who knows your wardrobe best?

There may be no person in the world who knows my closet more intimately than my neighbor Jon (though I doubt he's paid much attention to this wondrous privilege he's been granted). I don't have coworkers. I take the subway to my workout class already dressed in leggings and an oversized T-shirt. My husband travels for work, so I'm often getting ready alone in the morning. You, my dear readers, see a curated selection of outfits. But Jon—who is reliably outside taking a break from work, headed to the store, or sitting in the park across the street whenever I emerge to walk the dog—is the one who sees what I'm actually wearing most days. He gets the full, unfiltered vision of what actually cycles from my closet to the sidewalk to the laundry hamper.

As I prepare to leave my neighborhood and my city, I can’t even think about how much I’m going to miss Jon and all of the neighbors I’ve become friends with over the years. But I’m also excited to see what my new neighborhood and city bring—and how I'll inevitably communicate my identity and find common ground with the new people who populate my daily life. Getting dressed is most fun in community. That's part of why I've felt so lucky to build one here!

So who will be my new Jon? Will the elderly woman across the street from my new place be scandalized by my summer midriff? Will everyone else be wearing the same rubber Birkenstocks? Will my new neighbors be surprised to see me all dressed up, as I am wont to do occasionally? Will there be a garment they come to associate with me, the way that my faux fur coats have become my neighborhood calling card in winter?

I want to wear my graphic t-shirts, the weirder and more specific the better, to see who else might share an affinity for the Florida Lottery or a certain indie band. I want to wear my Big Baggy Pants (these Needles cargos, if you were curious) that elicit compliments almost always accompanied by begrudging surprise: “I don’t know why I like those pants.” I want to wear the perfect floaty sundress on a 90 degree day and commiserate about the weather with someone else who’s just as sweaty as I am. I want to be able to show off my various thrifted leather coats when the weather turns. If there’s a way to capture some of my essence in my wardrobe, I think that about sums it up.

Here are some recent warm weather outfits (and a couple from last summer) that I think I’ll draw inspiration from upon my move: