230/ What I'm Wearing no. 80

Dear readers,

It feels so good to be home, and more specifically, to be reunited with my (three) boys.

I’ve shared before that I found early motherhood incredibly challenging. Those first few years were characterized by a longing to reclaim a sense of freedom and independence, and I seized every opportunity for some alone time. At first, it was something as simple as getting the boys onto bottles (which they fought) so I could duck out for an hour. Eventually, I was positively ecstatic at the thought of a few days away by myself.

I think I was still operating from that “new mom” mindset when I decided to stay in Europe for most of July while the boys headed back to Toronto.

I have no regrets because the time I spent with my sister in Sardinia was so special — it’s actually the longest stretch we’ve shared since we were kids. As was reconnecting with an old friend of 23 years, who I met in an Adidas store on İstiklal Caddesi, one of Istanbul’s historic shopping streets.

This summer I realized I no longer want to be away from my family for that long unless absolutely necessary. By the 1.5-week mark, my heart was aching — and, as they told me via WhatsApp, so were theirs. I should have seen it coming since I called them 4x a day while I was in Korea this past April.

Since being back in Toronto, it’s been plenty of reunions, and also plenty of work with clients in the city. For them, I’ve been scouring the internet, especially the deep markdowns of sale season. Canada’s Holt Renfrew and Simons have some of the best sales out there — but timing is everything! While putting together this edit, I came across this Rohé silk dress and this Sacai drawcord wool top at 70% off. Within a day, they were sold out (but turn notifications on — returns and restocks happen!)

Here are the still-in-stock finds I saved for you:

I’ve never mentioned Quince on here before because I’d never actually handled any of their clothing. That changed recently when the brand sent over two of its bestselling knits: the 100% organic cotton boyfriend crew and the Mongolian cashmere oversized crewneck. Quince has been reviewed extensively by many, particularly its cashmere — opinions vary widely. Here’s where I landed after trying both:

• I sized up and liked the cut of both the cotton and cashmere sweaters.

• Like Wirecutter, I found the cashmere sweater soft on first touch. Unlike them, I couldn’t get past the number of loose fibres already working their way to the surface, which also created the faintest itch. My guess is that it will pill fairly quickly.

• The cotton sweater is slightly cropped, making it a good option for petites or shorter torsos. As I’ve increasingly gravitated toward cotton knitwear over wool, it’s the one I’d be more inclined to buy.

As for what I’ve been wearing, I don’t own many summer dresses, but Merlette kindly sent me two styles and I’ve been wearing them on repeat. This one has already had three outings:

….and this one, four. SYP Cooks lucked out and found it on TRR for 50% off!

This has been my go-to casual look — three outings so far — with loafers or flip flops:

While grabbing coffee with a friend, we dropped into Narwhal boutique where I found this Rohé dress on the 70% off rack. TTS hugged my curves, and I preferred the ease of the size up. Two wears to-date.

Also on the 70%-off rack was Alix of Bohemia’s Ellina dress in strawberry print. The 100% silk felt so nice on my body. It was two sizes too big, but I think I loved it precisely because of that? My friend and the SA talked me out of it, and they were probably right, but I’m still thinking about it (and now I can’t find it anywhere). Same fit, different fabric, not 70% off.

Share

A couple of outfits I wore out in Paris. My new Litkovska top and faithful Tibi denim mini for dinner at Billie, a vinyl bar and “high fidelity” bistro in the 2ème:

This full-coverage — but light and airy — set by Soeur to dinner at Casa Pregonda, which offers up Spanish cuisine inspired by the Balearic Islands:

My go-to plane outfit on my way back to Toronto:

And, two more outfits at home. Repeating one of my “13 Minimal Effort, Elevated Casual Summer Outfits” for drinks with a friend at a new bar in Yorkville (sadly, not worth mentioning).

And wearing the Soeur pants which replaced my Calders, and carried me through Paris winter:

À toute!
Irène

Pieces cited: