August Recap
Minnesota State Fair Trend Reporting, Satin Silk, and Mexico City
Last Friday night, after a complete day at the Minnesota State Fair, I needed to take Remy for a walk. After arriving home from the fair, I had changed into my green pleated silk satin nighty, and was too lazy to take it off to go with Remy. A bit of a silly outfit for a stroll but sometimes that fear of “what the hell am I wearing” is a good thing. I’ve been on a silk satin kick this summer and I do mean silk satin, not polyester satin. I’m sorry but I am a silk snob. I can’t quite tell if these are satin but wowza! I think they’d be great in Mexico City next month. Jason and I are visiting his dad and stepmom next month and while most of our time with be in Oaxaca, we’re tacking on a few extra days in Mexico City. I’d like to buy those shorts…my actual plan is to go down with as little in my suitcase as possible to thrift while we’re there.
This cut of skirt will never make practical sense to me, but this white silk skirt feels on trend at the moment. While at work a few months ago, I panic-bought the black silk ruffle blouse off Depop in the photo below. It was $15. I think it started as a satin finish but was washed so it’s got a bit of dullness to it. I personally like this effect as I don’t like things that are too precious. Clothes are meant to be worn!!
This is also not satin but it is cool— the bright blue stripe is rather sporty which I like a lot. I noticed DÔEN just released a bunch of satin silk pieces that are really just very lovely and feminine. I’d love to find a way to rock them up a bit. Black straight-leg jeans, a nice silver belt buckle, and brown suede boots.
Now for a recap on what I saw people wearing at the fair. No surprise a lot of athleisure and athletic shorts. I get it, that’s what les gens like to wear but it’s not for me. The best-dressed ladies, in my opinion, wore prints. There was a lady in her 50s, fabulous haircut, in a buttery yellow printed dress, buttons down the front, collared, mid-bicep length sleeve. Princess seams all the way down the front. I’m sure she’s owned the dress for years but it really looked fresh. She wore a nice pair of white sneakers with it. Other notable outfits: printed slip dresses, sitting just below the knee. My friend Emily in a block-printed summery blouse and loose-fitting pants. Sneakers! And a lady in a one-shoulder neon dress ruched all the way up the sides, pushing a stroller. Dress was fitted. She looked so good. This Norma Kamali dress is not what the woman was wearing but it might as well have been. The neons on her dress were muted and ombre’d with white. Some of you may be thinking, “Why would I wear a dress to the fair??”, and that question is all well and good but I just think…if something is comfortable enough to walk in, and you don’t mind exposing it to the messes available at the fair, wear it! Few things, to me, are more comfortable than a knit jersey or mesh dress for walking. But you will also never find me feeling comfortable in a pair of athletic shorts, unless they’re these. I kid, Sporty and Rich is not for me. I’d rather find a pair of vintage track shorts on Depop. Tonight, I am going back to the fair, and depending on the weather, I might wear an old mesh dress I got at the Goodwill years ago. It’s printed with flora, fauna, and a bird with a few rhinestones on it. I’ll find a picture later. I’m hoping to eat these and this. I had this on Friday and it was delightful. Oh, and we saw royalty:
What else?
A high-school friend is getting married in September and I’ve decided to wear this. I purchased it on The Real Real. When it came I worried there might be too much white in it, so I may attach some small circular silver magnets to either side so there is a bit of a polka dot effect on the white part. TBD… I will also be bringing it to wear while in Mexico City with these. Although, as is par for my course, I worry I’ll look too much like an artsy older woman who loves bold color-blocking. Do you know what I mean? Whatever.
After contemplating a black body suit for a full year (I am not kidding), I finally found one that didn’t make me feel like I was overpaying. I’ve already worn it with a black pleated skirt to a Loons game (Loons game are FUN and very FAST) as well as out with friends with an oversized denim shirt. I didn’t love the latter outfit as much but I really do like the look of leggings peaking out from underneath a skirt. Speaking of leggings peaking out from a skirt, did you see Carrie’s dinner party outfit? God I loved this season and I am not ashamed to say it. I laughed so much.
What I’m really trying to find is a sheer black bodysuit, with or without sleeves. It must have legs so that I can have it peek out under a pair of jeans or a skirt. If I were rich, I’d buy this from LaQuan Smith. The ultimate layering piece.
A few weeks late but I thought the Vogue cover was overwhelmingly boring. I will be watching the documentary though, although knowing me, I’ll probably watch it two months after it comes out. I find the conversations around aging and airbrushing sensationalized and boring so I have nothing to say there.
I’m noticing lots of tweets and mentions of needing more conversations around friendship. I get tired of the concept of “nobody is talking about this” because there typically are people talking about it, you just have to find them. Anyway, Chrissy Ford’s recap of saving a friendship was really touching and relatable to me. And of course, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman’s book Big Friendship is worthy of a read of listen. I’m in a bit of a weird spot with friends right now. Friendships ending, friends moving across the country, and I just got married. My relationship with my husband feels very lovingly central right now. I also have four sisters and a mother in hospice I want my extra time to be spent nurturing and focusing on those connections. All this to say, I am contemplating how relationships outside my immediate family fit into my life right now.