Here’s a recap of my second week of outfits featuring my “deep winter” capsule.

I opted to assemble a collection of items that fits my color palette for this season up front, but since many people in the 30x30 challenge are building their capsules as they go I thought it would be interesting to look at how many items I added each week.

Week 1: 4 bottoms, 4 tops, 6 toppers, 4 shoes for 18 items overall.

Week 2: added 2 bottoms, 2 tops, 3 toppers, 2 shoes for 27 items overall.

This seems quite similar to what those who are building their capsules as they go have found. Interesting!

On to the outfits!

1: medium-wash skinny jeans, gray/white striped popover, blue-gray cardi, gray tall boots.

Very glad to have my gray tall boots back from the cobbler! They do need to be conditioned and polished. Despite my style resolution to keep on top of this sort of thing I do not seem to have made time for it yet. Disappointed in myself for that!

2-3: black ponte leggings, white tuxedo popover, burgundy long cardi, black tall boots.

Happy with this look. I have worn it before but I do not mind repeating it.

4-5: gray skinny jeans, purple layering sweater, gray long cardi, cognac riding boots.

Blah. I have mentioned before that these layering sweaters used to be a staple for me but I am feeling uninspired by them lately. It may be that with my weight gain they feel bulky when layered under another sweater in a way that they didn’t used to do. I am also thinking about the fact that I used to be more into colored bottoms, but now with my turn towards simple, neutral bottoms I may rely more on interest and pattern in the top half of my outfit that these are not providing. I am genuinely befuddled by this question. I’m not sure if I’m genuinely moving away from this look, or if I’m just telling myself I’m over it as a kind of psychological defense against acknowledging the weight gain.

The other trouble with this outfit is the cardigan. I’ve just replaced the buttons on it (it was previously missing several, and I have to confess that I wore it for like a year just ignoring the missing buttons!) but I am not happy with the job I did. The thread I used doesn’t match the sweater very well, and I don’t like the way the buttons sag downwards (not sure if I just need to use thicker yarn, or need buttons without a shank). Also it turns out that the top buttonhole is bigger than the others — may be partly deliberate and partly stretched out but in any case I need to address that issue. Sigh. I was so proud of myself for making progress with that style resolution but now it’s back to the drawing board!

6-7: medium-wash skinny jeans, white popover, ivory cable-knit cardi, cognac riding boots, aqua/lavender paisley silk scarf

The happiness factor of the top half of this outfit is high, but I feel really dumpy in these jeans, which brings things down considerably.

ETA: I just realized that the "detail" photo shows the white long-sleeve tee that proved to be too flimsy and see-through (see comments below). I switched to my trusty pintucked woven popover after about 10 minutes. The white tee will be returned!

8-9: navy skirt leggings, black knit, medium-blue cardi, black ankle boot, blue bird-print scarf

I am shamelessly borrowing Sterling’s navy and black color combo for this one! I am not sure if the navy is distinct enough from the black to look intentional, but nevertheless I was very happy in this outfit. Comfortable, everything fits well, and I really enjoy the tonal blues. My favorite outfit of the week.

The black knit top is NEW. I was very happy to move the other black knit I have been complaining about to the donation bag. This one is both more comfortable and more flattering. Sadly, the white version of this top did not work out. It was too see-through. But the fabrication is ok in black.

I feel a bit sheepish showing you all the scarf. It is also new. It popped up on Ebay and I realized it would fit my color scheme well and I pounced. I worry that it is an example of buying more of what’s easy for me to find rather than seeking out harder to find/fit items that actually fill wardrobe holes. On the other hand, I am REALLY happy with this piece. The bird print is very much up my alley, the blue is a good color for me, and I like the blue/black/cobalt color scheme a lot. I wore it all weekend and found that the more I wore it, the more I loved it. So. There’s my rationalization!

As always, any comments and suggestions are most welcome. Thank you for reading!