Style review of winter 2019/2020

... haven't written on style for a while. Seems so superficial during this lockdown time. But as it is time to switch the wardrobe from fall/winter to spring/summer, a brief review on my "fashion history" of this winter seems appropriate after all.

Reducing consumption?

Seems that I have been a bit inconsistent about buying less and buying "better", that is in a more ecologically responsible way. I started out the winter fairly content with the pieces I still had the year before and decided to splurge on a few pieces for updating what I had. And I missed twice. An order from a Chinese website turned out quite fun in the first place, I liked the looks - but I ended up not wearing most of the items because they just weren't comfortable for me. So I packed them off to a friend in Canada who was happy with them, adding in for her some of the "missers" from the second try, a fashion website from Poland. Again, nice looking stuff, but the quality of the garments was just too "plasticky".

Above and below: two items from the Chinese purchases which DID stay and were worn! Loved that "tulle" skirt and dressed it up for Christmas and New Years and down for the office ...

My love for bright colors

When reviewing the winter one thing stands out: I really went for color (and changed my glasses accordingly. Too bad there are not pictures of the bright red glasses, the brilliant blue and the turquoise ones. I DO have quite a colledtion of glasses, love to play with them).

More skirts in the winter than in summer

And I wore skirts a lot! Short skirts like the black one with the (non)leather jacket or the felted bright red one from COS with matching COS sweater, or longer ones like the pleated heather-colored one or the bronze corduroy skirt from Uniqlo. Seems like I wear skirts more in the winter than in the summer and there's a practical reason for it: black tights and ankle boots carry me through all winter, while in the summer it's often not quite warm enough for bare legs or too warm and then you get that chafing-thighs problem (doesn't seem to matter how slender one is!).

Coats and jackets worked out great

A new black fake-fur jacket did not really get enough wear for the money (but then it was very reasonably priced at ZARA) while the green duffle with the furry collar was a very late-season addition, another wild try from China, which really DID work out!
My trusty black down coat from a couple of years ago kept me warm even on freezing Berlin days and the little apricot down jacket has been carrying me into spring.

Dresses and me: a difficult union

I tried dressed again, too - with not very much success. The red and purple GUDRUN SJOEDEN pieces got some wear, especially with the self-dyed underskirt. As did the dark green little dress from ZARA (worn with and without matching or contrasting self-dyed underskirt). Longer dresses just seem a bit out of my comfort zone, they make me feel dressed-up somehow.

Here below the green ZARA dress with contrasting underskirt:

Success story: the classic woolen coat

The most successful image on Instagram this winter was this triptych of my lovely pink coat.
​There's a whole story to the purchase of this item: I first saw it on sale when my sister was visiting from France a few weeks before Easter. She was totally sure I should buy it. Being of good quality it still seemed too expensive (and also a bit too much of a classic for me) and I actually went back to the store three weeks in a row until it had been reduced twice. And it STILL seemed much, so I asked the shopkeeper whether there was a chance for one last reduction: and there was! So I ended up getting a high quality coat originally priced at Euro 229 for Euro 79! Sure made my day and I have worn it lots since!

Haha, and to be honest: the nice higher heels I am wearing in the photo usually don't make it out of their box as I prefer much lower-heeled and very comfortable ankle booties. (The heels probably made the shot so popular!!!)

Final thoughts and good intentions

So I am still not down to a capsule wardrobe, but at least have become still more rigorous in sorting out the things I don't really wear. And some of the items featured here didn't make it into storage for another season, simply because they were not in a good state anymore (like unfortunately the pretty heather-colored pleated skirt which had pilled quite a bit on one hip - why I can't really figure out!).

Now it's time to transfer the spring/summer items into my wardrobe and I am making a big promise to myself not to buy superfluous and non-quality items this time around. No more China and Poland and, anyways, there's a lot from last summer that I am still very happy with.