What I wear when I'm going through a brain dead phase of getting dressed
What I wear when I'm going through a brain dead phase of getting dressed
A category that always works, for me
It’s afternoon, a rare sunny weekend afternoon after days of rain marathon. How about a rewind of my previous hours for you on my behalf? I crawled out of bed at 2:30am, sent my poor girlfriend over to A&E 30 minutes later, had a few not-really-sleeping hours before an official doctor appointment at 10am and returned home sharp at noon with two slices of 100% Nutella-filled toasts to make sure that 9% sugar within the portion wakes up a less-than-5-hours sleepy soul. To my surprise, my brain is still functioning and thinking what to cover for this week’s substack. Perhaps I should introduce you to my hero when I’m at the phase of not very inspired to get dressed? Lovingly had it on since early morning: My sweatpants.
“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life, so you bought some sweatpants.” — The World According to Karl, 2013
Google ‘sweatpants Karl Lagerfeld’ and these came straight up…
But even underdogs have to get dressed to get on with their life, don’t they? This juicy line can go no further than 50m for people living in cold countries and the practical side of consideration somehow challenges people with aesthetics to exceed their boundaries if throwing their taste out of the window for several months is not something they wanted to do. My style has also changed quite unexpectedly in the past six months and I no longer feel the habitual urge to shop for clothes like I did when I was in Hong Kong. Taking a pause in shopping, more attention has been diverted to adding enjoyable elements to my regular uniform, and we mean sweatpants in this context:
Outerwear choice: vest, blazer, overcoat, down jacket
Accessories: earrings, ring, brooch, necklace, bracelet, hat, scarf
Bags: You know best
Socks: of contrasting colours and prints
Shoes choice: sandals, flats, loafers, boots, trainers (comes last)
Onwards now to my take:
Throw a vest on
If we are still in last week’s counting of taboos in Chinese communities, wearing all white IS achievable when you attempt to include other colours of attention. Let’s draw an example from the spectrum of warm tone and say green. This oversized vest with a boxy silhouette is my twisting play. See how the conjuring vest breaks up an outfit that otherwise consists of only dull monotone? Options are to try looking for prints (pattern, motif, words), colours (from the rainbow) and materials (wool, cashmere) of contrast, not to mention sizing up from your regular fit unless it is initially meant to be oversized.
Accessories are important too:
Tuck a shirt underneath
Shirt and sweatpants combo is no big marriage, but assembling prints of similar colour tone and vibe do spark joy. Besides matching the shirt and a newly scored vintage necklace, I added a pair of abstract printed trainers as another member to join the ‘print-trio’ (remember the magic number 3) so the outfit tones down to two neutral colours of navy and brown, which gives a clean but fun-to-look-at entire look. Want to show more of your shirt? Pick a cropped silhouette (seen here) or tuck the jumper no longer than your torso.
Wear your overcoat
On those lazy days when we want to venture outside with the most casual pair of pants, an overcoat instantly makes the look more put together. Opt for minimal colours (black, navy or grey) in terms of coat choice, while keep your sweats, tee, hoodie, sweatpants and beanie in similar territory of neutrals (white, beige, black, navy or grey) for a clean and sleek look. Surviving through the cold winter with this colour formula, I love how the tricky high-low winter combination work well even in February (GMT), saving me so much time when headed to workout or making my weekly grocery run.
Here’s a piece of evidence:
Or a down jacket
On a side note, I found an old picture taken in November during a quick drop to the warehouse picking up mirrors and other bathroom essentials for my parents (Mum at the back) so again I was in my sweatpants with a mix of navy and grey shade.
Here: turtleneck/cashmere + wool vest + down jacket + sweatpants under 5°C
Pair up with Mary Jane shoes
Being consistent on the territory of neutrals, an all black outfit desperately needs a pop of white and fuzzy Mary Jane shoes (we’ll discuss more on this next week)!
Quick snap before friends gathering in a farmhouse restaurant:
A blazer hero
From couch to brunch, the easiest trick is to add some structure to a pair of baggy sweatpants — a shoulder panelled blazer. I recommend selecting an oversized fit that emphasises the shoulder game so it appears more roomy, comfortable and most importantly, brunch-appropriate.
Tip: Swarm into the world of vintage blazers and you will thank me later.
Accessorise!
For ultimate sportswear from head to toe like the example above, elements of femininity (pearls, diamonds) and modernity (gold and silver hardware) are keys to elevation. Not necessary to over accessorise but a friendly reminder to yourself currently far from the woods with slight touch of dressy components.
What you will catch me wearing at the airport:
Add whimsical/creative element
Often than not a statement hat is what I always reached for when my outfit feels like a bore. Colour, material and shape, they all matter. But how to decide between them? It’s mathematics, one that I am working hard on too. But if you are looking for cold weather staples, I could safely say faux fur and heavily knitted hats are reliable pals to keep your ears from hurting (important note from a short hair girl!)
A style trick I did here was to tie the hanging strings on my hoodie instead of doing the school girl zip up, warmth guaranteed:
After the long scroll, repeat after me: Sweatpants are heroes!
Next week, we will deliberately cover some trends of FW24, trying out the wearable and not-quite-wearable elements from the runway to our everyday art of dressing up. Have a great week!
Until then,
Chris