Cotton Vest

A certain vest has been catching my eye this fall, not only on the internet but also in the J.Crew catalogue, my favorite medium for looking at outfits and trying to do "the look for less".  This is it:


I know I saw this in the catalogue this fall, but I just checked the website right now and it's not there anymore.  Oh well, without a doubt it was too expensive anyway.  I did like the look of it though.  I have had a long relationship with vests as outerwear (and as a child in the 90s there was an embarrassing relationship with them as well, like that time I wore a plaid menswear style vest with a t-shirt to my first middle school dance in 6th grade...ughhhhh).  In college and I had several puffy vests that I loved to wear to class over sweatshirts and long sleeve t-shirts.  I have held on to them for the most part even though I haven't worn them too often over the last few years.  I think I might have been turned off by the opinions of Stacy and Clinton on "What Not to Wear" although, looking back, I should have just not listened.  I generally agree with them, but they don't live in ND and NO ONE who doesn't live here understands the feel of walking to class when it is  -20 degrees out in January.  Sometimes people actually have to wear snow boots or (love them or hate them) Ugg boots for a functional purpose and not because they think they are fashionable. The winter of New York City is NOT the same. Also, so what if a college student wants to wear jeans and some sort of unflattering footwear that actually has soles that grip ice and a sweatshirt and vest to class instead of jeans, high heeled boots or cute flats and a blazer or some nonsense.  It doesn't mean they are a total slob or that they wear those garments all the time.  I remember in law school once I missed the last bus on the campus loop because I stayed late to hear a speaker and I had to walk home in flats, about a 15 or 20 minute walk, and my feet FROZE.  They were numb.  I spent the whole dark walk questioning if I should call one of my classmates who lived in the apartment complex to pick me up but was too embarrassed to admit I was freezing because of the stupid "cute" shoes I was wearing.  I don't know how the first settlers on the prairie survived.  It took hours to feel warm again.  Well, anyway, RIP What Not to Wear.  It was always a favorite show of mine and I generally agreed with what they said and some of those people dressed so bad and really needed help! 

So, for various reasons I shoved the vests aside for a few years but the J.Crew vest kind of made me interested again.  That's when I found this in my closet, tucked in with my shirts instead of in the coat closet:

 

I don't know what that pose is all about.  If I were a celebrity in a tabloid everyone would be speculating about how I was pregnant or something.  Every time Kate Middleton touches her abdomen this way the rumors fly.  I think I was just trying to hold the vest so you can see the details.  This vest is slightly puffy but is cotton like a t-shirt. It has some duffel coat type details like large buttons and button loops.  It is from a Banana Republic outlet store.  I can't remember when I bought it.  I think it's safe to say that it was 5 or more years ago.  I recall during one of our moves since I bought it that Justin held it up as I was trying to sort through my clothes and tried to get me to get rid of it because I never wore it. 

 

I like it and it makes a nice layer.  I think the reason it doesn't get much wear is because it is navy blue.  If it were black or grey it would be used a lot more.  It's not especially warm so it can only stand alone without a warmer coat on very specific days, such as yesterday, which was sunny with a high in the 50s.  Also, the fabric is like a sweatshirt so it would look kind of bad with a sweatshirt under it.  I think I would only wear it with a sweater or button up shirt like I am wearing here.  I'm glad I wore it so maybe I will try to incorporate it more often.