Hi to all you readers and hope your week has had a great start! Mine has. This Monday has been one of the most energetic ones in a long time. I attended an inspiring and interesting training for ICT management last week and that got me into reading Kotter during the weekend. I came back to work with Evernote bursting with ideas I had written down.
This week the topic is casual – more specifically casual at overnight business training trips with evening activities. It was very easy to pack normal clothes for the three training days, but then there were the clothes for the outdoor team activities and the sauna and hot tub and lounging by the fireplace after. It’s still my work colleagues who I’m with, but I need to reveal a casual side of me which is actually a bit out of character for me. The reason is my fixation on matching clothes, including coat and shoes and other accessories. Also, I’m not a very casual person to begin with. So I chose my most casual outfit, navy pants with this top below (and the scarf too).
As an outdoor activity ensemble, it being winter and rainy, I chose my riding raincoat and my wellies. I wore them with dark blue jeggings and a white turtle neck knitted jumper.
The most casual I ever get is when riding. It hurts my eyes how the coat does not match the rest of my outfit in this picture taken last Easter in Gredos mountains, Spain. Yes, I really am fixated on outfits that match, but with outdoor wear IÂ sometimes have to compromise.
Here are some of my very cosy summer holiday styles. Even flip-flops need to match my dresses 🙂 Luckily they are inexpensive to buy.
On my yearly trail riding trips I do take easy-to-wear clothes with me for sightseeing and dinners as seen here. I’ve had the knitted tunic for a few years and it’s been a great purchase and a staple as my casual wear.
And last but not least, my grocery shopping casual style – this is the absolute most casual I can leave the house. Ever.
Everyone’s own individual dressing style determines what we see as casual and that in turn determines what we view as work wear and what we view as party wear. For example my boyfriend’s father thinks that the blue and white long jersey dress seen above with the long cardi is very festive! And at the same time it’s one of my most casual dresses I own and only wear it as such 🙂
To conclude this post, as might be evident, I do put a lot of thought into what I wear. Every morning I lie in bed and decide on my outfit in my head before I get up. I think of what’s clean, whether I know where it is, which shoes go with the outfit and whether I know where those shoes are, etc. That sentence reveals that yes, my wardrobe collection is way too big. I need to make an inventory soon and donate some clothes to charity.
It’s a real challenge sometimes: to be not casual person in casual environment.
I’m reading a blog of Russian stylist and she posted about that a little: it’s not only about personal preferences, but also about overall harmony between outfit and appearance and well person, there are people who look their best in casual and there are people who look their best dressed up. First category usually has difficulties with formal clothes and second category struggles with clothes for outdoor activities and clothes for running errands. May be it’s your case.
And it looks like you found one of her solutions: she specifically recommended equestrian style for “dressy” type for casual.
You are absolutely right Malica! It is about the balance and that’s why I feel uneasy about sportswear that is very casual – as well as what I wear home even if just lounging. It’s just not me as a persona to wear super casual clothes.
And very true about equestrian wear, that is an ideal solution for sportswear without looking too sporty.
I’ve actually recommended raincoats and some other coats from equestrian stores for friends because they are good quality, stylish and these days without any obvious signs of equestrian labels or horse/riding gear logos. Also the price is usally very decent compared to well known outdoorwear brands!
Only certain solutions and cuts reveal it’s equestrian wear, like the side slits and the lenght of the coats. BUT at the same time, it’s ideal at a work outing where you likely need to sit outside that the coat is designed for sitting down!
Your last paragraph describes me exactly. And if I have an event or important meeting the next day, I mentally choose my outfit the night before.
Like you, I often have a hard time wearing casual clothes, though I’ve been loosening up since I started working from home. I still have to add a pretty scarf or earrings (or both) to my outfit even if I don’t leave the house. It just makes me feel good 🙂
Nice to hear that there are people like me reading this little column 🙂 It is so easy to get dressed when you’ve mentally thought what you’re going to wear isn’t it?
And so hear you on adding something pretty even if just lounging at home. The wear my sparkly Michael Kors knitted top has gotten at home…. simply cause it’s super comfy and so pretty 😀