Canters- ah that's my least liked dress code. It's great for men (Hugo Boss dress jeans and a shirt and leather shoes and they're bloody done, add a merino jumper in the winter) but for women it's this tightrope of not 'dressing like you're too good for this place' and not being too casual. It makes the accessories the only place to have fun with IMO, I think ankle boots are very popular in this genre but that also makes them a bit stale, but probably hard to avoid with the weather as it is. I think the French 'Salome' (T-bar) pumps and flats are quite good for this when the weather is not sodding wet as they can work with opaques without looking odd and you're not flashing toes when there's a rare bit of good weather. They're essentially formal but still playful, I think the thin laced Bobbies I linked to earlier also would be versatile where a proper brogue would perhaps feel too formal.
WRT emotional purchases, I think they're just as necessary sometimes. There's a huge distance between an emotional purchase that's just an immediate response and always going to shop when you're feeling down. Provided you know the difference and your limits, I'm not a fan of demonising emotional purchases just because of the extremes.
Weird synchronicity, I just took delivery of a pair of Levis 501 on Saturday 
. It's the last thing I expected to ever buy as it is the worst fit ever on my 5'4 hourglass frame, straight wide fit, distressed, no stretch, terrible fit at the waist, flattens the bum, etc. I had seen it in the shop, thought they were boyfriend jeans and quickly put them back when I saw they were a 501 fit. SA intervened and convinced me to try them on 'upsized' (first time I heard that term but it seems to be a Levi's thing 
), promising it would sit low rise and like a boyfriend. Good thing she did as they did exactly that. Didn't buy them in store as their return policy only gave store credit, and since they're a bit out there by my denim standards I wanted a good fitting session with them at home. I'm still deciding but since I bought from Zalando I have a very generous 100 days to consider it. Think I have some pics on my phone, I'll upload them later if I remember or get reminded.
Thanks, Tana, but really no need for it 
. Yeah, 'capsule' wardrobes aren't exactly new (see also: uniform). I think my own issues with them conceptually is that they disregard the emotional aspect above and are all about efficiency. I think you need a bit of both and neither in excess. It's always interesting to see how the tendencies of time influence that historically, so when there's a lot of chaos or underlying tensions in that calm before the storm phase (wars or financial crises), efficiency suddenly becomes really important in response and anticipation.
Flo, I'm not into weddings at all but I love the photography exactly for the reasons you describe. No matter how tasteful (and preferably not, those I adore) they're the best carbon daters ever when it comes to style.
I think getting bored with clothes has its good bits too, for me rediscovering something usually involves wearing it completely different way or even as a completely different garment (eg. shirt becomes a a skirt or a jacket, etc.).
DavidPuddy, your username has reminded me Elaine had some fab leather blazers once she got the more fancy jobs. Must have a google image search sometime.
3Asabird, that's a really long list to all tackle at once. Considering everything you have going on I think it would be best to concentrate on what's important now. eg. there's only about 1.5 months of winter left and you're in the midst of pregnancy so I struggle to see a need for leather leggings, especially if you're interested in wide legged silhouettes as that changes up the rest of your wardrobe too. I'd say focus on what's important now, I'm sorry I can't answer the entire list it's just far too much to tackle in one go.
WRT French pregnancies, yes, they're very careful about their diet, very concerned about gaining too much and eating the wrong kind of foods and they get professional guidance for that. It's the same here, although no physio unless you actually have issues. They also do quite a bit of light exercise, the pilates prenatal class at the place I go to is pretty much all French expats and the odd Spanish one. Much like their approach to food, it's not this pendulum of gain and loss but rather a consistent management.
Pretty much as others said, they wear their own clothes for as long as possible and then switch to wider fits rather than get specific maternity wear, they don't really dress up the bump as is popular elsewhere.
Other, have you tried layering colours of lipsticks to get a better match. No need to get rid of them when they don't work straight away, I often layer by default as I have lipsticks in my bag and on my vanity and never bother to move one to the other in a systematic way.
Elle, I love the Raey skirt on you! It looks amazing with the shoes as well. It does confirm it would be too long for me though and the smallest size is my size so I can't size down.
IME white bootcuts work best with summer footwear (if anyone is interested I just bought these bargainous K. Jacques sandals from Matches with an extra 20% off with code EXTRA20). I have a pair of tan Acne pistols that work well with white bootcuts/flares but it still reads very summery.
cactus, despite knowing what the Soeur skirt looks like, I love the imagery that the 'bronze velvet' descriptor conjures.
BMB is By Malene Birger, I really like her knitwear, it lasts for ages (it's not 100% natural fibres, it's about 30% man made usually, which I actually appreciate as that's what makes it keep so well) they're quite pricey in that sense at full price but the Outnet usually has some of last year's at reduced prices. Link for Grumpy's sweater.