Approaching perfection? Or not so much?

To my mind this has always felt like a nearly perfect outfit. Seeing the photographs makes me wonder if it really works as well as I thought.  In these pictures it seems a little dowdy.  I just don't see the sophisticated glamor I have always thought I was communicating when I wore ensemble.  So now what do I do?  One of the reasons I began this blog was to be able to examine my style more objectively than I could do by just looking in the mirror for a few moments a day.  Which is likely to be closer to the reality the rest of the world sees, what's in my mind's eye or what is captured by the camera's lens?  Am I going to be forced to admit that an outfit I've always felt I looked great in is actually not so great?

While the jury is still out, let me sing this outfit's praises. Here's what I love about it: The skirt actually fits my waist and reaches my knees. It's made of a gorgeous dove grey polyester rayon blend that feels super soft and has a lovely drape. The hem is bound with silvery satin bias binding. The same satin is used as a yoke detail that unfortunately doesn't show when I wear the skirt with a top that is not tucked in. I attempted a tucked in top this morning but had to abandon the idea because the proportions were off and it appeared that my breasts and my waist were fighting to occupy the same space. Not at all appealing.

Although I've had the black boat-neck top for years, and I realize it's nothing particularly special, I've always really liked it. I've always felt that it had an Audrey Hepburn vibe with the three quarter sleeves. I've intended for years to make a number of tops like these in much nicer fabric as part of a "core wardrobe plan." Unfortunately, now that I see the top in these photographs, I notice that the fact that the sleeves and the hem end at the same level and that makes me appear awfully wide. At least I haven't already put dozens of hours into making several of these boat-necks before making this discovery.

The shoes are some of my favorites. Silver and black patent spectator oxfords with curved heels and ribbon laces. Yes, they hurt my feet. No, I don't care. Much. I ended up having to walk much more today than I had anticipated and my feet are killing me, but it won't stop me from wearing them again.

This is the first time I've worn the pin. The boat-neck top seems to be the perfect blank canvas for a vintage pin. I think I wear my pins kind of high, but I like them to sit nearer my shoulder than my chest. I think it looks more modern. Yeah, I know- I just said I want my vintage pin to look modern. Maybe I don't know what I want.

Today I wore:
black boat-neck top: gap
grey gored skirt: second hand
heather grey tights: not sure
silver and grey oxfords: nordstrom
silver leaf pin: eBay