These have been some tough weeks, I’ve got to admit. And on tough days, I must say that it’s comforting to have easy clothes in simple, satisfying colours (which to my mind includes neutrals) that work together to please the eye.
And I do feel Cool when I wear this, although I feel Silly writing that out loud, which immediately robs any claim to Coolness I would never dare to make anyway. Because I know I’m not cool, but this outfit makes me feel that way. Get it? Whew! That was embarrassing. . .
I know the wide-legged, cropped silhouette isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve been wearing these jeans at least three times a week, and I’m grateful to have this effortless way to a contemporary look hanging in my closet. Yes, the wide legs could, perhaps, be better complemented by a sleeker top, but I’ve loved this pairing, the yak-merino blend sweater being fluid enough to soften the overall bulk, imho. (I’ve also started wearing the jeans with a button-down shirt tucked in — one of my very few recent purchases is a navy J Crew shirt, sprinkled with pink-centred white daisies — and look forward to summer pairings of them with T-shirts and tank tops)
The silver metallic Fluevog loafers light up the overall outfit just enough to keep me smiling, although they’re due to be retired soon as a go-to casual shoe in favour of some new — No, I think I’ll save that Shopping News! for a future post. The sweater is going to have to be tucked in a box of winter gear soon, and I’m not sure where that will be kept while we perch in our little apartment until we find Our Next Home.
For now, April’s moodiness means I’ll keep it close by against another week or two of squalls, even layer my trusty leather moto over it, wrap a scarf ’round my neck and head out on whatever adventure I can fit in between bouts of packing. . . After all, Mom used to recite that old English wisdom “Change not a clout, Till May is out.” She probably wouldn’t want me to wear my new sandals yet. . . (Whoops! Almost spilled some more Shopping News. . . )
What about you? Are you on the cusp of a major wardrobe rotation in response to the season’s change? Anything you’re a bit reluctant to tuck away for a few months or are you itching to peel off all the warmer layers? Any recent purchases that are waiting impatiently for the temperature to sneak up another degree or two, the snow to stop falling, the ice to start melting . . . And if you’re willing to risk feeling silly for a moment (or if you’re too smart/wise/mature to feel silly anymore, lucky you!) is there anything you’ve been wearing recently that makes you feel just a little bit cool?
Well, I think you look very cool!
Me? Cool consistently eludes me.
Well, I think you look very cool!
Me? Cool consistently eludes me.
I'm glad you said that twice 😉 although I do hope you understand the tongue-in-cheekness of my hope/claim.
And I think you're quite cool yourself!
Oh you can wear that look with such panache…very cool!
I on the other hand not so much!
I discovered that I had been ruthless when whittling my warm weather clothing before putting them away last season…not very much in the out of season closet at all!
Shopping is in my future yes…and hope to see the new sandals soon…
Panache! even better than cool — thank you!
The sandals are not so exciting, to be honest, but sometimes it's good just to renew a wardrobe with fresh versions of items that we know work well. I expect you'll be doing some of this after your ruthless whittling. . .
You look cool- I love this sweater! Don't retire the shoes,they are nice!
It is cool outside….today and here 🙂
But I started to wear white jeans two weeks ago,it was sunny and warm (even summer dress for lunch near the lake last Sunday)
Your mother was right,some of my sweaters and cardigans stay on duty for the whole year,just in case
Dottoressa
I do love the shoes and will keep wearing them, but I too often find that I need to pack a second pair if I'm going to be away for more than a few days — not every outfit works with metallic shoes!
I haven't worn my white jeans yet this year — what fun for you! And a summer dress too, lunch near a lake, sounds idyllic!
Mothers know, don't they?!
'Never cast a clout till May is out'. Yes, that's advice that's come down to me from my foremothers. Although it is rather more sage if you take May as the common name of the Hawthorn, rather than as the month. Took me a long while to work that one out. Unfortunately I am not sure if I have any hawthorn bushes hereabouts so I cannot await their blossoming as a form of sartorial stopwatch.
Not feeling at all cool. Completely bored with my winter stuff. Did buy a denim shirt dress to celebrate getting to the end of my lecturing programme. Yet to wear it but think it is going to be endlessly useful in terms of sticking stuff under it, over it, or with it. Not sure if pragmatism equals cool. Probably not.
Love the shoes, don't dark hole them just yet.
Ha! Just as I'm getting ready to say farewell to the hawthorn that blossoms just off my bedroom balcony, I discover that it's the May whose blooming signals permission to wear lighter layers. Thank you for this! Interestingly, my hawthorn, facing northwest, and at the water's edge, isn't yet opening its blossoms, while others barely a kilometer away on our island, but south-facing and inland, are in full bloom. So I must keep a sweater on when I leave the house, but can toss it when I'm halfway 'round.
I bet you'll find that denim shirtdress a real boon and you might be able to channel some cool in it as well, especially if you describe "cool" as loosely as I had to, above. . . I do think that there's an element of pragmatism in the best kinds of cool, though, absolutely. As for the shoes, see above, to dottoressa…
It's always this time of year that I long to throw out clumpy winter boots and put on light sandals. I have tried on a couple of days, but then the temperatures plummet and I go running back for my faithful fur lined boots with buckles. Hurry up summer! Love your wide legged look. Very cool! B X
I'm not sure what happened, but I've barely worn my boots this winter, and I have numerous pairs which I generally love. Something about the change of lifestyle with retirement. Fur-lined, with buckles yet, those would be cosy, but I can see why you're eager for sandals if your feet have been overly ensconced for too many months.
Yes , another vote for cool . Did you know the 'May' saying refers to May blossom i.e. Hawthorn ? Not the month . In the uk , if it's a chilly spring the May blossom hides & we keep our woolies on . No May blossom here yet .
Wendy in York
You readers are great, schooling me about hawthorns and May blossoms. Wish I'd known to ask my Mom if she knew this. Probably so. . .
I bought a pair of white trainers which various fashion bloggers have declared on trend right now and they have really perked up a whole bunch of outfits. I needed something lighter than my camper Chelsea boots for walking long distances when I'm in London and the white trainers fit the bill. My eldest son pointed me at New Balance which he has declared marginally more ethical than some of the others!
White trainers — woot! You are definitely cool! It's wonderful how a purchase like that can perk up outfits we otherwise have tired of. And I'm making a note about the New Balance ethical points…
Like your outfit. It's very you. Still heavy clothes here though trying to lighten the look with brighter colours. Glad you've managed a bit of shopping in the midst of all your packing. It's all about balance. Mary PS curious about the sandals
Thanks Mary. Brighter colours must be crucial when you're enduring months and months of serious winter.
And yes, the retail therapy was very welcome — I've mostly stayed out of the shop, rather inured by the process of culling so many goods I once thought I had to have…But I had a list of items I knew were justified and I really needed the sense of reward after all the real estate doings and the packing. Balance, yes.
I love that sweater !
And as for casting a clout … Here ? Today ?
Hail , hail and more hail means I've just layered every garment I own till , Tellytubbie-like , I'm bumping into things …
Hail? Hell! I'm so sorry, but I'm loving the Tellytubbie image…
great outfit, I think the cropped curls make it especially COOL.
lightbulb moment that "May" before which one does not cast a clout (which is what is in my head, cast not change….) is the flower! I always thought of the month, and here by the end of May its a steam bath; the flower makes it more applicable, now I need to think of our equivalent to may flower.
Hang in there with your transitioning, your team here is rooting for you!
ceci
Thanks, Ceci. The hair is really getting closer to what I was hoping for — I'm going to go a bit longer yet, but the curl is really freeing up to express me a bit more honestly or something.
When you're speaking of "the flower" signalled by May in that saying, do you mean the hawthorn as well or are you thinking of another — I did some Googling and once again, common names are confusing when it comes to horticulture.
I love having a team rooting for me, love it!
Cool is something that eludes me about 90% of the time. At the moment, I loathe every item in my wardrobe and want to chuck the lot. But not very keen on stuff in the shops either. Disheartening. Still too chilly for my liking at present.
Yeah, I'm really not cool at all, not a hope, and I'm feeling rather vulnerable in ever sharing that slight nod I gave myself in the mirror (Hey, You're cool! 😉
The loathing and wanting to chuck, yes, that's disheartening. Hold on and hold out, though, and put the pennies you're saving in a jar as you wait. When you find something you love, make the splurge. So much more satisfying, and I'm finding myself with fewer and fewer garments which I'm increasingly happy to wear day in and day out (those around me might, however, be bored silly and wondering whether I stay up all night doing laundry or have simply eschewed such niceties as clean clothes)
My grandma used to say "Ne'er cast a cloot, ere May be oot." Did you know that there is French saying the same? I like your outfit. I think that "cool" is whatever you think it is. Unfortunately, I never think of myself as cool. I'm going to church today wearing my cancer daffodil that I bought from the Curie Institute in Paris. Not apparently cool but I feel my own "Paris connection". I bought some NYDJ jeans for summer. That was a beautiful photo of your daughter on instagram.
I'm giving your Curie Institute daffodil the Materfamilias Stamp of Coolness Approval. The Paris connection is always cool, without a doubt.
Thank you for making a momma happy — I do love that photo of M. on IG
Now we've got May sorted out, anyone any idea re clout? I know it's referring to winter clothing here but is that its only meaning? Advance etymologists. Or entomologists. Either. Or both.
Etymologists and entomologists coming together over Clout might have to stumble over moths. . . I love having playful, erudite readers meeting at my blog, such an honour, such a community, such a great conversation!
I'm no expert but I always took it to mean cloth – or layer of cloth? My tyneside gran used to make steamed puddings with a cloth tied on the top & called them 'clootie puddings'
Wendy in York
Wendy, I love this because it validates a goofy anecdote my dad used to love telling about his playmate in early 1930s Middlesbrough whose mother, dad always used to claim, would call him in from play because she needed his shirt to make a pudding. . .
Clout is definitely 'cloth'. Pronounced 'cloot', take it from this Scot that it's still very current in Scots today eg 'dish clout' for dish cloth. 'Clout' has its origin in Old English, Old and Middle High German, Old Icelandic and all the way back to Indo-European.
I am categorically not cool and very bored at the tail-end of my working in a university wardrobe. Saving for purchases in France in September.
See? Erudite readers! This is cool, who cares about wide-legged jeans when we have this kind of cool! Love it!
I might be in France in September. . . .might be a meet-up in our future?
Okay, now that explanation is cool, Linda. I'm not surprised you work in a university 🙂
And Mater, I think your outfit looks very cool on you!
Thank you, Linda and Wendy, and excuse me butting in here. Fascinating how many of us from many different parts of the world know clout as a noun (as well as a verb, as in to hit?) but some of us only in the context of this old saying. (My ancestry is English -speaking Welsh, so rather distant from the Old English origins you mention.)
It is interesting, isn't it?! Language travels and the oddest words and expressions prevail . . .
Je l'ai trouve! The French grandmother wisdom:
En avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil ;
En mai fais ce qu'il te plaît."
Isn't folk wisdom grand?
Ah, mais c'est génial! Folk wisdom for the win! 😉
I covet those spangly Fluevogs. If you're tired of them….
I am waiting to do much new summer clothes shopping until I'm in Spain where it will likely actually be hot as opposed to Anchorage summers which tend to be rainy and temperate.
There are days when shine has to be applied or worn externally, when it cannot be mustered from within; for those days, I will keep the spangly shoes on hand…
I wondered if you'd be heading to Spain again this summer — urban Spain seems as exotic a contrast as you might wish from Anchorage….
Love your mum's quote. I've a new blouse and a dress I bought before our trip south…that is "seasoning" in my closet, as my mum always says. But she usually says it of her new clothes that she is loathe to wear because they are "too good."
Re: May and clouts. Here I was thinking that "clout" meant the same as "clod" as in not plowing one's garden for planting before May. And I had an anecdote all ready about Stu just having left the house in hopes of "casting clouts" and planting his pea crop. Ah well. Never mind… he's out there turning clods instead. And if the digging is strenuous and weather warms up he may be forced to cast his clout off in the heat???
May has such a range of possibilities where you are. I remember being so cold at one of those great free concerts (was it Great Big Sea?) visiting Ottawa one May, but then other years watching the crazy time-lapse-video explosion of gardens as temps went from 5 degrees Celsius to 35 degrees all in one week. . . No wonder you can't tell your clouts from your clods! 😉
Definitely cool. Anyway, I've been in a mad rustle about for clothes as it seems to have jumped from a long extended spring to some august-like heat and I was not prepared.
August heat in April? That would require some mad rustling here as well. I'm trying to sort out what to keep on hand and what to store to get through the next few months sartorially as we leave in a much smaller space…
I love those wide leg jeans, they are tres chic! I am right between seasons, it is too warm for heavy winter clothes, far too cold for summer clothes still, so it's narrow jeans with the cuffs turned up, bare ankles, pumps, or sometimes heavier shoes, camisoles and cardigans, or thin jumpers. X