What I Wore Recently: August

While I've slowed down on content creation this month, I'm still going out and about and to do that, wearing clothes! Here are a few of the looks I have worn recently with honest reviews, tips on fit, and more.

This is the only item I bought myself from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale that I kept. This is a jumpsuit from Zella in size Large and no surprise, this jumpsuit lover loves it. The fabric is like stretchy running shorts, with a soft knit waistband and cuffs. The stretchy fabric and zipper make it super easy to get on and off, and the knit waistband hits at just the right spot on my torso, showing my shape without being restrictive. So many pockets, and pockets with zippers!

I wore this jumpsuit to drive to the Delaware beaches, which was about a 4-hour drive and I was super comfy. So comfy, I kept it on walking around Rehoboth Beach and I wore it to linner too. The fabric is athletic fabric, so it kept me cool and breezy and not feeling all funky even on a warm summer day. Reviews say it runs small, it runs large… at 5'3″ tall and a size 14 who usually gets a Large in Zella, I felt it ran TTS but if you're taller you may want to size up to have more room.

The second night we were at the beach it POURED. It rained, stopped, and rained again and it was muggy and damp feeling. I decided to keep it chill and comfy for dinner and wore my beloved Soma joggers with a shoulderpad tee from Banana Republic. The earrings are vintage and the sandals are again my Teva Hurricanes.

On the last day at the beach, I kept it simple with a black tank from Chico's in size 1.5 and an old favorite pair of jeans from Athleta (previously seen here). I added a black belt with silver and mother of pearl buckle (seen here back in 2019) and because it's the beach, I added the Teva sandals again (the only shoes I took to the beach were these and my sneakers).

Since it was chilly in air conditioning, while inside I added a lightweight denim jacket by Gary Graham for Amazon. If you watched the most recent season of Making the Cut, a fashion competition show on Amazon Prime, you may recognize it.

I like it the way I have it above, which I'd assume is the expected way because it's leather Levi's label has the size tag attached to it. It is the way seen on the first female model on Amazon, and the second way it was styled on the runway.

The other way is how it looks on the first male model on Amazon. This is a miss because the back at the waist flips out like a ducktail. You can see it has a slight flip on the runway, but this mass-produced version was created to be an accessible enough price to sell out fast (which it did but it's back in stock)… it's not as refined and it makes the second way to not be as cute… unless you are tall and have a booty. Then I think this could look custom on your body. It's the right point for Karl who is 6'4″ and a size men's Medium/Universal Standard XS but he has no booty so it just looks weird.

In the Wardrobe Oxygen Facebook Community, someone asked about Ever by X, an Australian woman-founded sustainable slow fashion brand that creates just one dress. I'm not one for gimmicks in fashion (types the woman who just bought an Amazon jacket that can be flipped upside down) but I liked that this dress came in sizes 6-24 with regular and petite options, and it was from a sustainable machine washable fabric. I reached out to the owner, Kerryl, and she offered to send me a dress to honestly review on the site. The review will be next month.

But you can't do a review without test driving the product. When I was meeting my friends for lunch at Le Diplomate. It was a hot day in DC, which means it's also humid, and thanks to Delta, we were eating outside. Going through my closet I felt this dress could be a good choice for looking and feeling cool. For reference, this is the petite version.

There are several ways to tie and twist this dress to create different looks; I pulled this dress straight from the packaging (it comes in a fabric pouch the size of a thick paperback novel) and tied it in the most obvious manner without following any directions or looking at tutorials.

This dress was super comfortable; we sat for about three hours chatting under this covered patio at the restaurant during the hottest point of the day. No sweat stains, no sticking to my back, and it has pockets (kinda small but big enough to hold an iPhone).

You've seen this blue no-wrinkle linen shirt from Chico's in many of my Instagram Stories this summer. It continues to be a favorite and will be something I'll be taking on vacation next weekend. This is the tunic version, which I like for the extra length to tie it in front, and I also often use this as a swim coverup.

The pants are from J. Crew. I've been craving a slouchy casual pant to wear now with graphic tees and this fall with sweaters. I ordered these on a whim and I really dig them.

The bag is the Small Vida Tote from Dagne Dover. I have been a Dagne Dover fan for almost a decade. It is a bag company founded by three women who are still friends and still in charge of the business. This bag is made from organic cotton and has a kazillion different pockets and pouches including a removable neoprene sleeve for a water bottle. Right now I don't have much to put in a purse, but this bag is ready to carry a lunch, change of shoes, or be filled with goodies from the farmers market.

I went with my mom to an appointment and this is what I wore. No shame, this is the day after the previous look, wearing the same pants, pulled straight off the chair where I left them the night before. And the same Dagne Dover Vida Tote in small. The loafers are from Naturalizer and I got them in 2019.

The silk tee is from Marimekko; I mentioned it in this Friday Shop that I ordered it. When it arrived I was doing the whole, “This much for what is essentially two T's of silk sewn together with white thread?” thing. But thinking about this post and that dress, I kept it. And I am glad I did. It's lightweight and comfortable while adding interest and elevating what is a pretty casual look. I'd like to style it this fall with high-waisted tailored wide-leg trousers. I think it would look good under a pantsuit, and since it looks nice untucked I could totally do it with a boyfriend blazer and leggings for a quick and easy look.

I share more of my outfits on Instagram and even more, including the workout and lounge outfits on Instagram Stories. I'm doing more Instagram Stories this month than anything since it's so easy and unfiltered, but will be back to regular posting on all platforms in September!