038/ What I'm Wearing: 2023 Weeks 25 & 26
Beachwear options + a new flat + the outfit as a balanced composition.
What I’m Wearing is a series where I share all of the outfits I’ve worn over a given week (or two), along with links, styling notes and related thoughts. If you see an outfit you like on my Instagram, you’ll find it here.
Hello dear readers,
Happy Canada Day! School is out and summer has officially arrived. This will be the last What I’m Wearing dispatched from west of the prime meridian for the next six weeks. For July and August, In Moda Veritas will be dispatched from the Lands of the Morning Calm and Rising Sun as my family embarks on our summer holiday in South Korea and Japan.
Day 1
This will be my go-to dress of the summer. As of now, it’s the only dress I’m planning to pack for my holiday (TBD. Also, a heads up, my packing newsletter will be out mid-week!). As we’ve hit reliably warm temperatures, I’ve moved into single-layer outfits, and as my work slows down and days become more leisurely, I’ve spent the last two weeks mostly in “minimal effort casual outfit” mode — detailed here.
Day 2 & 3
I’ll actually be taking the boys to Korea alone this summer, with hubby joining us at the four-week mark for our last two weeks in Japan. The nature of his work means he needs to available during the North American work day, making the 13-hour time difference too challenging (the six-hour time difference last summer was doable, though!). With so much time apart, we squeezed in a heavenly, much needed one-night getaway at a local inn.
This yellow Marques’Almeida top was the only “easy yes” for me from the SSENSE sale, and I can’t believe there is still one available online (in M)? On the left is what I wore during the day, and at night (right), I simply swapped out my bag and shoes, pulled my hair back and slapped on some lipstick. Day-to-night, I got you!
Notably, this was the day I discovered the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer.
The Dyson dried and straightened my hair with no frizz despite no product in under five minutes! Pardon the pun, but I was literally blown away. I immediately googled it and was, ha, blown away again by the major sticker shock. But, with how fast and well it dries, I really believe it will pay for itself in the not-so-long run. Thank you to everyone who messaged me with testimonials and encouraged me to try it!
Also, a little close-up of the jewellery I was wearing which, for the most part, I wear daily with some minor changes.
A couple of months ago, I was thinking of doing a newsletter on beachwear, and specifically cover-ups, but it might be a little too late in the season for that now? In short, it’s exceedingly rare for me to come across “beachwear” or a cover-up that: a) I like, and b) I think is worth buying. I find most of it cheesy and it irks me that I get so few wears out of it.
My answer to the cover-up dilemma is to avoid “specialty” beachwear and just wear actual clothes. Ha. You might even be able to wear the pieces IRL, and not just on vacation. The longer, oversized button-up shirt (e.g. here, here, here and here); a casual short (here with matching top — this is cover-up dreams, here and here); a short popover dress (here, here and here). All in a poplin or gauzy cotton or linen.
Day 4, 5 & 7
Days 4, 5 and 7 were the days I actually took a photo of me wearing these shorts, when in fact I wore them nearly every day, in whole or in part, for the last two weeks. The main upside from last year’s ubiquitous cotton boxer is that they’re wrinkle-resistant.
If your life is as messy as mine, I can’t recommend a nylon short of some kind enough. If you’re deterred because you think they’ll read like a “hiking short,” I’ve shown how you can easily dress them up here.
Day 6
You’ve seen me wear this hanbok-channeling Toogood dress before, but the shoes are new. I first stumbled across them while sourcing for a client and I loved them right away. The concept of this style of flat has been around for while, so it’s not a new idea. But sometimes the long-vamped, almond-toed leather flat can feel too severe for me. At the same time, the oh-so-literal satin pink ballet flat feels way too girly. The combination of the longish vamp + scrunch + not-so-pink-nude feels very right.
I actually got them in white for the aforementioned client which I also adore. It’s a different feel — sharp and modern — but I would snap them up in a heartbeat if I could find my size. I did find a size 40 in white leather for a lucky person! Also, here are a couple of links to the satin in size: 36.5 and 40.
Day 8
Thank you to my client in the States who bought these COS flats and shipped them over to me! I recommended them a couple of months ago on here, but they never made it into Toronto stores. It’s the perfect modern mary jane at a reasonable price point.
Day 9
On Day 9, I was set on this combination of shirt and shorts, but it took a while for the final outfit to come together.
First the shoes. I tried my two pairs of silver flats, but with the lightly striped shirt, I felt I was getting the light-dark-light sandwich effect. No bueno. I tried my Arizona Love pearl trekkies and my black rubber Birks, but they didn’t take the outfit in the direction I was feeling that day (less fun, more somber lol). Finally, these brown Tibi faux shearling slides felt right tonally while also adding a new texture and thus some complexity to the outfit.
But, something still felt off. Originally I had the top two buttons of my shirt undone, and I guess the styling felt…boring? predictable? So, I tried buttoning up the shirt to give the overall outfit a different shape…and it felt much better!
I was almost there. It might be hard to see, but I then pulled my gold pearl and silver sparkly Dorsey necklaces over the shirt to give a sort of collar effect, and adding some weight to the top of the outfit. Finally, the whole composition of the outfit felt in balance and the outfit felt complete.
I wrote out my thought process to illustrate that this outfit was a culmination of little adjustments, and that small styling details matter! To me, anyway. Maybe the lay person wouldn’t have noticed whether the top was buttoned or unbuttoned, and they may have even complimented my cool pearl trekkies, but it made a 100% difference in how I felt about myself leaving the house that day.
(It was freezing that morning, so I did have to throw on a leather jacket…and I ended up loving the outfit even more!)
Enjoy your long weekend, Canada, and happy Independence Day to our American neighbours. My next newsletter will on my packing strategy for our Korea/Japan adventure — see you then!
Love and gratitude,
Irene
Loved this process of small adjustments that make an impact. This is an idea I'ver been really into and have written about (and named LOL, the LMA for Last Minute Adjustment). It was particularly interesting to me this idea about adding more weight at the top. That's something I've only just begun to identify as a detail that affects how I feel in an outfit. :-) can't wait to see this big packing -- good prep for my upcoming Mexico City trip! XX
Thank you for sharing the thought process behind buttoning up the shirt and layering your necklace over it. I love the result. Seemingly small details make such a difference. Enjoy your vacation with your boys! ❤️