Ironically, the day after posting musings about personal style vs society's associations, I'm sharing a much more 'out there' outfit! I didn't take a photo of my outfit yesterday, so today's it is. I actually wore this for the first time last month but didn't have to time to participate in the forum then, and I'd like some feedback since it's a new silhouette for me.

These are the funny little wool trousers I couldn't resist at the thrift store last month. They have a wonderful texture, as well as a mysterious colour that blends charcoal and dark brown with a bit of medium silvery grey for good measure. The fabric is wonderful! I call them funny because they're quite wide leg but end at a completely random length about an inch above my ankle (if I belt them so they sit higher up, that turns into about 3"). As they reminded me of Japanese sewing books, I thought I'd take a styling cue from them as well and try a dress over top. I thrifted this dress a couple of years ago, because it's grey and fit-and-flare and has pockets. But now I find the hem just too short; I was going to donate it back, but then I decided to save it in case I could wear it as a tunic. In this case, I thought the fitted bodice would provide a nice counterpoint to the trousers. I wanted to echo the colour up top, so I pulled out my dark taupe long sleeve tee (which reminds me of tree bark with its colour and texture) and put it on underneath. As I'm reading a fabulous book about a cat turned into a woman (Fudoki by Koj Johnson for other fantasy lovers), I couldn't resist adding my pewter cat brooch and silver rings. For my walk I went with my dusty brown lace up boots to keep with the colour scheme.

I love these colours together, shades of grey and brown and taupe. They remind me of field mice, which makes me smile, as my low contrast colouring and dark blonde could be described as mousey (which I far prefer to dishwater, which has to be the most insulting adjective ever applied to hair). I know mousey isn't perceived as the nicest description either, but field mice are actually quite beautiful in a subtle way! It took me awhile to embrace my natural colouring, which I absolutely hated in high school (and wasn't allowed to dye until I graduated, so in college I started out blonder, then was a brunette, and was also a redhead more recently), so now I see reclaiming mousey as an empowering move.

Back to the clothes. I feel super cute and comfortable and myself in this outfit, and I'll happily wear it for house days. That being said, I'm not sure if I'd go out in public (other than on my walks) in it or if it looks too costume-y for everyday wear. It's a lot of look, what with the pinafore-esque layering up top and then the double fullness on bottom, and reminds me a bit of a rag doll (hence the title). I have various ideas for toning things down (I'll have to recreate the dress-over-skinnies outfit I wore on Christmas Eve, which looked far more mainstream), but I wanted to hear thoughts about this version first. You won't hurt my feelings if you think it looks too costume-y, promise!

Regardless, I'm excited to explore more skirt/dress and trouser combinations this year: a whole new world of layering has opened up for me! It occurred to me when I was taking detail shots that you guys have yet to see my face other than on top of the outfits, so I took a portrait-y photo too to 'introduce' myself a bit better. I was sitting right under an overhead light, which is I think why there are strange lines on the bodice (that's not my bra, it's the interfacing of the dress), because I can't see them in the full outfit pics. Anyway, nice to meet you all!