Winter Style Haul

Sunday, February 18, 2018
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Guys, I actually made some style purchases! This time last year I completed the Project 333 challenge and then, after reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and The Curated Closet (check out my review here), spent several months culling my wardrobe down to only pieces I truly loved. The only downside of that is that I ended up with a wardrobe that was quite tiny. Suddenly I was having to do laundry so much more often than I ever had to before. Not only that, but it became quite clear that I was lacking in several clothing categories. Luckily all the exercises I had done from The Curated Closet left me with a really acute sense of what I wanted my wardrobe to be, so it was really easy to spot what was missing. Armed with my hyper-specific shopping list I hit the shops, both online and in-person (and even with one of my out-of-state best friends who was visiting!) to grab a few new cold-weather pieces!

checked blazer oversized long line camel turtleneck rollneck














Cashmere sweaters (yes, plural!)

While some of you might be lucky enough to be thinking about spring styles already, us Nebraskans are stuck with a few more months of freezing cold winter. As you know, I picked up an Everlane cashmere crew neck sweater early this winter and I've been loving it so I decided to hunt down some different styles of cashmere sweater. If I have to be stuck wearing lots of layers for awhile longer, might as well make them super soft and cozy layers right?

Lucky for me, H&M happened to be having a site-wide 20% off sale at the time so I grabbed two of their premium line sweaters - a grey cropped, high neck sweater with oversized, fluted sleeves, and a camel turtleneck. (P.S. - Their premium line is fantastic. Great mix of style but with quality fabrics and reasonable prices.)

This grey sweater is definitely not something I would have seen myself picking up if I had seen it in stores. It's a little bit crazy, and a lot more trend-driven than I'm normally looking for when I'm investing in something as pricey as cashmere can be. But they got me. Once this arrived in the mail and I tried it on I immediately knew it was staying. It is seriously the comfiest sweater I've ever worn. It's soft (duh, cashmere) but all the extra fabric in the oversized sleeves make me instantly feel like I'm cuddled up on the couch on a lazy Sunday, sipping some hot tea and snuggling with my kitties. Now imagine being able to bring that feeling to work on a Monday morning. So perfect.

The camel turtleneck I am blaming entirely on Lizzy Hadfield. I became obsessed with her beige Cos cashmere turtleneck, but the price was just too much for me to stomach. Instead I found this one at half the cost, in a color I've been in love with recently, but that has the same styling options and feel. I love the details -- the slits in the sides (but not too big!) and the sleeves -- and the fact that the neck is long enough to sort of just scrunch down, or to fold over nicely.

Breton striped shirt

I've been meaning to pick up a simple, cotton, long or 3/4 sleeve, black and white striped shirt for a looooonng time now. It sounds like such a simple purchase but I've been finding it surprisingly hard to fulfill! I picked up another attempt at H&M and unfortunately it's another dud. The neckline just didn't seem to lay quite right on me -- it kept bunching up right above my boobs and in the armpit area, and the boatneck cut was just a little too narrow, with a stripe falling in an awkward position that got cut off in the middle. The quality seemed nice enough, but sadly this one had to go back.

Cashmere stocking cap

To be honest, this was probably the closest thing to an impulse buy that I made with this latest haul. I technically have a perfectly fine stocking cap, but it has such a laid-back, casual and outdoorsy vibe that I justified this cashmere stocking cap because of it's smarter feel. Even with that super solid reasoning to back me up, this cap ended up going back. It was surprisingly thick, which isn't that common for budget cashmere, and I loved the softness, but the color was just a tad too light and the pattern it was cut from seemed a bit odd as well. It narrowed in at the top in a way that almost looked like a manufacturing defect. I'd love to find another cap that still keeps me looking nice but this was not the time.

Checked blazer

The stocking cap might have been an impulse buy, but this blazer purchase was a long time coming. I've been searching for the perfect frumpy, oversized, long-line checked blazer since the beginning of last year, and I finally found it waiting for me on a clearance rack at H&M when I wasn't even looking for it. I've already been pairing it with pretty much everything -- my camel turtleneck, a white t-shirt, a black crew neck sweater, etc, etc, etc. It has added a little extra warmth under my coat on those really cold days, and I'm excited to wear it right through spring as outerwear in it's own right. Prepare to see a lot of this blazer in the future...

(Sorry I don't have a link for this -- H&M doesn't seem to have it listed anymore!)

Wool blend camel coat

One other thing I've been searching for for practically eons now is a wool, thigh-length camel coat. I fell in love with the Joe coat from Sezane but of course my size sold out before I could get my hands on it. While there have been a lot of other options out there lately, none of them seemed quite right until I saw this little number from Zara. The shoulder pads, the black, simple buttons, the boxy cut and the small but sharp lapels -- it's fantastic. I ordered it the very first day it was online and I am so happy about it. Whenever I wear this coat I feel chic, super professional and just a little bit masculine. What more could a girl ask for? I'll probably end up wearing this even when winter is long over -- I'm prepared to suffer for my love!
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