What I Wore | Spring Outfits and Some Honest Thoughts on Everlane Tread

I’ve been wearing stuff! I’ve been taking pictures of it! I’ve been gaining weight so I’m really glad I kept that stretched-out skirt I thought about getting rid of! I also got to try out the new Trainer from Everlane Tread prior to its release this week, so I’d like to share some feelings about that.

Let’s get right into it.

What I’m wearing: Tradlands 105 Seville Shirt, VETTA Peg Pant, Blake Goods Center Bar Belt, Everlane Block Heel Sandal

Save 15% on your first Tradlands order with code GOBLINSHARK15

Where I wore it: Work, and later to get my hair done.

How I felt about it: Like a boss. This was probably my favorite outfit of the past couple of weeks.

What I’m wearing: Tradlands Elms Shirt, Everlane Japanese Go-Weave Track Shorts (no longer available), Keds sneakers, Vintage Dooney & Bourke purse

(someone asked on a recent post what highlighter I wear, so I’ll tell you: it’s about 40% natural face oils and 60% FENTY Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Starstruck)

Where I wore it: To work in the morning, and to a baseball game with my coworkers in the afternoon.

How I felt about it: Good and bad. Good because it was a cute outfit with some of my favorite pieces, bad because even though the office-wide email said we were allowed to wear shorts in the morning before the game, I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO ACTUALLY WORE SHORTS. So, that felt awkward. I had to go to an award ceremony at my husband’s school following the baseball game, so I switched the shorts out for black jeans when I got there.

What I’m wearing: My husband’s old Cloud Nothings tee (fun fact: he wore this on our first date!), Everlane High Rise Skinny Ankle Jeans, no makeup (a rarity so please enjoy my one day of sort-of clear skin)

Where I wore it: Around the house to do laundry, clean, read, cook, etc.

How I felt about it: Fine. I had to wear my husband’s shirt because literally all my own tee shirts were dirty. I cleared most of my novelty tees etc. out of my wardrobe a few months ago, so now I only have a few, and I’m out of luck if it’s been a while since I did laundry. Thankfully Mr. Goblin Shark has more old band tees than he could wear in a year, so there’s pretty much always one of those around if I’m in a pinch.

What I’m wearing: Everlane silk tee dress (no longer available, similar here), Keds sneakers

Where I wore it: For a nice lunch out with my mother-in-law.

How I felt about it: I always feel good in this dress. It was the first thing I ever bought on Poshmark, and I got it for a ridiculous steal at $20. I felt a little self-conscious at a nice lunch in these Keds because I recently stained them yellow with an ill-advised hydrogen peroxide experiment (DO NOT RECOMMEND). It’s hard to tell in this photo, but believe me when I tell you that they are very yellow now.

What I’m wearing: Elizabeth Suzann Clyde Vest in Cotton Canvas, Eileen Fisher silk shell (thrifted), VETTA Peg Pant, Blake Goods Center Bar Belt, Everlane Day Heels

Where I wore it: Work.

How I felt about it: Like an art boss.

What I’m wearing: Organic Basics tee, Eileen Fisher skirt (thrifted), French Connection elongated bomber, Tread by Everlane Trainer in Glacier

(and yes that is my husband tying his shoes in the background, and yes that is a commissioned portrait of our pets hanging on the wall behind him)

Where I wore it: Work (sneakers are allowed on Fridays)

How I felt about it: I felt better about it with the jacket than without, to be very honest. I mentioned in the beginning of this post that I’ve gained some weight recently, and I just felt like it was really noticeable in this tee/skirt combo. I try really hard not to freak out about occasional fluctuations in my weight, but I am a human woman, and so I have been conditioned my whole life to panic whenever my jeans start to feel tight. It’s hard to unlearn the idea that the worst possible thing that can happen to your body is for it to become larger. There’s nothing wrong with my body, and I am under no obligation to make it smaller for anyone’s sake, for any reason. But all the body positivity in the world isn’t going to make my stupid blue jeans button.

TREAD by Everlane

A few weeks ago, Everlane sent me a very cryptic email asking me if I wanted be among the first to try their new brand, Tread. They wouldn’t say what it was, but they asked for my shoes size, so I assumed it would be shoe-like. A few days later, I got a very fun promo package at my door containing a pair of sneakers, some packing foam that I could apparently dissolve in water (#science), and a press release about the worlds most sustainable shoe.

Okay. So.

I’ll admit that I decided right off the bat to dislike the trainers and all that they represented, because the promo pair I received was in a color I didn’t like, and was way, way too small for me. Oh yes, dear readers, I am petty af.

I also scanned all the Instagram comments on Everlane’s posts and saw that many people were critical of the brand’s sustainability claims because of the use of leather and some virgin plastic. I’m in agreement with the commenters on this front, even as a person who regularly buys and wears leather shoes. Animal agriculture is devastating to the environment, and by-product of the meat industry or no, producing leather is not an environmentally friendly activity. (Everlane is offsetting 100% of the carbon emissions associated with the production of the trainers, but a lot of people have written about that in better ways than I could, so I’m not going to belabor that point)

One of my favorite fashion writers, Whitney Bauck, wrote a great piece for Fashionista comparing Everlane’s approach to the Tread brand with Adidas’s approach to its new fully recyclable sneaker, Futurecraft Loop. Critical as it was, this article was actually the thing that got me to soften my position a little bit. Tread is not perfect, but Everlane is a small company compared to sneaker giants like Adidas, and the strides that it’s making toward sustainability in fashion are important ones. The fact that those Instagram commenters were so critical is only indicative of the fact that Everlane’s target audience is educated consumers who demand sustainability and transparency in the products that they buy. And, honestly, at $98 a pair, they’re some of the most affordable sustainably made shoes out there.

But back to me.

I got the trainers in a size 6 (my normal size in Everlane shoes) in Navy (not the color I would have chosen if I’d been able to see them beforehand) and I asked immediately if I could exchange them for a different pair. Even when the bigger and better colored pair was on its way to me, I felt nervous about it. I’m not a casual sneaker person. I have only recently dipped my toes into the great wide world of sneakers-with-regular-outfits, and I started with white Keds. So, I’m not exactly a risk taker. I had no idea how I was going to style them or if I would even like them.

So I was pleasantly surprised when a new pair of trainers (Size 7, Glacier) arrived, and I found that not only did this pair actually fit, but they were really cute! I did not feel like an athleisure imposter. I slipped them on to walk my dog, and the rest is history. I like them.  I’m not sure what I’m training for when I wear them, but I will continue to wear them and let you know what I find out once I have been fully trained.

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