My classes are over after the first week back, and, unsurprisingly, I’m exhausted — I always find that putting myself “out there” for several classrooms full of new faces runs the battery down very quickly. This is especially true for 1st-year English, of which I have a full slate this fall — most students are there because they have to be and many bring anxieties about writing to the table. The first few weeks of creating a productive classroom dynamic is tough work, but it’s a stimulating challenge, most of the time.
I got through the first week without breaking out any new wardrobe items — partly because I really like to get some of my summer gear into the mix before it goes back into those boxes under my bed, Persephone-like, ’til spring arrives again. As well, I’d rather not be like the trying-too-hard new student wearing all the shiny new clothes on the first day — the cool kids just don’t do that, you know? 😉 In fact, something I noticed about my dress last week that pleased me very much is that almost daily, I’m incorporating elements that are several years old, and that I still love. I added black tights and a black-and-white floral cardigan to make a sleeveless black cotton knit summer dress fall-classroom-appropriate — all purchases made over the last year — then added my five-year old red bought-in-Paris loafersand a silver First Nations bracelet I’ve had forever.
But I’m just about ready to break in something new. I’m hoping that the vest (by a Canadian company called Line) will become one of those items I’m happy to still be wearing five years from now. The fabric is beautifully drapey, soft and fluid, and the vest is finished with luxurious details — the edging at the overlapping side seams 
and the pocket trim/lining is fashioned from silk satin,
the buttons are covered with a complementary fabric, and I love the tiny chain/label.
I’d have to give it an A+!
Love the details on that cardigan vest!
I remember being an over-eager student, trying to hold back on the New School Clothes for at least a day or two, but chomping at the bit the entire time.
A very classy vest with personal details, I like it! And you can wear it in so many ways..
congrats on surviving the first week! Draining indeed. And I too got out some summer clothes to extned the wardrobe, though I broke down and wore one fall item…enjoy your weekend–it's lookin' like a beauty! Lisa
Lovely, lovely details – especially that chain nametag. Definitely a keeper!
By the way, I loved 'Taken' – ridiculously, satisfyingly OTT! I like a good arthouse movie as much as the next person, but now and again it's great to watch something where you have no choice but to suspend belief and go with the flow! Patricia
Hurrah for Canadian style! I've been wearing summer dresses to class for the last two weeks. (I'm trying to work my lingering PEI tan as best I can.) Plus I argue that because I'm Canadian, and "naturally" predisposed to the cold, I'm always too hot in American climates. Which is true!
You know I love grey, but the extra detail gives it the edge. I love what is hidden in clothes. It gives it an extra nuance when I wear it.
i too have eschewed not the new but black in an effort to prolong the last vestiges of this summer. I am now itching to get back into some more formal attire, but like you I have really enjoyed reworking some quite 'mature' pieces.
Pseu: Yes, interesting how we've now learned to value the old as much as or even more than the new. Especially you, given your new commitment to your wardrobe as is.
Metscan: I really can! with jeans, with a pleated black skirt, over a T, over a classic white shirt . . .
Lisa: One down, 12 to go!
Patricia: Absolutely! There are some faces I love to watch no matter how goofy the premise, and the action was constant, the Paris scenery pleasing, and sometimes OTT is just what you want — bring on the popcorn!
Miss C: That's right — you've already got through two–not just one– weeks of classes. And yes, stretch the tan as long as possible — soon enough our legs will be ensconced in tights. As for the Canadian thing, over here in the land of February daffodils and late-November roses, I scarcely qualify, altho' last winter we had all of Canada's snow piled up in our back lane. . .
Alison: I could absolutely see you in this vest . . .
This vest is PERFECT, is it from the boutique you like so much? You would never look trying-to-hard in this! Could we see you in it sometime?
Duchesse: I picked it up at Holt Renfrew, but A to Zebra was carrying this Line in the spring — I haven't made it into the boutique this fall, which is better for my wallet. . . .
What a fabulous vest! I love the details and the pockets. It has such fabulous insouciance; and well, anything gray speaks strongly to me.
Thanks, Mardel — I could easily imagine you wearing this. Insouciance — yeah!