Welcome back to Tried, Loved, and Illustrated
Issue No. 03, and it's the first one that isn't makeup.
Two issues in, I realized the thing I actually love about this series isn't the products — it's the excuse to sit down and draw them. Which means there's no real reason it has to stay limited to my makeup collection. So this one is an outfit: six pieces, head to toe, every one illustrated.
Fair warning that this is a very specific genre of outfit. It is extremely tennis-adjacent. I do not play tennis — I'm decent at pickleball, depending on who you ask — but I do love the clothes, so don't be surprised to see me wearing this to brunch and not to anything athletic.
1. Portuguese Flannel: Villa Cap
♡ Tried it & liked it
Tweed, with a single embroidered flower on the front. The fabric is doing all the work here — it holds its shape instead of collapsing the way a soft cotton cap does, and the texture is what makes it read as elevated rather than "hat I grabbed on the way out the door."
The flower is the only detail on the entire thing. I actually thought it was a sun, which is what made me pick it up in the first place — though you already know I'll take a flower detail too. It goes with whatever I put it on with, which is a low bar that a surprising number of hats fail to clear.
My one note: cream is cream. It's going to pick up makeup and dirt eventually. I'll deal with that when I have to. For now I'm wearing it every chance I get.
2. NikeSKIMS: Weightless Layers Tank
♡ Tried it & liked it
A basic that happens to be technical, rather than technical clothing doing an impression of a basic. Lightweight and breathable in a way that feels intentional rather than cheap.
The ruching along the side and the high neckline are the details that make it, and the reason it doesn't read as workout clothing. With the skort it looks sporty; with jeans and the same cap, it just looks like a black top.
3. Nike Victory: Dri-FIT Flouncy Tennis Skirt
♡ Tried it & liked it
Built-in shorts, which is genuinely the entire reason I own it. It removes the one calculation you otherwise have to make every time you wear a short skirt, and I didn't realize how much mental space that was taking up until it was gone.
The flounce keeps it from reading as gym wear, and because it's plain white, it goes with everything I already own. It's the piece from this outfit I've worn the most on days that had nothing to do with this outfit.
The inner shorts also have drop-in pockets on both legs, which is more storage than most of my actual clothes offer.
4. Gentle Monster: Nonn 01
★ Essential
My favorite pair of sunglasses, and it isn't close.
The frame is wide enough to actually balance a round face, which is the thing I'd been failing to find for years — most of what I tried on was either too small and made my face look bigger, or so oversized it wore me instead. These sit right in between.
They're also the most expensive thing in this outfit by a distance, and the one I'd replace immediately if I lost them. Which is a problem, because they've been discontinued. If mine ever break I'm going hunting on Poshmark and eBay like everyone else.
Sold out at Gentle Monster. Closest current cat-eyes in black acetate: Sage 01 or Gisele 01, both $275.
5. NikeSKIMS: Dri-FIT Crew Socks
♡ Tried it & liked it
I got the three-pack, and having the range of colors is genuinely the best part — though let's be honest, I reach for the dark ones most. There is nothing better than a Nike crew sock. They stay put, they make any outfit look a little sportier, and the SKIMS detail down the back of the leg is what makes them feel like more than a basic.
6. Nike: Zoom Vomero 5
★ Essential
The most comfortable and stylish athletic shoe I own, which is a sentence I did not expect to write about a shoe this chunky.
They're heavier than they look, and somehow that's exactly why they're comfortable. There's real cushioning under you, rather than the thin, flat sole I'm used to wearing. I've had them out on days with a lot of walking and they passed the test.
The grey-on-grey colorway does a lot of quiet work too. It keeps them neutral enough to go with anything.
The end.
Six pieces, and the honest summary is that the sunglasses and the sneakers are the two I'd buy again without thinking about it. Everything else I like a lot, but those two I'd replace the same week — assuming I could still find them.
The thing I didn't expect about drawing clothes instead of makeup: the shapes are so much less forgiving. A blush stick is a rectangle with a nice cap. A sneaker is forty small pieces and textures, and getting any one of them wrong makes the whole illustration look off.
If you want to see these illustrated, the full carousel is over on my Instagram @samxlopez. Tell me what to review next — and whether you want more outfits or a return to the makeup shelf.
See you in Issue No. 04. 🧡
– @samxlopez
