Daily Uniform

The Curated coat (similar)
Wilfred sweater (similar)
Mavi jeans (c/o)
Rouje boots (similar)
Chanel handbag
Celine sunglasses
Vintage necklace (similar)
Linjer rings (c/o) (similar)
Maris Pearl Co. earrings (similar)
Location: Rue Portalis – Paris, France

Paris, October 14, 2021

Dear friends,

I confess: the idea of sharing two posts in a row wherein I’m wearing the same coat troubles me. I know I’ll share the photos from this trip in chronological order so, standing at the front door, about to leave for the day, I contemplate a last second coat swap. After all, I could wear my trench coat. Or throw on a blazer. This coat is more of a glorified cardigan and it will be a warm day, so a blazer would be enough.

In the end, I don’t bother. This is real life. I’m already dressed, and most comfortable in this coat. It’s part of what I can only describe as my daily uniform. The concept of having a daily uniform doesn’t make much sense since, in my true daily life, I work from home and, if I have anything resembling a uniform, it consists of leggings and a black turtleneck. But this is the outfit I come back to over and over, especially in Paris. The outfit I always wear when I want to feel comfortable but put together.

Once, in early 2013, I shared a set of photos featuring what I described as my daily uniform. At the time, it was a departure from the outfits I most often shared, which were mostly pretty dresses that I had no practical use for outside of photoshoots as an often broke full-time blogger. But it was accurate, and not at all dissimilar to the outfit I’m wearing today, eight years later. I chose a blazer instead of a coat, that day. (Mostly likely because the only coat I owned at the time was bright red.) But I also wore tall black boots and black skinny jeans.

There is truth in the old adage that if something isn’t broken, there is no reason to fix it. I haven’t made any substantial changes to my daily uniform in eight years because the clothes I feel most comfortable wearing haven’t changed. True, I’ve made some upgrades; in 2013, I could only hope to someday a pair of Celine sunglasses, and a Chanel handbag was such a distant dream that it seemed like an impossibility. But I know I would have felt good in this outfit in 2013, and I know I’ll still feel good in it in 2033.

Maybe that means I’m not really a very sartorially interesting person. I don’t take many fashion risks, and the styles I like best don’t change much from year to year, or even decade to decade. But when it comes to getting dressed, I know what I like. And there’s a lot of value in that. I mean that literally; wearing the same clothes over and over again saves money. (Not to mention that it’s better for the planet, and labour standards, than constantly buying new, cheaply made things.) Only the sweater I’m wearing today is less than a year old.

But the value isn’t just financial. Knowing what you love and feel good in saves time in getting dressed every single day. Time is the only non-renewable resource. For me, it’s the most precious thing. I always want more, but the only real way to get it is by cutting back the amount of it that I spend on trivial things like choosing clothes.

So here I am, wearing the same coat two posts in a row. That’s how the day really went, and so that’s how you’re seeing it happen. (Yes, I really did also change my outfit three times. The best part of being on holiday, as far as I’m concerned, is the costume changes. It might be trivial, but if I’m willing to waste time on anything, it’s wearing as many outfits as possible.) This is my daily uniform. If there is a truer depiction of me in outfit form, I can’t think of it. Which means you’re not just seeing this coat two posts in a row. You’re likely to see it, and the pieces I’m wearing with it, again and again as the years go on.

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