I've been wearing midi skirts almost every day now (except when it's been raining or snowing—the rain/winter boots really don't look good with my skirts). This has allowed me to make some learnings as well as to define more the style I wanted to go for.
In terms of "discoveries", I found wearing a skirt is overall much more comfortable than pants, especially when you're sitting for long periods of time (eg. at work). Although that seems like silly evidence, I hadn't realized it (or had forgotten it since I had rarely worn skirts for repeated and long periods of time since high school).
I also recognized that blouses, in particular, do not stay well tucked in skirts (I guess their light and soft fabric makes them easily slip out.) That's unfortunate because blouses more than any other kinds of tops look better when neatly tucked in. So when I'm wearing a blouse with a skirt, I just know that I'll end up constantly having to fix it throughout the day, even if I raised my arms just a little. Not practical.
Finally, because I'm a short person (156 cm) wearing midi skirts, I need a rather tight-fitting top to avoid the skirt look unflattering and the outfit making me look shorter. I like 3/4 sleeves top the best. That doesn't mean I'm ruling out shirts that don't fit these criteria. Shorter ones that cut a little above the waist (instead of the hips) can look good even if they're a bit loose.
Btw, don't take these last remarks as genuine fashion advice, cuz I really don't know if they are legit. They're just deductions I've made for my body personally by trying on and wearing clothes.
Around the same time these realizations were sprouting, I was casually looking for tops to wear with my skirts. I thought that it would be fairly easy to find nice and simple tight-fitting tops in stores near me. However, since my purchase of the 3/4 sleeve blue top at Mia Mix, I hadn't found any other similar tops. Maybe it didn't help that winter was coming, thus prompting the release of fall and winter apparel (it was thick wool sweaters mania in every store). I got tired of this dryness one day of November and made an order with Japonica Market. I bought a total of six tops: two on Mercari and four on Fi.n.t's outlet store. All of the tops in the outlet were 50 % off.
Mercari
Lavender Embroidered Blouse | ラベンダー刺繍シャツブラウス/an another angelus
I know I just mentioned that I thought blouses were not practical for their habit to elope from the skirt waistband, but I've always wanted this blouse since its release this summer. I briefly mentioned it in August, but I was mostly interested in getting it in purple. But with time, I came to like the white one almost as much as the purple one... I would have still bought the blouse in purple first been given the occasion, but the first one I bumped into at a reasonable price was the white one.
Closeup of the pretty embroidery
I believe that the fabric is polyester, though definitely not chiffon. This makes the blouse less sheer, so I appreciate it.
I found two little stains (they were hard to capture on camera, it didn't really focus on the stains):
If you can't spot the stain in the picture above,
look at the picture below and try to relocate it in the pic above...
I admit that the stains look very small, but they do become more visible depending on the lighting. Also, they were hard to capture with the camera. I think and hope that these will go away in the washing machine. It's quite annoying since this is a white/ivory blouse which makes these little stains stick out more.
Apart from that, the condition of the blouse is excellent. The previous owner stated she had only worn the blouse one time. I'm happy with this purchase.
Beige sweater | F&A ヨーク刺繍ボウタイニットプルオーバー
I'm not sure which collection of Fi.n.t this sweater is from. I liked its bow the minute I saw it (thicker sweaters with bow collars are pretty uncommon.) I also thought the flower pattern around the collar was a nice detail. The sweater also exists with blue flowers, but I preferred purple coloured flowers and thought they would look better with the rest of my clothes.
There's a little thread snag inside the sweater
What the snag looks like from the exterior (it's in the back).
Not really bothered by it, just hoping it won't get worse...
The condition of the sweater is really good. This kind of fabric seems fragile and inclined to snags, but I was surprised to see that it was almost perfect.
Fi.n.t Outlet
Scarf-collar top | タイ付きカットトップス/an another angelus
I was tempted by this top more because it was on sale, although I did like its collar and sleeves. I would've liked to buy the one in white with black polka dots—I don't have this pattern in my wardrobe and I feel it would look cute with any solid coloured skirt—but it was sold out. Therefore I went for this ivory cream colourway.
This isn't the kind of piece I like to go out of my way to buy online, but I'm still somewhat pleased to have gotten it (the odds of finding it in a physical store were pretty much zero.)
The collar is different from the other shirts I own and the loose ends are sewn to the top. I didn't expect that last thing but was pretty happy about it because I won't have to worry about the wind and replacing them every now and then during the day.
Sailor top | レーススカーフ衿テレコT/F i.n.t
(Clothing tags aren't there cuz I had already worn the top before taking this pic)
This top reunites some of my favourites clothing features: rib-knit fabric, shorter sleeves and a (sailor) knot tying at the front. The back also isn't a typical sailor "square" shaped collar which I prefer.
I had been thinking about buying this top since August, but I thought it was a bit expensive. It eventually went on sale, but I still waited a couple of months before buying it.
Other than the price, I also had hesitations about the sailor knot. I had seen lots of staff modelling the top and it wasn't rare for the knot to not look good at all. It looked small, poorly knotted, and we could easily see the collar under the lace. I came to think that this was the kind of knot/bow that only looks nice in stock pictures and is impossible to recreate in real life.
However, now that I've worn it, I find it extremely quick and easy to make a nice-looking knot that stays perfect for the whole day. I thought I'd have to fix it continuously. Definitely happy to have given this top a shot despite my initial doubts.
The lace is really pretty
I also LOVE this top in black, but I've been trying to avoid dark and black colours since they so easily attract lint... I've had a lot of black shirts in the past and they always got really linty. Not only it became an annoying chore having to use the lint-roller on them after each wash, but some lint would just never really go away.
U-neck rib top | バックリボンUネックリブニットプルオーバー/F&A
I liked the purple of this top and its collar. But what really pushed me to buy it is when I saw a picture of Rira pairing it with black x white stuff:
I love the purple "pop" in this outfit. I also realized that the top looks as great on its own or over a blouse (I actually bought the sailor blouse pictured on Rira so I'll have the chance to pair it with the U-neck top.)
There's also a bow at the back which looks cute
Lace collar top | オフショルレーステレコT/an another angelus
I've had a soft spot for this top when I first saw it paired with the fruit skirt released in the S2019 collection:
Such beautiful skirts, amazing colours and prints... I want them both... I've been waiting for their prices to go down on online flea markets, though nothing is really moving and they're quite rare to come by... But anyway, to get back to what I was saying, I liked the plum colour of the top and the lace V-shape collar. Plus, the sleeves obviously. While waiting to pair it with the fruit skirt, I knew it was possible to pair it with skirts I already own.
The lace isn't completely see-through which I like
I've worn it one time and it fits well! But I noticed that the clothing label inside the shirt rubs against my skin (on the left side of my waist/hip) and makes it itchy. It's not the washing label (which is usually satin-like), it's a woven tag, the one that usually goes at the top of the back. I have no idea why they decided to put it there, but if I don't get used to it, I might have to cut it (and I don't really like cutting woven labels.)
Also, I unfortunately stretched the left side of the lace collar a bit. I have this habit of wrapping my hair as a scarf around my neck (I can do one "complete" wrap.) Throughout the day, I noticed that the loose end (that was on the left) was always sliding in the collar to get inside my top (what a perv). Now, this side of the collar won't stay as flat as the other side, although thank God it's not that apparent. Still, I've had my lesson and I'll be careful when wearing this top next time.
***
All in all, I'm really satisfied with the six tops I purchased. Now that I've bought more stuff from Fi.n.t (and wore some of their stuff for some months now), I can confidently say that the quality of their clothing is excellent. The fabric doesn't feel thin and cheap. I was particularly impressed by the "thickness" of the blouse because I thought it would be more transparent and chiffon-like, such as the usual blouses sold in physical stores. Regarding the tops from the outlet, I'm aware that outlets are known for selling generally lower quality items, but I can't really see how the pieces I got are of inferior quality.
Fi.n.t also gave me this tote bag ("Jules" is the name of their F2019 collection):
It's cute, but the handles are a bit too short for me (I like to wear a tote bag over my shoulder and I think it looks a bit tight under the armpit?) It's not a big deal... but then someone at work is named Jule and he's a man, so I do feel a bit uncomfortable if he sees me with that tote bag at work... or anyone... because frankly, "Jules" is solely a guy's name here, at least when pronounced in French. There may be a few girls named Jules, but I've yet to meet one.
HOWEVER, after making a quick search to check if Fi.n.t's official collection name was called "Jules" or "A Girl Called Jules", I found out that there's actually a movie "A Girl Called Jules". And by reading again Fi.n.t's Fall 2019 collection description, the pieces are inspired by the outfits in this movie. Ah. I understand the description much better now (I blame my lack of curiosity then.) I guess that the name "Jules" is pronounced in English rather than in French (I've been pronouncing it in French since the beginning.) It seems more plausible that a girl is called Jules (pronounced in English). Well that's great news, because it means I won't have to feel embarrassed to strut my tote bag to work and in public.
