The weather can’t make up its mind here, I wore this outfit on a hot day but we have had some rain and wind since. 😆 I feel like I have noticed the weather more during this year because I have been at home for most of this time, and paid more attention to how the weather has changed overall, rather than checking the weather and handling it day-to-day. I used to check the weather and temperature every day because it would determine how I dressed. I still pay attention to it, but since I’m indoors a lot, it’s quite easy to put on a jumper or jacket when it’s cold, or change if I happen to be too warm. It’s obviously not as flexible compared to when I’m away from home.

This skirt is one that I styled in a previous outfit (Ever After), and I like how it looks with bright colours like blue, and how it creates contrast with colours like black. It is an optic white colour, and I do prefer bright whites compared to shades like cream and ivory. I think the colour suits my skin better. The skirt has a touch of femininity to it, and because of the structure and the cut, it sits nicely and is easy to move in. I have to admit that the thickness isn’t something I like as much – over time I’ve realised it doesn’t always pair well with tops made from thinner and more drapey material. When I wear really tight tops there is a big contrast between my top and bottom half because this skirt adds some width, and I don’t really like that imbalance. 😅

I bought this top on eBay recently and I’ve been wearing it a lot since. It cost $10 plus shipping, and I thought that was an amount of money I’d be willing to part with if it didn’t work out (and could probably attempt to re-sell the item). What drew me to this top was the pattern, the asymmetry, and the neckline. It was in my size as well, even though once it arrived I found it to be ever so slightly loose. That doesn’t cause issues though, since it’s pretty much held up by the single sleeve. At first I wasn’t sure how this piece would hold up, because it’s ASOS-branded and I have had a terrible experience with them (as Geoff and I chatted about in one of our podcast episodes). But I saw that the outer layer was made with 100% cotton, and it’s not too likely for something made from cotton to look cheap and poor quality, especially not with this specific construction. So I bought the item.

In all honesty I did get what I paid for. It wasn’t a disappointment but I had to spend some time fixing it because the plastic boning in the front on side kept poking out of the fabric at the top of the bust. It kept scratching my skin so I ended up cutting a tiny hole in the top, and snipping the sharp edge of the plastic boning, then sewed the hole back up. It’s not noticeable since it’s really on the inside edge, but it’s more comfortable to wear now and that’s the most important thing haha. 🌟 I still stand by my opinion that the quality of ASOS’s clothing is poor, and I do still consider them a fast fashion brand. If I really have to buy a fast fashion branded item, my general thoughts are to be sure that I will wear the garment to the end of its lifetime, or make the choice to purchase secondhand. There are a lot of unwanted secondhand items that are from fast fashion brands, sadly.

I wore the mask in Pretty preppy and I like that it matches the skirt. You can definitely tell the mask is too tall for my face, though. 😆 The elastic also really isn’t the most comfortable elastic and pulls on my ears. It’s funny just how tricky it can be to find a mask that fits.

Going into the details, since this outfit is quite monochromatic and contains mostly white and black, I chose to go with my blue earrings to create contrast. Some of the shapes in the top and the skirt are rather rounded, so these earrings contrast in their angularity as well. That’s also the reason why I chose to wear my tortoiseshell sunglasses rather than my black shades, because I didn’t want that stark of a look.

You can also see that I have changed my Apple Watch band for the first time in a while. I was wearing the same sports band for many months and decided to go back and wear my leather bands again. I like that this electric blue adds another pop of colour to the black and white.

We didn’t get a super good close-up of my nails but you can see them in some of the pictures. I have – as usual – used nail wraps from Personail. I picked out a fancy-looking purple set called Pebble, and chose to mix it with the mint colour, which matches with some of the green that is in the Pebble art. These nails feel really ethereal and funky at the same time. They have lasted two and a half weeks. I mentioned in my first weeknote that I was applying them while I was chatting to my friend Monica on Zoom. So they are going strong! The only thing that is holding them back is that my nails are simply getting too long at this stage, haha. When my nails get long, sometimes it’s not so much the length that is an issue, than it is the shape of my nails. My nails curve when you look at them down-the-barrel (nails facing you), and they bend more inward as they get longer, so I have to shape and trim them meticulously if I want to keep them long.

My hair has a bit of wave to it, since I have a battery-powered hair curler that is effective at making my hair wavy, and the waves still last after a few days. It isn’t that noticeable in these photos. I was trying to have a very high ponytail on top of my head but it doesn’t look like the photos captured it well! My hair is also quite thin so it does make the ponytail look thin.

Outfit retrospective

I don’t always include the outfit retrospective in my posts but I feel like one is due here. I actually don’t think I love the skirt as much as I used to because of how structured it is. The top also exaggerates my shape in a way I’m not sure I like, either. But as a whole, I look back on this outfit, and since the day I wore it, I think it encouraged me to try more feminine shapes because I like how I look in it. I was always reluctant to wear very feminine clothing because it didn’t feel like “me” and I felt far less confident in them. But this outfit has softer shapes and lines that I would not normally had gone for, and I think that I learned something by stepping out of my comfort zone.

Since wearing this outfit I have tried on more clothes that have feminine elements but that are still fitted to my body shape so they don’t feel out of place. I am learning more about different clothes that look good on my body and that I enjoy wearing, especially after several years of wearing and sticking to the same things. I don’t think it’s terribly bad to experiment – after all, our style changes over time and I suppose I’ve noticed that mine is changing a little bit too. 😊

Outfit details

• Top: ASOS (unknown style, purchased second hand)
• Skirt: BWLDR (Arizona skirt – no longer available)
• Shoes: Jane Debster (Casper sneaker in white leather)
• Mask: CreativeCursive on Etsy
• Sunglasses: Gentle Monster (Black Peter – available in black)
• Earrings: The Fossilsmith on Etsy
• Necklace: created myself with a herkimer diamond and silver chain
• Nails: Personail [referral link for 20% off] (Pebble and Mint)

Footnotes

📸 All photography by Nicholas Cooke. (on my iPhone 12 mini)

I named this outfit Merry-go-round because of the rounded shapes in the outfit, and because merry-go-rounds remind me of fairs and festivals that usually happen when the weather is warm.