Outfit diary: Alpaca sweaters and fake sunglasses in Ecuador

I begin this post with a shocking outfit. No, it’s not the sweater and jeans, that’s pretty standard. But if you look closely at exhibit B, I am wearing, yes, actually wearing, practical shoes.

Audience, please calm down!!

I bought a pair of hiking boots on sale on Black Friday, mostly to please my mom, who’s been begging me to buy a pair since I first said, “I’m going on a walk.” I’m a staunch believer in wearing heeled booties at every occasion, even hiking. But 13,000 feet up in the air, I made an exception. They took up way too much room in my suitcase and I only wore them once, so in retrospect, my black boots would have done just fine, (mom).

Hiking up Ecuador’s largest ancient ruins (wearing black booties), I chose another interesting sartorial choice that made me stick out from the legging-wearers. Since I packed all of my clothes in one carry-on, my options were limited anyways. These sunglasses are real, before I found out we could buy cheap knock-offs for $4. I don’t always support knock-offs, but I do always support $4 sunglasses. Those things break too easily, even the real ones.

My scarf is from a stand in Ingapirca and is a contender for the brightest thing I now own.

Welcome to my favorite outfit on this whole trip, my one successful attempt at a chic all-black outfit without being too covered in little furry things, lint or cat hair. I don’t own a cat, yet still manage to get fur on me??

I nearly lost this skirt at a hostel when I hung it to dry and left without it. Luckily, as we were leaving, I remembered my favorite black skirt and dramatically ran up for it. Sometimes, Zara purchases are so worth it. Other times, they break immediately upon wearing them. This one broke immediately (zipper) and I still wear it multiple times a week. A true Zara masterpiece.

At my now-favorite place in South America, a wine/jazz bar with candles on every table and cute musicians, I wore my favorite souvenir, an embroidered scarf. I’m a sucker for embroidery, and shell out too much for it at Free People, so this was a steal. Cuenca was a little cold for a lot of the clothing I brought, so this scarf worked well as a stand-in shawl over t-shirts and tank tops. As long as I didn’t need to lift my arms up too far. Sartorial sacrifices.

The alpaca sweater strikes back. Dan and I both bought alpaca sweaters and wore them nearly every day, usually out of necessity. I hope I never stain it. Or stretch it out too much. Ecuador is a far flight for another one.

This is the first outfit of the trip, when 60 degrees still felt warm.

Every outfit in between was probably just a combination of all the outfits above, since I brought little clothing. At this point in the trip, I was far into a diary-style memoir about an author’s time in Paris, which sounded much more romantic than my trip, so I emulated that. Turns out this outfit works as well in Ecuador as it does in the Paris of my mind.

Aaron Burr, Sir — Hamilton