With temps predicted back up in the 60s, I figured this was my golden opportunity to wear shorts. I played with this look with one pair last year, and wanted to expand a bit.

First up is a true skort—half skirt (the front) and half shorts (hidden by an unhelpful strap in the rear view). After stressing over needing tights/leggings to match the stitching on the skort, I realized I could do a column of color. The headshot, intended to show the mock T neck, surprised me; the collar isn’t as high as I’d thought. Beyond that, I hadn’t realized just how much these colors are neutral for me/reflective of my own coloring. The apples I shook from the tree were for a crumble.

I don’t know what this kind of necklace is called; my mom came across them and got them for us all in the 80s. Instead of putting the strands of beads around your neck, you hook them onto the clasp, twist them, and then close the other end. Does anyone else have/remember these necklace systems?

The next day I did “regular” shorts in a different outfit than I used them for last year. Looking for a backdrop, I realized the house I was in front of is where Rosa Luxembourg used to live! She and Ida B Wells are role models and heroes for me; they wrote forcefully with logic that was condidered at the time to be masculine and they balanced theory and praxis. I’ve gotten flack for being “too analytic” because of how my brain works, can’t imagine what they must’ve put up with! More importantly, their work is excellent, something for me to strive for. Anyway, current residents of Luxembourg’s former home are happy to take one’s picture with Rosa’s plaque, even if they sometimes chop off your feet. The T-shirt is one I ordered from the Met; my mom tried to mail it to me a couple times, but it was always returned to sender. I could finally pick it up a couple weeks ago. With all the colors in my hair, there must be one that matches that gold!

Wednesday was supposed to be 66, so I planned to wear a jersey knit skirt and tank top, slipping a top layer on when I went to the pool. But it wasn’t “that” kind of 66! It was stormy and felt chilly. All the layers I had to put on to stay warm at home looked ridiculous, so I switched into jeans to go out (but I skipped the pool!) The outfit pic convinces me that I’m right to look for a smaller size jeans.

Thursday is heading into the home stretch, but I cranked up the questionables with double plaid jackets and knee socks + shorts. Seeing this rack of shirts recently brought the black/blue/yellow jacket to the top of my mind. The stripe on the shirt is white, rather than yellow, but I still find it strikingly similar. I’ve seen the socks around, but haven’t paid careful attention to how it’s done. Maybe the shorts should be shorter. These socks come up over my knees, but then slip down. I also wasn’t sure if I wanted the cognac shoes to bookend the golden headband and saffron colors in my jackets or the navy loafers which are lower contrast with the black socks. I felt like putting the loafers & socks together was a way of saying the blue top and black socks were intentional, because the baseball jacket has both colors. I got a chance to test the waterproofing on the jacket, and then the sun shone through. It was a very blustery day, with a wind advisory because of low pressure systems Ignaz and Hendrik. The headband pic was taken after I got home. Your suggestions, please!

Today (Friday) it’s even worse—both the weather and the ootd, lol. I’m now luxuriating at home in my leggings. If I need to leave the house, I will probably put on my brown damask pants. But if you have other ideas, I’d love to hear them! I’m particularly interested in why these shorts so clearly don’t work with leggings. Even before I put my top on, we could tell this was a fail. Why? My current theory is that shorts need a slight flare in the legs for them to work with tights/leggings.

Thanks for looking, and for laughing, and for comments and suggestions.

ETA just realized I do have a pic of the blue plaid jacket that isn’t as awful as 19; I’m adding it at the end (& hiding 19)