Off Duty

Sweater: Rocky Coast Cardigan by Hannah Fettig; madelinetosh tosh merino in antler; my notes and modifications on Acadian
Blouse: Everlane modern silk point collar shirt in navy; similar styles by Theory, Joe Fresh, and Ralph Lauren
Jeans: Madewell Alley Straight (different color); I'm also a fan of Old Navy's Sweetheart style
Shoes: Sperry Top-Sider Hayden loafer; similar styles by Bass and Cole Haan
Lips: Rosebud Salve

Yes Virginia, there is a casual Yelena. Truth be told, chez moi we much preferred this outfit without the sweater, but as I explained to my husband, the blog is about styling knitwear...

I have such mixed feeings about this sweater. I trot it out a lot despite the sleeves that are too tiny, the shoulders that despite modification fall off, and the overall look which is more than a little bit dowdy. However, it's a warm, white cardigan. It has merit. It has uses. I just sometimes wish I also had the long johns I feel it ought to go with and the mountain chalet to wear both while trapising about.

I do NOT have mixed feelings about this shirt. This shirt is amazing. This shirt will be coming to live with me in several more colors. I know I wax rhapsodic about Everlane while hocking my invite link and I feel not really at all bad about that. Their stuff is amazing! For a long time, they only had two long-sleeved shirt options: rounded collar with set-in sleeves or pointed collar with raglan sleeves. Can you see why I hadn't bought one yet? When I saw that they were offering pointed collar with set-in sleeves, it took me zero time to hit the buy button. That they had it in navy was just a bonus. That I selected the right size was bonus x2. That my husband made googly eyes at me when he saw it on? Bonus x3. This shirt is full of bonus.

I'm also becoming more and more partial to my Madewell Alley Straights. The one problem I have with them is that they are, definitively, too bulky to tuck into booties, but I think I'll survive. As for the flats, they just sort of worked. I wear my top-siders a lot when I'm not doing much of anything. I pack them for after yoga class, wear them to get a pedicure, take them on vacation (dear god that all sounds so repulsivley privileged I might just barf). They're kick around shoes and I can't ever see myself wearing them professionally. That being said, I'm delighted I have them for kicking around.

Finally, just for the record, I'd like to say that I acknowledge that this is a preternaturally good photo of me. The 47 others were not like this one. This one captured everything I always want to be in jeans and everything I am pretty sure I'm not. It's the Ricky Lauren look of my sartorial fantasies and I have no shame about publishing it to the internet pretending it's actually what I look like.