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What Went Wrong?

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Event: grocery shopping
When: late afternoon, after working all day.
Weather: about 20 degrees. A beautiful day.

I wanted to wear my skirt. Was that my first mistake? My knees are showing rough skin. My legs are bare. My legs look awful.

I wanted to wear my booties. Skirt plus booties = fall, right? It felt weird. This can't be how its done.

I put on my striped shirt. It felt wrong. why? I have no idea, except it was one of my summer tops. Maybe I am just tired of it?

I go into the grocery store. The air conditioning is on so it is a little chilly. I pull on my flowy cardigan.

I'm suddenly very tired and feeling very silly so dressed up on a late Sunday afternoon where everyone is dressed oh so relaxed. Someone has on dark red suede booties and black legging. I have no idea what's she's wearing for a top because I can't take my eyes off those beauties. Want.

I am now in a bad mood and my feet hurt.

Cheer me up. Tell me, please, what's wrong with this get-up?

How can I make things better? For next time. If there is a next time. I may never leave the house.

Help.

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39 replies

Latest reply was from lari

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Alana I was all set to be brutal (ok not really) and then saw your super outfit! I think #1 looks fantastic! I am not crazy about the waterfall cardi on you (or most people so it might be a poison eye), but you should wear #1 with pride!

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Maybe the cardigan was just too much black?

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Shevia, you could never be brutal!

Alassë

Veteran

I think 1 looks great on you.

frannieb

Veteran

I think you were just tired because you outfit looks great. Maybe you are craving a pop of color, which is why you were lusting after the red boots. I often add color in with red shoes because I wear way too much black, gray and navy.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Sorry you are in a bad mood. Like Shevia I'm over waterfall cardigans.
But you being too hard on yourself.

ETA 90% of my Sunday outfits are for grocery shopping. I just about my business and rarely think twice.

MsMaven

Veteran

I like your outfit. I even like it with the cardigan, although you do appear dressed up for a Sunday at the grocery store. Maybe it feels uncomfortable because you aren't used to wearing more autumn-like clothes.

Changing seasons is sometimes difficult. The calendar says it's time to change, and even though there is a change in the light, it often seems way too early to be moving on to the next stage, especially when people around are still wearing the old season clothes.

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

Yes, too hard on yourself! (But it is true I have to put lotion on my legs before I leave the house because mysterious scales appear in harsher light. I keep travel size bottles in my handbag & glovebox.)

rabbit

Veteran

The striped top that moves from a white gradient to black bottoms is great, and I think the whole look works well (I always need a topper for the ice-dens that are grocery stores too, even when it's 90 outside). I wore dark booties with bare legs and a shorter skirt too this morning, and felt a tiny bit self-conscious until I got used to it. Somehow it's easier in super hot weather to bare skin for me.

Sometimes I'm just tired, and that's why I feel not so fab, then I have to just straighten my back, chin up, and enjoy people watching. I saw a woman in full pirate regalia grocery shopping this morning, complete with a tankard tied to her girdle, a corset, and a stuffed parrot on her shoulder. Nobody even did a double take.

Deborah

Veteran

Definitely being too hard on yourself. I was surprised when I looked at your pic, cos you made it sound like the outfit was awful lol. Great outfit. The only thing I would change is scrunch up the sleeves on the cardigan. Given your legs are bare, I would fare your forearms too to create a bit of balance between what is covered and what is not. Fab outfit.

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Oh everyone was wearing the gamut--from sandals to knee high boots. As Suz has said, no one in Canada seems to know how to dress for fall--especially me, MsMaven.

Annagybe--perhaps my description of the whole situation was a bit over the top but I was extremely uncomfortable and unhappy with my choices. I do wish I had left the cardigan off while I was shopping. I thought it might dress things up a bit.

Frannieb--yes, I think so. I tried to put on my necklace with the big blue stones but it looked wrong.

Thanks Alasse.

But seriously, folks--those bare legs are/were OK? It looks so weird to me--all that skin between the bootie and the skirt.

Anonymous

I don't see anything wrong with this at all! I like it both with the cardigan and without, and your legs look great.

I know the booties are a new type of style for you and I think the pencil skirt might be too(?). I wonder how you would have felt if you were wearing this outfit for the first time to, say, go out to dinner instead of going grocery shopping? I know I'm less self-conscious wearing something a little dressier in very casual settings if I've already worn it enough that it feels like a natural thing to throw on, rather than an experiment.

catgirl

Veteran

I think your outfit and mood didn't match. This happens to me often, usually when I am more dressed than I want to be. There is nothing wrong with this outfit at all. What would have made you feel better in it?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Nothing wrong with your outfit at all. Just the change of season, and being tired, and wearing new things.

I find it really difficult to dress for the transitional seasons. Hits me every year. I always feel a bit "off" for the first week or two when the weather changes.

Echoing rabbit -- in my area, people grocery shop in all kinds of get-ups, from the sublime to the ridiculous. They come in work clothes, in gym clothes, in fancy party clothes, and in jeans and shorts and flip flops. The only thing they don't come in, is NO clothes, because there's a sign telling them they can't. And oh yeah, they would freeze their bums off if they did.

Marley

Veteran

NOTHING! Nothing went wrong (except maybe for your mood!) This is a really cute outfit on you - perfect, in my opinion for Sunday grocery shopping! The only thing that I would change about this is the waterfall cardigan - but then, I have never liked them so it may just be my poison eye! Next time if you wear this grocery shopping and you need to protect yourself from the Ice-Box that is most grocery stores, I'd wear your denim jacket. That would break up the black with a touch of blue!
And yes - your black booties and bare legs look great! Very stylish! And you have great legs and they need to be shared with the world!

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Alaskagirl--a pencil skirt and a flannel plaid shirt. That's what I really want to wear, but haven't had a chance to go out a get a denim pencil skirt, yet!

Aubergine--ah, I see, yes, perhaps. I felt like people probably thought I'd just come from Church--or was just about to go, or something.

For me, this was an experiment.

Deborah--yes, I thought about scrunching and then forgot. So, I took the pic exactly as it. (The first before we left, the second when we got back.)

Rabbit--maybe a parrot on my shoulder would have improved my mood, lol.

Thimblelina--Great idea. I will have to remember that. Heavens, I am never going to be able to downsize my purse at this rate.;)

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

Thanks Suz! You made me laugh.
As did you, Marley: share my legs with the world, indeed! I have ahuge grin on my face!

I am so glad I posted! I think you all got exactly the sense of how I was feeling! It's all so new and strange....and hey, it's just clothing!

These wisps of fabric are far too powerful for what they are.

Gigi

Veteran

I think you look absolutely great, both with and without the cardigan. And yes, the bare legs with the booties is OK. There is supposed to be that much skin.

I think it will just take a while for your eyes to adjust to your fabness.

I wear a lot of my outfits just out for errands. Since you work where you don't want to wear anything nice for fear of it getting destroyed, errand running will be a great place for you to wear your new clothes. It's OK if you look extra dressed up. Be proud! I really think that people who look good and are fashionable make the world a brighter place. Think about how drab everything would be if everyone just wore a nondescript t-shirt and jeans every day. A well-dressed person adds a bit of "spice."

I am often the most dressed-up person in the grocery store. I often run by after church, and of course church presents an excellent excuse to dress up! Today in the store I had at least two people be obviously surprised (in a good way) at my outfit. I wasn't wearing anything super flashy—black heeled boots, black pencil skirt (bare knees between boots and skirt), white button-down, and a navy beret—but it was different enough from what everyone else was wearing to cause a momentary stir for some people. Enjoy!

jackiec

Veteran

If it were me, I'd chalk it up to hormones

Una has a good point in that maybe your mood just doesn't match your outfit.

I think you look great and are being extra hard on yourself. Period.

Lucy

Veteran

Alana, I think you look super in #1. It's very stylish! And it looks to me like a really versatile outfit that you could wear to heaps of places. The only thing to fix is scaly legs, with a whack of moisturiser! Otherwise, perfect.
Not so keen on the cardigan. I wonder if it is the style, or that it covers the lovely graduations of the top.

bj1111

Veteran

You look great in #1.m aren't you working on upping your fashion game? Why woukd some schlubs at the grocery store change that?

Reneeb

Veteran

I echo what other have said. I think outfit #1 looks great. Changing seasons is always hard to adjust. I have enjoyed watching your fashion journey.

Anonymous

Alana- there is absolutely nothing off or wrong with t what you are wearing . And all the suggestions above at what might really be the case are so true. Don't overthink this stuff. Be yourself and get on with it. One thing I feel about these kinds of days, and we all have them, is that it's probably got nothing to do with what you had on, and regardless of what you wore, it was just going to be one of those days. It's grocery shopping- you look great! Slap on some lip colour, spray on a fall scent, get a coffee , and get in and out of there. Focus your energy- and you have lots of it - on the gorgeous day

Alana in Canada

(website)

Veteran

bj1111, thanks! Wow. I just realised, I am a long way from wanting to waer my yoga pants. Even when we got home from the grocery store I changed into my jeans.

lucy--yeah, the moisturizer was needed! I'd just run a razor over my legs, so they were pretty scaly.

Jackiec--I am getting the message: perception did not = reality. Thank goodness for all of you!

Gigi--you are much too kind, but I thank you for it! Your outfit sounds lovely. A beret--how fun is that? I wonder if I can find one for myself. ooooh-it would set off a black turtleneck I bought recently. I wonder what colours I can find?
I won't have long to wear it, though, before I'll need a toque to cover my ears.

Cerinda

Veteran

Maybe the outfit wanted the red booties as much as you did?

Red shoes are mood elevators, BTW. I've seen them prescribed by reputable practitioners

Desmo April

(website)

Veteran

You are being way to hard on yourself, I really like the main outfit. If it were me, I might grab my denim jacket instead of a waterfall cardigan. I think it would make the outfit feel more weekend. Also, I think a plaid flannel would look great with the skirt and booties. The perfect flannel is tops on my list for fall, I want a red plaid one.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Great minds think alike, Alana. I wore a skirt and bare legs and summer top today, topped by a cardigan. I thought about wearing my booties, but then I wore a different pair of shoes instead. (The booties I had in mind aren't new, so I wasn't itching to wear them that badly!) Still, I wish I had been brave and worn the booties as you did, because my outfit would have been more stylish.

I like your outfit! I think it's hard to get used to booties with skirts, when you first try it. I eased into it with tights. So you get extra points for going straight for the bare legs look. Your legs look great. Here's hoping tomorrow is a better day, when your mood matches your fab style sense!

eta: just saw Desmo's note, and I agree a denim jacket would be a fun topper for your skirt outfit.

qfbrenda

Veteran

I still like waterfall cardigans, but I prefer them over something like skinny jeans rather than a dress. But outfit #1 is great.

RB

What went wrong? - nothing with the output, to me anyway, I like it. And I don't see scaly legs, you've got fantastic shapely legs which the booties show off very well.

I agree with others that it takes time to adjust to a new look and a new season, especially when it is a different style of outfit in an old environment, especially the supermarket - where you can see all sorts of looks - some you want to emulate and others not so much so. It also sounds a bit like a touch of impostor syndrome.

I also get the bootie thing - add me to the list who came late to the bootie trend - I recently got some cognac booties which are a total departure for me. Although I love them I feel very self-conscious wearing them and keep expecting someone to come up to me and tell me that I have it all wrong.

It is totally acceptable to have clothing envy - I'm terrible at it because I sew some of my own clothing so am really interested in the detail on some things that I see - leads to some embarrassing moments (periodically we have lots of movie stars around town, but no star culture, if you're out walking you say hello as you walk past, same as you would anyone else). One day we were out for a walk and I saw this person with a really interesting jacket and was staring at the jacket to see how it was constructed - only problem was it was one of said stars who was probably thinking that I was trying to figure out who he was.

I agree that a denim jacket is worth a try, or building on the red theme what about some colour in a jacket.

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