104/ What I'm Wearing: May 2024

Jun 10, 2024

What I’m Wearing is a series where I share all of the outfits I’ve worn over a given week (or two, or MONTH!), along with styling notes, links and related thoughts. If you see an outfit you like on my Instagram, you’ll find it here.

Hello readers! In this newsletter, I’ll be catching up on one month’s worth of What I’m Wearing. Apologies for the backlog; it’s peak styling season and, thus, a busy month for me!

Before I get into it, a note of thanks to

Maria Hyde

for taking the time to speak with me for her What’s In column about personal style, my connection to my Korean roots and what I’m excited to wear this summer. Have a read on Maria’s Substack,

Essential Reads

While I’m at it,

Totally Recommend

drops thoughtful, entertaining takes every week — definitely worth the subscribe.

And cant forget — I’m in awe of

Jalil Johnson

’s style! Have a look through his Substack,

Consider Yourself Cultured

, to witness a master of proportion and styling at work.

Over Mothers Day weekend, I took my eldest on a mother-son getaway to NYC.1 Originally, I nixed the plan because it would have cost C$800 per person for a return trip!! Airfare to the US is outrageous right now. Have other Canadians noticed this?2

Even though I was booking on points, points = money, and it just wasn’t sensible. My son graciously understood, but I had been hyping up the trip all year and could tell he really wanted to go. The only weekend where airfare was reasonable3 was over Mothers Day, so that’s when we went (after getting the sign-off from the other nuclear half).

Here’s what I wore over those three days:

NYC loves to rain on me. L and R: Zara parka trench, COS mens tee, Donni rib kick flares, Uncle Studios The Jumper (swapped with Celine wool sweater via Rag Tag), Adidas Miss Stan sneakers, Celine teen soft 16. Centre: Toteme curve tank, Axel Arigato cardigan, Zara knit sweats, Miu Miu ballerinas via Komehyo, Celine teen soft 16.

We had Mothers Day lunch with my sister on the Upper East Side before walking over to the MET Museum’s Sleeping Beauties exhibit. I read an interesting perspective on it by

Jesica Elise

, whose “savage” take you can find here (hint: her post is titled, “The Ignorance and Intolerance of Anna Wintour and Andrew Bolton”).

Happy Mothers Day to me! My son is notorious for rating every thing we do as a 0-2/10, so I was thrilled that he said this was a “10/10 trip”! He continued, “but if we include the walking, 1/10”. Whatever, I’ll take it.

Most of my outfits for the rest of the month are what I would call “minimal effort”. In other words:

They’re primarily comprised of no-brainer, unfussy, versatile foundational pieces which require little-to-no steaming/ironing, that I’m not afraid to get dirty.
I didn’t put on any more pieces than necessary (the bare minimum to cover my bits/stay warm), which meant that the individual pieces needed to be interesting enough to stand on their own and not need much extra styling.
Something about the outfit is unique, whether it’s a mix of textures, formal with informal, or a balance of proportions.

The outfit on the left is my casual comfort zone and I wore it four times in the last month!

L: Zara sweatshirt, Riand28 Freddie shorts, Massimo Dutti woven flats, Celine tri-fold via Rewind Couture. R: Zara blouse, vintage YSL shorts via the Vintage Takeaway, APC Grace bag, Arizona Love pearl trekkies, Bottega Veneta sunglasses.

Tibi grain de poudre Liam blazer, COS wool sweater, Isabel Marant jeans via VSP Consignment (get 10% off regular price with code IRENEKIM10), Adidas Miss Stan sneakers, me Issey Miyake pleated trunk bag, Bottega Veneta sunglasses.

Okay, this is obviously not an unfussy top, but otherwise the outfit meets the definition of “minimal effort”:

Patou ruffle neck top, vintage YSL shorts via the Vintage Takeaway, Tibi faux shearling Nori slides.

The next three dresses certainly are “minimal effort”:

LVIR reversible belted cloque midi dress, Massimo Dutti woven flats, me Issey Miyake pleated trunk bag.

Posse Harlee mini dress (found a S and M at this Australian shop! Just in time for your fall/winter, right?), Massimo Dutti woven flats, Celine tri-fold via Rewind Couture, Bottega Veneta sunglasses.

Sacai sponge sweat t-shirt dress (I dont know why this one has ties…mine is four years old and doesn’t have them), Margiela Tabi flats via 2nd Street, APC Eva bag (similar Grace). Picture on right is from Napoli in October 2021.

Also, unfussy:

COS wool sweater, Zara crinkle skirt, Miu Miu ballerinas via Komehyo.

Okay, here me out, but minus the corset, I consider this outfit “minimal effort”: two low maintenance (seriously!) pieces in strong shapes that I can throw on and go.