Camera as a mirror

I'd seen references to surcingle belts popping up in my reader more and more lately, and with a nice rush of warm air to round out the week, I decided to break one from an estate sale I went to last year then build my outfit around the colors in it. I picked the navy and red one (which happened to be unworn), and went from there.


They were certainly fertile colors to work with, and I pulled out a vintage Lands' End tie, my blue and white herringbone silk jacket, and some navy pants.


Down below, I went with burgundy penny loafers, which actually happen to be the same exact color of the leather on the belt (not that anyone would see it).


Red and white university striped OCBD and a burgundy pocket square with a red flared edge rounded things out, and I felt like the colors and textures played off each other pretty nicely, with little accents of red popping nicely out of the blue. I even got a couple nice compliments on it from co-workers.

And really, I should leave it there, because I felt good wearing it and that should probably be enough. When I got home from work and looked at the shots I'd taken at lunch, though, I realized that things didn't look quite as good as I'd thought. Since this blog is about the process just as much as anything, I'll go ahead and post what I saw to give a bit more context.


It's pretty obvious what the problem is, and it's something I should have realized even sooner (as this was far from the first time that I'd worn this jacket). It was, however, the first time that I'd gotten decent photos of myself in the jacket, and after doing so I realize that it needs to not only be taken in at the waist a fair amount, but the arms need to be taken in a smidgen as well.

I went back and forth on even posting the above picture, as it's not very flattering. At the same time, though, I felt it was important because it's something I can learn from. I don't really view this blog strictly as an outlet to post pictures of my own personal style (otherwise I would have ended this entry after the first three pictures) and finds, but more of a document of progress in the overall journey.

I don't know it all and won't ever pretend to, and while I've learned a ton from my readers over the the past 15 months or so, sometimes a single click of the camera is all it takes in order to take another little step forward.