Last weekend I unpacked a few garments that I have not worn since at late-winter 2015. I once read that the majority of people associate specific smells with the past. I associate articles of my own clothing with events and periods of time of my past. There is certainly comfort in the familiar, and this particular skirt reminds me of the time when I was fiercely independent. Took help from no one, not even my fiance, whom I did not move in with until after a solid six months after we were engaged. (I think the fact that we were in a bicoastal relationship had something to do with it. Just a hunch…)
Back then my daily routine was an early (albeit not as early as my current) wake up, around 6:30 am. Local news followed by Good Morning America on the television as I prepared for work. If it was a Monday, my lunches for the week got packed into my go-to L.L.Bean Boat and Tote, along with a pair of work heels and a set of gym clothes. If it was not Monday and my lunches were already in the work refrigerator, then I brought my gym clothes for the remainder of the week. My walk to work was just under two miles and about three quarters of the way up Book Hill in Georgetown. Despite the uphill walk, it was so idyllic; something of which I will always have fond memories while walking past the upscale bridal shops, Britt Ryan, and Dalton Pratt. Crunching through the sidewalk salt in a pair of L.L.Bean boots, wearing the J.Crew shirttail hem mini, J.Crew cocoon coat, and the sweater of the day, all but one particular day this outfit kept me sufficiently warm. Thank goodness for the Georgetown Circulator and a very convenient bus route.
About nine hours and one bowl of Sunday-prepared slow cooker chili later, I left for the gym. After one particular day that I nearly slipped and slid down Book Hill while hustling down in a pair of J.Crew flats, I embraced a standard of procedure to change into my gym clothes and winter boots at the office before packing away this skirt and the sweater of the day and tracking down to the Georgetown location of Washington Sports Club. I loved that my gym was on the way home from my office and the time spent walking there every evening was spent on the phone, catching up with my mom, grandma, or sister.
I am sure many people may think this routine was mundane, but my eight-to-five most definitely kept it otherwise. I had enough insight to look around and smell the roses and recognize how damn lucky I was. When I put on this skirt, I go back to that studio apartment, my office, my walks around my neighborhood.
coat // blouse (old, J.Crew, size 4 tall via eBay) // skirt (old, J.Crew, size 4 tall via eBay, size 10 via eBay, alternate colors via eBay) // tights // purse (old, Kate Spade) // heels (old, Cole Haan) // sunglasses // green stone cuff // pearl cuff // black diamond cuff // ring
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