Investing in the Stalk Market

"I've been selling turnips here on Sunday morns for 'bout 60 years now. Maybe even more!" - Joan

 

Joan the boar is one of the characters in Animal Crossing who truly embodies uncomplicated country life. She is happy with her routine and I find her character to be very sweet. I'll be honest, I've never spent much time trading turnips at the "stalk market" in the game, but I know a lot of people do and I still think it's a really cute concept.

 

For this outfit I wanted to show a simple country look that someone like Joan would be happy in. I needed the outfit to be comfortable and durable, but still cute.

 

 

 

• Shirt (Royal Robbins): A lightweight shirt with cuffed sleeves is perfect for someone like Joan. The rolled sleeves will make it easier when working in the garden, and the lightweight fabric of the shirt will keep the wearer cool while also protecting them from the sun. I chose a blue shirt and shorts for this outfit to match the color of Joan's own clothes.
• Shorts (Tokyo Laundry): These long denim shorts are appropriate and functional for someone who enjoys the outdoors like Joan. 
• Shoes (Steve Madden): I think if someone is going to be spending day after day working in a garden or trekking in and out of town, some long-lasting shoes are going to be necessary. These boots can be laced to the top in order to protect the wearer's ankles from getting scraped, or they can be laced lower in order to free up the their shins from getting too warm or uncomfortable when walking.
• Socks (H&M): Because I was still thinking about this person being active outdoors, some heavy-duty socks seemed like an obvious choice for both comfort and further foot protection during long walks.
• Hat (Columbia): A hat to protect from the sun was an important component for me. Joan seems like the kind of character to understand that while the outdoors is wonderful, the sun is still damaging. A hat with a neck strap makes it easy to take on and off and keeps the sun off of the wearer's head and neck.
• Necklace (Bling Jewelry): I chose a dragonfly necklace for this outfit for a couple reasons. For one, I don't see someone like Joan wearing a lot of jewelry -- she is too active and it would most likely get in the way. But a dragonfly pendant could be important symbolically. In Japan, dragonflies can be seen as a symbol of victory, strength, and more importantly, good luck and a good harvest. As someone like Joan who relies on her crops to grow strong, a little pendant for good luck seemed like a nice extra touch.
• Watch (Minilujia): Besides the obvious reasons for me liking this watch, like how it matches well with the shoes and brings the whole outfit together, clocks are important for characters like Joan and the for Animal Crossing series in general. In the games, turnips purchased from Joan do in fact go bad. If a player waits too long to sell them or "time travels" by changing the clock in-game, they may just lose their chance to sell their turnips. For that reason, a watch seemed very fitting.
• Backpack (Kaufmann Mercantile): This backpack is really a fruit-picking basket, and it looks very similar to the one Joan herself carries.
• Sunblock (Sun Bum): Finally, as with the hat mentioned above, sunblock is something that is extremely important for someone who spends so much time outdoors. I couldn't imagine an outfit like this without keeping in mind the dangers of excessive sun exposure. Sorry if I sound like your mom, but it's very important!

 

Thanks so much for reading!

 

Talk to you all soon!