The morning skies are occasionally streaked and greyed by clouds now, and the nights are definitely cooler, but the daytime warmth peels off sweaters, makes tights regrettable in their clingy, hot, sleeekness. A botanical marker of this transitional time seems to be the ubiquitous scattering of these brilliantly packaged seed carriers — designed for travel, with their own wee dab of adhesive guaranteeing their transport as soon as they nab a host. Can you see the tiny bubbles of pitch along the edge of the scales above? This resin has held the scales together in their cone until the seeds are ripe enough, and then it loosens to release them individually. But it’s still plenty sticky enough — I’m often trying to scrub it off the bottom of my feet or, worse, the sleeve of a favourite cardigan.
In these transitional days, one dresses with care in the morning or pays for it in the afternoon heat.
Last week was a final outing for a summer dress or two. You might remember that I wore this last summer at my daughter’s wedding. It hasn’t been out much since and convinced me that it might play a casual role if I wore flat (well, kitten-heeled) shoes (bought years ago in Paris instead of Louboutins; I posted about buying them,here and wearing them, here. A navy cardigan (Banana Republic, 3 or 4 years old) dialled it down even further AND kept me warm as I biked to the ferry in the crisp morning air.
A few days later, a more heavily overcast day had me risking my jeans (Denham, bought in London last year and the virgin Japanese denim is still going strong). Again, an outing for an often-overlooked yet still beloved garment — this one the silk-wool-blend sweater I knit several years ago. And these obviously well loved shoes — if you look here, you’ll see that even back in 2007, they had already an aura of, um, maturity . . . three years later, they were still going strong. . . so if they’re showing their history now, well, they’ve earned their keep. They don’t do winter or rain well, though, so they’ll probably take a storage break now for a few months.
EDITED TO ADD: For those who have come from Lisa’s blog to peek at my raw denim jeans, there are some better (i.e. larger) photos in these posts: here, here, here, here, andhere. Hadn’t realized I wear them quite so much!
And speaking of storage, whatever next week brings, I know our transitional days are coming to an end. Indeed, I even hunted out my leather gloves the other day, and I pulled a few light wool scarves out of their cedar summer home . . . And started thinking about wearing boots again. . . .
Meanwhile, I’m off to Vancouver this week to visit my mom, my daughters, my granddaughter, carrying a stack of marking along but hoping to find time for walking in some fall sunshine. And you?
The pine fragments are so poignant. And I applaud your layered outfit strategies. I struggle with the same issue here in SF. Love the sweater you knit.
Aren't they beautiful, simply so, those fir scales?
The mornings have been quite chilly and it's funny that you mention gloves. I was mentioning that to my coworker when I got to work my hands were so cold!
Love that green knit too…your knitting skills are beyond my capabilities.
Enjoy your family time this weekend!
Especially because I bike the kilometre to our ferry, I've really started to notice cold hands. I'll probably wear gloves next week.
Thanks re the sweater — and I hope you and your family have a good weekend as well.
Layering is definitely the key for dressing these days. Your outfits are perfect! Love that dress and how you made it work for school. How foresighted of you to have gloves and scarves at the ready.
Enjoy your weekend on the mainland.
I see our temps will only get to 18, tops, this next week, so yep, the gloves and scarves will be needed soon. . .
I love how the color of your shoes seems to echo the seed pods. Very autumnal! And that sweater, gorgeous color! We're bracing for another round of possibly 100F heat early next week. Still keeping my linen and cotton handy.
That's hard to imagine, and I know I wouldn't be able to tolerate such heat for so long. Linen and cotton indeed!
I've found transitional dressing a bit tricky this week – and have opted for the dress and clammy tights option. I think your lovely pink dress would look great with a denim jacket – and those pod photos are beautiful.
I'm going to try that combo before I give the dress a winter rest — thanks for the idea.
A few days ago it was in the upper 50s in the afternoon and I actually was feeling kind of hot on my run. Just a few weeks ago that kind of weather would have felt amazing on a run in Central Park. Strange how quickly we adjust to climate differences…. I like the pink and navy pairing a lot.
I'm not sure I could ever adjust to the climate you're in now — although I suppose that you've lived with as much snow and ice and cold at your previous more southerly location. Just the sound of Alaska . . . .brrrr!
Your hair is looking so gorgeous!
Thanks K — had it trimmed and the brassy-summer-bleaching toned down after that photo, but I'm working back to that volume and shape — embracing my crazy curls!
This made me smile, as I recall one or two warm afternoons this week that saw me regretting my clothing choices. Have a great time in the big city!
My kids always used to lose a sweater or jacket at this time of year, leaving it on the schoolyard at lunch. . .
I really like the combination of the summer dress with the navy cardigan. Well done with the jeans outfit too.
You look great in " the somewhat relaxed " clothing!
Thanks Mette — Relaxing might just be my forte! 😉
Ah, yes, the transitional days! I'm trying to decide if I can bring out the tall leather boots yet. I love them, BUT, I know as soon as I start, it's nothing but boots until late March.
And blog tip: you have to turn off the word captcha thing for commenting. It's THE WORST! You'll get lots more comments. I promise.
True enough, Nina — the tights and boots seem new and fresh now after a summer away from there, but they'll get old fast.
and thanks so much, not just for commenting, but for telling me about the word captcha. I hate it on other blogs, and I was confident I'd rejected that option for mine long ago. Not sure how or when it got switched back on. I've turned it off now, but I'll have to check in with readers periodically to make sure it stays that way.
I like the dress with the jacket, and the jeans. Those outfits seem like they would have fit the mood here last week, now it feels more like full-on fall.