What I Wore In January (+December)
The best things I wore, bought and sewed in January '26 and December '25.
For those of you new subscribers: although I usually cover social dynamics and culture, I enjoy writing about fashion a few times a month. To wrap up each month, I like to cover my favorite outfits, buys and sewing projects of the month (yes, I sew! I sew a lot! Way too much, honestly.) If you’re curious about what I wore, bought and sewed, keep scrolling. If this isn’t your thing, rest assured there will be non-fashion content coming tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day.
Before I get to the fits, I wanted to update you all on the very serious hair color situation that some of you have been eagerly monitoring with bated breath. Last time I wrote about my hair, I was fixing an accidental Goth-black dye job and wound up with a much softer dark brown. See, original accidental black:
Faded black (with giant golden brown patch), then the aftermath of my multi-step DIY hair fix, covered here. Yes, I know you “can’t tell the difference.” Well, I CAN.
Well, ultimately I decided I wanted to go much lighter (but stay in the realm of brunette) so I waited a couple months, touched up my roots with Wella 7NN and then bleached everything that was darker than my new 7NN growth. TLDR, now it’s a fun light-medium reddish brown:
It’s not really this red unless I’m directly in the sun (and I actually used an anti-red additive to prevent it from giving Bozo) but as for the shine, I attribute all of that to sleeping with it in a fuzzy sock and using Kerastase PM serum, which I only tried thanks to a free sample (it was far too expensive to justify experimenting with, but as it turns out, it’s totally worth it.)
Anyway, now for the FASHION, although I like to think my hair ties the outfits together and is, in fact, part of the fashion.
What I Wore
As we enter a new year, I’ve started to think about my fashion goal for the year. I am not even bothering with any silly “Don’t buy anything all year” resolution because: LOL. However, I did want to think about what I’m buying, because I have a tendency to buy things that I think are cool but never wear, because I really like them as isolated art pieces, not as clothes.
I’ve had vague “fashion goals” for different years. In 2024, I basically wanted to start dressing like myself again after having a baby, and I leaned really hard into excessively formal Chanel-inspired co-ord sets, pastels and heels, but realistically, loungewear most of the time. I did try to shoehorn the formal stuff into my everyday life, but this meant having a mental breakdown while trying to drag a petulant three-year-old and whining infant to an Easter brunch on a rainy day, just so I could wear a pastel tweed suit. Oh, the sacrifices I so selflessly make.
In 2025, I moved away from athleisure but also felt a little embarrassed by how costumey and Barbie-ish my wardrobe had become. I wanted to go a little more classic, take fewer risks, and dress better for my body type and age. I shopped at a lot at Aritzia. Sounds boring, but I do think my 2025 outfits (especially autumn onwards) were a lot better than my 2024 outfits. (Also, this could just be the linear passage of time posing as a phony “fashion evolution” sooo…)
So what is 2026’s goal? I think I’m just trying to dress…cooler. Trying less hard (aka, trying even harder, secretly, but hoping nobody will notice.) I also need to tone down my Emily-in-Parisness. I don’t want to be mistaken for a member of Gen Z, and I don’t think it would happen anyway, but I would rather not be as millennial-coded as mason jars and cheeky brunch restaurants named with BDSM-inspired puns. I understand this fashion transition means occasionally I will deviate from the male gaze, but as much as I love dressing in a flattering way, having “can everyone see the curve of my ass” front and center all the time is…well, a bit boring. Anyway, since I don’t follow any fashion influencers or really…know anything about fashion, I don’t know where to start, and my best option is just looking at lots of Dakota Johnson street style for vague inspiration (although just keeping it real, I would never wear the far-right jeans—my goal isn’t to 100% copy her, but inject some of this into my style.)
Anyway, for those of you who just wanted to see outfit photos, sorry for that yapping. They’re coming.
First, outfits of December, including some holiday fits.
For a while I’ve wanted to pair my new Vagabond mary jane heels with matching red tights, and I thought these Sheertex ones were perfect. They are slightly different, which I find a bit unnerving, but I figured they were close enough. I also used a hair tie to secure my belt around my waist without the excess leather flapping around—one of you suggested it, I forget who (thank you.) For those curious, the jacket is one of my favorite blazer cuts of all time, the Standout Blazer from Aritzia.
