Gearing up for the winter blues

1. From top to bottom: A.P.C. pinafore dress, A.P.C. Liquette dress, Y.M.C. Peter Pan shirt, A.P.C. Oxford shirt, OLO Nationale 6/7; 2. A.P.C. Suede Ankle Boots; 3. Primoeza cabin sweater from Anaise

The missing-in-action routine is becoming a norm for me. My deepest apologies for disappearing for weeks on end, I've been uninspired of late to blog and also recently succumbed to some idiotic injury involving klutziness, the stairs, the emergency room and three stitches across the brow. I'm fine now, if you're wondering, albeit with an ugly red scar, a bruised ego and a hospital bill that stretches into the hundreds.

Anyway, now that the weather has taken a turn for the worse, I find myself constantly schlepping around in dorky clothing - an oversized parka, sweaters, thick socks, a really ugly hat and gloves. My tendency to feel blue during the winter means that I've been consoling myself with mindless and sometimes dumb purchases. I've been indulging in the awesome sales that began over Thanksgiving. On Net-A-Porter, I procured several A.P.C. pieces including the ubiquitous oxford shirt, a shirtdress and a corduroy pinafore. I'm not usually one for girly outfits, but there's just something about a button down, a pull-on dress and wooly tights that makes me all fuzzy inside. As proof of how I'm starting to embrace a wee bit of my feminine side, I picked up a bottle of OLO Fragrance's Nationale 6/7 at the Open-for-Business pop-up in Portland. I'm not really a fan of perfumes, but the gentle whiff of sandalwood, jasmine and lemon coming from a dab of Nationale 6/7 behind the ears is calming and sensual all at once. I think a combination of the fragrance, good oolong tea and a full spectrum light is helping me get through the cold.

In a sudden onset of madness, I plonked down quite a few dollars (and by that I mean quite a lot) for a pair of Isabel Marant Dixies. I've worn them approximately 3 times, and they seem to stretch out every time I put them on. The heels are also not as comfortable as I envision them and I've been hopping around for weeks like a crazy person, debating if I should sell them or just put in a pair of insoles. For some reason, I find that the length of the shaft hits me (edit: I didn't realize how obscene this sounds) at a very odd height such that it makes my legs look like dead tree trunks. As you can imagine, I've been both upset and annoyed at this wasteful predicament. In fact, I've been so upset and annoyed that I went right out and bought the seasonless A.P.C. suede ankle boots. Don't ask me why - I just felt like I had to buy them and boy am I glad I did! It's probably the most comfortable ankle boots I've ever worn, barring my Hope Chys. Why no one makes a bigger deal about these shoes is beyond me. It has the right shaft height and a wonderfully sturdy construction with just enough heel height and width to walk around in all day. Once again, I find myself caught up in the Isabel  Marant hype and being disappointed.

I realize that I may sound like a hypocrite after this last post about shopping more locally and ethically and having left a comment on Lin's blog about A.P.C. My closet is now almost half-filled with A.P.C. pieces - they seem make the best basics with just the right amount of classiness that I can't seem to find elsewhere. While I am trying to slowly veer most of my purchases towards small-batch, handmade goods such as the alpaca sweaters crafted by the superb Elizabeth of Primoeza, it's proving to be a slow and difficult process. As the year comes to close though, and I look back on my purchases and shopping habits, I think that I've always known that sustainable fashion isn't only about the brands you buy, it's about shopping only as you need with a strong focus on garment longevity and wearability.

How are you gearing up for winter (or the end of the year) and do you have any New Year resolutions for your style philosophy?