September recap! What have you been wearing lately?

If there is one guarantee in life it’s that the first month of fall semester flies by! Here’s what I’ve been wearing to campus!

Midi skirts

To the surprise of no one, I continue to wear this Madewell meridian skirt over and over. I found it secondhand on Poshmark and it’s the perfect thing for wearing white after labor day, if you ask me! For one of my marathon days I wore it with an asymmetric tank (old, but here’s a fun one for fall!) and these sneakers, plus a pop of fun with the earrings.

And then I wore it again last week with a brown sweater tank and my new white lug sole boots. I wasn’t sure these boots would be super practical but they are waterproof so they wipe off very easily, and they were pretty comfortable right out of the box! They’re from Sam Edelman and I found them true to size!

Stitch Fix actually picked these boots out for me in their new “freestyle” section–it’s like a little curated market of clothes you might like, and you can order without ordering an entire 5-item box. If you’re interested in trying it out you can get $20 off your first order here.

Which brings us to…

Shoulder pad tank top

I picked this tank top up secondhand last month (the vote was split in Instagram stories) because I thought it would make my skinny jeans outfits feel a bit more up-to-date (by balancing the slim pant with a wider top). I liked it in white but ended up dyeing it brown for more versatility! I have loved this chocolate brown color recently because it isn’t quite my usual black and white combo but still feels neutral.

But now I’m wondering if I should find another secondhand version in white? Maybe I just need both?! If you’re on the secondhand hunt this top is from Express and it runs large, I’m wearing the small.

Cropped layers

As someone who still owns like 75 long cardigans, this cropped one (similar, I purchased mine during a random NYC rain storm when I was freezing last summer, woops) has been a surprise hit this fall, especially buttoned all the way up like a shirt!

I also just got this (gifted) cropped blazer from Brass! I really love it over dresses and can’t wait to show you the matching pants soon. I picked a size 6 in this and it fits just right. You know how you see cute patterns like this at the thrift store but they almost always mean the blazer will be made of super itchy wool? The Brass version is like that but without being itchy, in fact it’s pretty light feeling and perfect for fall transition weather! Wearing it with this dress and these (also waterproof) boots.

You can get $25 off your Brass order with code PHDINCLOTHES.

Grab bag round: other thrifted finds

I got this COS scuba polo dress off ThredUp last week (similar but with a stripe!). It felt like a no brainer but then I tried it on and had a “wait…is this too weird?” moment. But I decided to wear it to work in a coffee shop anyway and the barista told me it was the coolest dress ever and it was a good reminder that telling people their clothes are cool is very nice and I should tell more strangers that (in a respectful way of course!).

And then we have the linen pleated pants I thrifted (but these are similar)! I asked on stories this month if I should taper these wide leg pants into more of a straight leg and I am so glad I did. Wearing them with this blazer, this cool belt, and these loafers.