December 2021 Shopping Reflections

Pardon me for disappearing completely for the past two weeks! With all the Omicron variant-related news in NYC - including record-breaking numbers of new COVID cases several days in a row - plus some unexpected issues coming up at work right before my holiday trip to see my mom in California, I was feeling too frazzled to write anything. 

For people in NYC, it really feels like things took a sudden and abrupt turn on the COVID front. On Monday, December 13, I got a PCR test as a precaution before my workplace's holiday party, and things still felt pretty normal. I got my test results - negative - barely 12 hours later. By Wednesday, December 15, my colleagues using the exact same provider and testing site were finding that their PCR tests were taking four or five days to get results, due to dramatically increased demand. I'm fully boosted, as are all my close friends and family here in the US, but it's all still a bit nerve-wracking. 

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It also seems clear now that the long-awaited international business trips my team was hoping to go on in the next two months or so will not be possible. That's disappointing because doing the same work remotely by videoconference, across several time zones, is ultimately going to be quite logistically painful. 

Fashion - (TOTAL: $607.54) 

• Madewell Plaid Flannel Track Trousers - $68.60 - (also here) - This was a Black Friday/Cyber Monday purchase partially inspired by Kathy's recommendation. On top of the sale price, I also got ~$8 back from Ebates/Rakuten. I've only tried these trousers on at home, but they're very comfortable with their elastic waist, and I quite like the gray plaid pattern, it's a good neutral. Although these are not petite sizing or "short" length, they're still just right as full-length pants on my "short for my 5'3'' height" legs. Size small is a just-right fit on me. At this point - in large part because I heavily favor pencil skirts for my business formal suits - it's hard to imagine ever going back to wearing dress pants with non-stretchy waists. 
• Tibi Tropical Wool Pleated Wrap Skirt, dark stone - $538.94* - (also here in black) - I'd been interested in this skirt for more than a month, after getting previews of it from some of Amy Smilovic's Instagram stories and Tibi's weekly "Style Class" videos. I was originally pretty sure I'd get this in black because I thought it'd match better with my black tights and many pairs of black shoes and boots, but I changed my mind when the skirt finally arrived on Tibi's website. This gray color just felt like it'd be more interesting and pretty. I love this skirt, the pleats move beautifully and I feel awesome in it, it's definitely the kind of thing I had in mind when I was looking for a really great wrap-style midi skirt. Though I think this sort of item - a midi skirt in a tropical wool suiting fabric - is somewhat niche and wouldn't suit all personal styles or wardrobes out there. 

*Indicates that price includes sales tax. 

And that's officially it for this year's monthly shopping reflections posts. I don't have as much to say about December's items as I usually do about my shopping in other months because I barely had them in hand for a week before I was in a tizzy dealing with a few surprises at work and packing for my holiday travel to see my mom. I think I might also be a bit slow in getting a year-end shopping analysis post together for 2021, but it'll definitely come around eventually. 

How has your December been? NYC has, unfortunately, seen an extremely dramatic uptick of COVID cases since December 13, so I suspect I'm going to be feeling frazzled for quite some time. My workplace has even reinstated some work-from-home flexibility through the start of 2022, which they'd only do if things felt quite scary. Anyway, I hope that everyone has been having a good end of the year holiday season and that you and your loved ones have been healthy and safe!