Earlier Drafts:
This wardrobe workhorse tank was my favorite item of the summer and these skinnies have become a wardrobe workhorse, too.
Composition:
navy and white striped tank (Gap)
dark teal cardigan (H&M)
brown leather belt (Fossil)
distressed skinnies (A&E)
cream patent leather flats (Sam Edelman via Zappos)
Usage:
When I wore this tank and sweater together again to a baby shower this weekend, I realized that I'd been planning a post about this outfit for a while but kept forgetting to attend to it. This weekend, I wore it with my teal Mary Janes, and it turns out that they're a hit with all generations!
The shoe swap speaks to why I wanted to write about this outfit, though. The patent leather flats I'm wearing above are one of my favorite pairs because they're my wedding shoes! Putting them on is one way for me to feel like that perfect day lives on. This is their first appearance on the blog, though, because I'm trying not to wear them out. While all three of us here at SSG like to wear our favorite items frequently, I hate when this frequent wearing leads to wearing out. Patent leather, in particular, presents a problem for me because I don't know how to take care of it properly. Fellow commuters, do you also notice that the heel of your right shoe gets rubbed down from driving? Almost all of my shoes reveal the marks of my 40-60 minute drive to campus. With regular leather it's no problem because I can polish the mark away, but when patent leather starts to rub away, it's the end of the road for the shoes. Unless I'm missing something.
Readers with freakishly good recall might also remember that I wrote earlier about ruining this tank while wearing it, too. Luckily for me, my mother in law read that post and bought me not one but two! replacements. So now this tank can live on in my wardrobe for years to come, which is fortunate because I'd washed the original so many times that it was starting to fade.
Prompts:
- Do you have any items that you love enough to be careful about how often you wear them in order to avoid wearing them out? What are they?
- Seriously-- do other commuters do this to their shoes? Or am I just driving wrong?
- Any patent leather care tips you can give me?
Posts
5 comments:
Hah! We really are nautical twins today, aren't we? Hooray for kind mum-in-laws, as that's a tank you need to keep wearing all year 'round.
I have a pair of suede loafers that have a dirty right heel from driving. Lesson learned? I either need to clean my car more, or buy shoes that have the sole built up over the back of the heel.
YES! My black leather boots are wearing around the heels because I wear them when I'm driving so often! I know, theoretically, to keep them nice I should change shoes for driving (or walking through gravel, mud, ice, snow, etc) but I bought the shoes to be worn frequently, to be an everyday boot, and it seems silly that I can't wear them constantly. Unfortunately I don't have any tips for care...if you find any good ones, let me know! :)
My other item that I love that is wearing out is my black wool coat...it is becoming threadbare in areas (sob) and all of the pressed pleats have long since relaxed. However, it is another item that I will wear until it completely falls apart. I'm trying to think of something that I love enough to not wear to avoid it wearing out...Personally, I used to 'save' my favorite items for special occasions, but then I noticed that I would never use/wear them because there wouldn't be an occasion special enough. Now, if I love an item I will wear or use it until it breaks or wears out because that is a testament to how much I love it. Obviously, I'm not one for buying breakable or fragile items--this is also one reason why I am trying to switch my wardrobe over to quality items that will last me years and years.
On a less serious note, I love that shirt and cardigan combo! Very clean and striking. :)
No tips for fixing your shoes, but I do worry about wearing out my clothing. I can't afford to replace my good clothing if I wear it out too quickly. That is why I often air dry my favorite pieces. I feel that all the heat and tumbling adds to the damage of washing a wearing. And as I have to wear and to wear I must wash, I can at least cut out the drying. I even let basic T-shirts hang to dry if I really like them.
I love that you incorporated such a special item in your outfit.
I also love that your wedding shoes were flats!
The Auspicious Life
the stripes are a definite YES. love them. for keeps!
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