Spring Blues & Striped Mules

GUYS. This sunshine we’ve been having in London. I can’t even. (Stag jumps in with a joke: “Can you odd?” ….. *eye roll *). The problem is, you start convincing yourself it will be this way forever, and next thing you know, you’re taking this rare glimpse of sunshine for granted. Which is why my forever ‘Sunshine FOMO’ (as I endearingly call it) always propels me to get outside every sunny day that shines in London. Not just go outside, but go outside in that one outfit you know you can’t wear on a rainy day. My outfit of spring blues & striped mules is my sartorial answer to “What personifies a sunny Spring day?”

As you may have seen in one my recent blog posts, I’ve been reading The Curated Closet in an effort to create a capsule wardrobe for myself (blog post to come on this later!). One of the initial steps to creating this capsule wardrobe is to identify not just your personal style but also what’s inhibiting you from achieving it, whether it be shopping habits or your current wardrobe.

Luckily for me, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what my obstacle is: my constant practicality when it comes to buying clothes. A few blog posts and the first paragraph above can attest to that. It’s even come so far that — I am not exaggerating when I say this — all of my shoes and handbags are versions of camel brown and black. Quite literally: all of them.

I know what you’re thinking. Why are you like this, Eire? Why don’t you change? Initially, this ingrained habit stemmed from always a constant state of ‘being without funds’ — aka, always being broke. Secondly, I’ve forever been on a quest to have fewer things but of better quality: a slightly futile endeavour, as I am forever a magpie yearning to be a minimalist. And finally, because I am without-a-doubt a total Scrooge when it comes to buying non-practical things. “What do you mean, these shoes hurt my feet on the first wear?” I’d cry out. “Break in shoes?! What is this nonsense?!” I’d declare and head straight to the Clarks discount bin and fish out the first black flat I could find.

Luckily for me, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that my biggest obstacle in my wardrobe is my insatiable practicality.

I used to be fine with this state of dressing. “Embrace your inner crotchety-80-year-old-woman,” I always remind myself cheerfully. But, the more I reflect on my style (increasingly more so now that I run this beautiful little corner of the internet), the more I crave, well, more in my wardrobe. Colours, textures, outfits and pairings.

So I did what every self-respecting human would do when they decide to invest in something ‘fun;’ head to ASOS and browse like crazy. But because, you know, ‘baby steps,’ I settled on buying a pair of backless shoes.

Mules are everywhere for SS’17, and every fashion blogger I see is rocking a pair. However, I readily admit that I just never got them. Don’t your feet just slide around all day? I have trouble enough with pool slides (I know, I know, see old-lady reference above), let alone a total free-for-all in the shoe area.

When I saw these striped mules, though, my cold grinch-like heart thawed a bit. Blue, grey and red stripe. Pointy toe. All topped off with a knot, like a bow. My dream in a shoe — although like I predicted, I really can’t wear these babies out too far before my feet slide around everywhere.

So yes, I may not have cured my practical-minded ways when it comes to footwear. I was determined, though, to push myself out of my style comfort zone just a bit more. Denim is another staple that — like cardigans and loafers — I just thought you didn’t mess with. A bunch of very cool street style bloggers have proved me wrong, though, and so I up and went for a strange inside-out pair of jeans. And I have to say, I love them. Where have fun jeans been all my life?! (Stag, on the other hand, did naaaahhhhtttt get these jeans. “I’m so confused,” he said when I tried them on. “Are they inside out? Did you forget how to get dressed? What’s happening?”)

And then there are bell sleeves and oversized shirts. These two trends I will love and wear until the day I die, practicality be damned. Perhaps my natural style inclinations are a little less practical than I thought after all.