on me (also hard to see in the photo – but there is just a lot of extra bulk in the upper chest/shoulders). I’m going to put this in my archive box and pull it out for our yearly ritual of standing in line for aebleskiver at the local Nordic Museum’s Yulefest event, but release myself from the pressure to incorporate it into my everyday wardrobe.

Is the outfit elevated/cohesive/refined? Not really, this was a case of throwing together as many yet-to-be-worn items as I could, if I’m being totally honest.

Where is the contrast? I do really like the contrast between the urban/gritty/slightly RATE raw-hem jeans and the extremely traditional knitwear. Something I’d definitely repeat, in principle.

Day 18:

Gray pull-on skinny jeans, plum cowl neck tunic sweater

Outdoor version: black patent stompy boots, blue puffer, teal bag

New piece(s): gray pull-on skinny jeans

Assessment of new item(s) – fit, etc.: As noted before this super-skinny fit is not my current preference, but these are useful every once in a while.

Is the outfit elevated/cohesive/refined? Hmmmm not really I think. Could have made more of an effort with accessories.

Where is the contrast? Silhouette, in ways that will be extremely familiar by now.

Day 19:

Charcoal skinny jeans, polar bear tee, medium gray long cardi

New piece(s): charcoal skinny jeans, medium gray long cardi

Assessment of new item(s) – fit, etc.:

charcoal skinny jeans: new to my wardrobe and these are just great. More of that relaxed skinny fit.

medium gray long cardi: I'm over this. It just seems droopy and structure-less. Moving it to my holding zone to see if I miss it.

Is the outfit elevated/cohesive/refined? Nope

Where is the contrast? ???

Day 20:

Mid-wash skinny jeans, burgundy cashmere turtleneck, black/white Nordic open long cardi

New piece(s): burgundy cashmere turtleneck

Assessment of new item(s) – fit, etc.: I love the color of this piece, but find it difficult to incorporate into outfits. It’s a lightweight, fine-gauge knit, so not warm enough to wear on its own. The arms are too narrow to layer anything (even a heattech tee) underneath. And that peplum/ruffle at the hem makes it difficult to layer things over top. I kinda wish I could remove the ruffle??

Is the outfit elevated/cohesive/refined? Eh, not really

Where is the contrast? Silhouette, I suppose, and value contrast in the cardi. Also, some color contrast with the jeans and turtleneck. Medium blue + burgundy has been a favorite deep winter color pairing for me in past years, but this year it doesn’t really seem to be hitting for me (recall also the underwhelming outfit with these jeans and the tonal buttonup + cardi). I’m not sure why.

Day 21:

Ivory velvet skinny jeans, gray cowl neck tunic sweater

New piece(s): Ivory velvet skinny jeans

Assessment of new item(s) – fit, etc.: When I first put these on I thought they were too small – I was getting a lot of horizontal wrinkles on the backs of the legs etc. Within a couple hours the material had relaxed enough that I thought: hey, this works! Of course by that time they had also acquired enough lint that I wondered if they were really the best choice for a gal with two black cats and a tortie, but hey ho, let’s just ignore that for the moment. I do rather like the drama of a pair of white pants in winter (these are new to my wardrobe – getting their first outing here). They’ll need shortening if I’m going to keep them around.

Is the outfit elevated/cohesive/refined? I tried this with two different pairs of boots: white ankle boots and black tall boots. Which do you think best hits the mark? (Or feel free to suggest a different footwear option!)

Where is the contrast? Silhouette, value.

Thanks for looking!

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9 months ago

Star (Lise)

Veteran

My favourite is the ivory pants outfit. I like it with both the white and the black boots, a different vibe for different moods. The ivory and light grey is so fab together. I had to giggle that a girl with 2 black cats and a tortie gets velvet white pants! Sorry, I do empathise though, I am having a problem with cat hair too currently.

Jenni NZ

Wow, the cardigan in pic 1! Amazing! It looks great on in the photo, I can’t see any shoulder issue. But it’s all about how it feels obviously, so your plan sounds good.
The long grey cardigan- seems like you feel about that like I felt about my long olive cardigan last year, which I put in the holding zone. I pulled it out 3-4 times after that for warmth when wearing olive. I had mixed opinions from the forum- several Fabbers felt it should go but several liked it still! I think for me I gradually don’t feel fab in it so I suspect it may go after this year’s winter.
All the other outfits are good, I like the ivory pants. I might not be seeing well but it looks like one leg was tucked into the ivory boots and one leg was over them?? If so I prefer it over them, seamless colour continuation. I do like the black boots as well with the contrast, having 2 options is all good!

SarahD8

Star, high-fiving my fellow cat lady!

Jenni good eye re the pant hems. I think I prefer them over the white boots too — but I strongly prefer the outfit with the black boots! Thanks for appreciating my Swedish cardigan! It really is a lovely piece. I think you might have one or two similar vintage knits? Maybe this one will eventually come back around to regular use — I’ll hold on to it and we’ll see.

Jaime

(website)

I have similar Nordic cardigans (thrifted because who but me would wear them in a mild winter). Actually they are ideal for working in a cold office. (Indoors is often colder than outdoors in the winter here do to generally poor insulation.) Anyway, I think putting it away for an annual occasion sounds good. I actually love the last outfit with the black boots fwiw!

Thanks Jaime! Chilly poorly-insulated office sounds like a perfect use case for Nordic cardigans. Fun that you are able to rescue these orphans in an unlikely climate. Actually sometimes my cardi ends up being outerwear for the Yulefest outing if the weather is dry -- not only are Seattle winters relatively mild, but there is lots of heat from warm mammalian bodies in that aebleskiver line!

Angie

Fashion Stylist

As much as you rock your signature fair isle SarahD8, my faves are the outfits with the ivory jeans! #6 and #8 FTW.

The accumulation of cat hair adds texture to the look

The scratchy Nordic knit looks like a work of art! It's okay to look at the very sentimental piece, pack it away, and not wear it. It's loved in a different way, which is enough.

Lisa

I have the same issue but my item is a full zip Icelandic sweater. It's warm and well made, but it is 100% wool and very itchy! I normally only wear it once or twice in a season. So far this year, I haven't worn it at all. But I'll always keep it because it's sentimental.

JAileen

The first sweater is gorgeous. Is that the itchy one? I have a couple sweaters like that, and wear cotton turtleneck tops with them. Otherwise I never wear those tops, and they take up a lot of space in the dresser. I love the polar bear tee. The final outfit is quite nice. I like it with the light boots. I would wear boots that matched the sweater. I have several pairs of grey boots, though.

Suz

I SOOOOO hear you on cat hair! We have a little issue with that here, too. We never used to, but poor Max is losing fur more rapidly with his kidney issues.

However, that explains why I like white/ ivory pants because I have the opposite with the fur-colour in my feline friend!

Just joking, of course -- but it does happen to be my favourite of these -- in both versions. Different version for different situation. Both great. Also, it transitions well out of "Snow Queen" mode and into whatever spring mode you are heading into!

I love the jeans in #1, too, but I hear you about the fit. Hope you can find something that works better for you.

Thanks all! Nice to see all the love for the ivory velvet jeans. That is my favorite outfit of the set, too. I'm putting most of my velvet away for the season BUT I think I'll keep the ivory pants out for a little while longer.

Angie, agree re: that sweater being loved in a different way. Actually it really taught me something about my preferences. It helped me realize that I really like strongly traditional Nordic/fair isle/etc. patterns in knitwear, but I need a less traditional construction/fit, and also softer, more comfortable yarn. Sweaters that tick ALL those boxes are few and far between, but I'm learning to snap them up when I see them.

Lisa now I am imagining a gathering of all the sheep whose wool made the sweaters that so many of us seem to have that we deeply love but never wear. What do you suppose they would say about us?

JAileen actually I was thinking that without the ruffle/peplum, that burgundy turtleneck would be perfect for wearing under the Nordic cardi! Agree with you that gray boots would be nice with that last outfit. My kid requisitioned my gray tall boots (which I was sick of anyway) for horseback riding but I'm on the hunt for a new pair.

Suz oh I'm sorry about the kitty kidney issues. Hugs and scritches to Max. I guess your fancy flocked jeans are acquiring a little extra "texture" as Angie is so diplomatically calling it. Agree that last outfit will transition well into spring!

Haha, exactly, Sarah!! At least the velvet parts are...luckily the other parts of the pants seem to shed Max fur very quickly!

SarahD8 - That's a great question! I have no idea what they would say.

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