On My Mind: Dressing Like a Perimenopausal Butterfly
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Now that it’s March, I feel my more energetic self scratching to get out and start dressing in brighter colors, like a perimenopausal butterfly. To encourage this spark, I’ve been listening to music by lots of old favorites like Bill Callahan and Yo La Tengo, as well as new stuff like an incredibly catchyShakira songfrom theZootopia 2soundtrack that we play on the drive to drop off my son and my husband (a teacher) at school. I’ve also been slowly infusing my outfits with shades that remind me of spring, including pea green and variations on mushroom and dirt brown.
I am especially pleased with aboxy J.Crew cotton roll-necked sweaterthat, blessedly, doesn’t make me sweat and has a nice central knit channel detail in the back. It’s as comfy as any hoodie but better at hiding the throw-on nature of my clothes. After Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang mentioned purchasing her fourth pair ofLe Bon Shoppe Arc Pants, I decided I needed to give them a try and bought a pair in Tobacco; I am anxiously awaiting the package. And whiletrying on a brown pair of unisex barrel pants at Uniqlo, I came across another brown gem: achecked windbreakerthat looks much better in real life than in the photos online. I like that the pattern is subtle and that the hem isn’t elasticized.
I have been wearingBlundstonespretty much exclusively since the beginning of December because they are so easy to pull on and because I don’t have to worry about destroying them in nasty weather. But I am ready for a change and pulled out a new pair ofNike Pacific sneakersin navy blue for the two days that I spentwalking around the Toy Fairin February. I was pleased to discover that they sort of matched the carpet at the Javits Center and looked nice in the background of photos I took while looking down at a variety of toys. They are a little bit wider thanNike Cortezsneakers and have a sexy gum sole. I’m excited to wear them with shorts this summer while imagining that I’m a chill mom from the ’70s or ’80s. They aren’t the best shoes for icy weather or slippery subway platforms, though, so I’ve also been relying on a pair oflug-sole mary janesthat I bought at the Steve Madden store on Broadway when the heel of one of my boots broke en route to a dinner event back in September. They are grippy and keep me safe while still looking stylish. Plus they have an unexpected center-aligned buckle.
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Over the weekend, I worked a shift at the Park Slope Food Coop, and everywhere I looked I found style inspiration. I stopped a lot of people mid-shop to ask about their clothes, including my shift leader, who was wearing a pair ofFashion Brand Company Nap Jeans. They looked great and, according to her, are the most comfortable jeans ever that you can, indeed, nap in.
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Speaking of Fashion Brand Company, I’ve been dreaming about thismerino-wool T-shirt with a bra appliqué. I have wanted a “bra on the outside” shirt for a long time, and I think I need to buy one soon before it becomes too trendy.Nikki Chasin makes a similar type of T-shirtprinted with more of a balconette-shaped bra/bikini top. I’d love to own both of them, but I think the Fashion Brand Company one will hide stains better because it is a dark color.
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Here’s everything else I’ve seen recently …
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Listening to Bill Callahan always makes me think about my friend Matthew Schnipper, who writes a music newsletter calledDeep Voicesand whosememoir, about the grief of losing his young son Renzo, is coming out in July. The book is also about listening to music and looking at art and selling vintage clothing. Schnipper, a master thrifter, wrote about his collection ofWoody Jackson cow merchfor the Strategist a while back. He is who I text when I want to buy impracticalvintage dinosaur teeson Etsy or eBay. He is also the only person I texted after falling on my butt while exiting the subway and listening toBill Callahanlast month. I know his book is going to tear me apart and build me into something new.
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As another part of my pre-spring energy shuffle, I took a solo trip through one of my favorite toy stores in Brooklyn,Little Green, where I bought a pair of vintage OshKosh B’gosh cotton shorts and anEco Dough extruderthat looks more like a grown-up kitchen tool than a toy. My son is going to love it. And the shop is right around the corner from Colson Patisserie, so I also treated myself to a coffee and a pastry.
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While there, I was eyeing a pair of butterfly wings that I would love to get for myself. They reminded me of the realistic Folkmanis butterfly hand puppet I saw at the Toy Fair along with a giant mosquito and an orchid moth. In the end, I didn’t buy the wings because I’m not sure if my son would actually wear them; he’s not really intodressing upyet. I would love to know how to encourage this impulse, if anyone has suggestions.
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Finally, I’m really sad aboutAreaware closingand appreciated my fellow Strategist writer Erin Schwartz’s article on why the brand can’t continue to operate under the Trump administration’s tariffs. There are a couple of items I’d wanted for a while — aDusen Dusen trash canand theParty Block set that builds a mouse— so when I heard about the closure, I bought them right up. (The mouse is sold out now, butthe duckis a good alternative.)
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Dusen Dusen Pattern Bin
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But I am also very inspired by the fact that it was a toy company,Learning Resources, that challenged those tariffs all the way to the Supreme Court and won. Here’s hoping for more good news soon on that front.
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Speaking of Learning Resources, this classic calculator–cash register combo from the brand has been a hit in my 3-year-old son’s preschool classroom. He adores pounding the keys and demanding dollars in exchange for imaginary ice cream, even though he doesn’t understand the calculator part or the really the paper-money part, either.
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