Rounding Up

First of all, I discovered the amusing Tumblr Librarian Shame, courtesy of The Swiss Army Librarian, and this is what I posted:

 

It was the same day I wore my new-via-Ebay Vince Camuto blouse and my less new Halogen blue knit skirt. I even wore my blue glasses. All that blue was very soothing.

The next day I wore another favorite, my black Talbot's surplice top, with a pleated silk skirt and my black and white Everybody peep toes.

Heather's favorite outfit ever.

On a Rotary Thursday, I wore this Jones New York cardigan and a Talbot's eyelet skirt and my Aquatalia gold pumps. It was a little too eye-catching for a visiting Rotarian and I felt like swatting him away. Shoo fly.
 

And the last outfit I bothered to photograph included a Boden skirt, a pale grey top, my pink cotton cardigan and grey boots.

This outfit could definitely be improved. I'd like a classier pink cardigan (maybe) and definitely a purple pullover top that is heavy enough to wear on its own. I have a pretty purple silk blouse, but it doesn't look right with this skirt. It wasn't quite cool enough to wear my gray cashmere sweater.

It is decidedly fall now, and I've been busting out the boots (yay!) and eyeballing my jackets and trousers. I started writing down everything I wanted at the moment I wanted it, which is usually when I'm picking out an outfit. It makes for an interesting list so far, and hopefully I'll post it next week with some comments.

This weekend I am celebrating Heidi's birthday by seeing Cyrano starring the demon mayor of Sunnydale, Harry Groener. I'm very excited. Mr. Groener got rave reviews in the role, and is of course known for things other than turning into a giant snake and eating the high school principal.

Fashion Resolutions

1. Not to buy any more clothes (except underwear) at Macy's and Lord and Taylor.
2. Correspondingly, to shop at Nordstrom. And maybe Banana Republic.
3. Revise my list of shopping questions.
 
These activities should feed the following goals:
 
1. Find balance between my work wardrobe and my play wardrobe.
2. Thin out my closet by 25%.
3. Eliminate anything that feels cheap, tight, fussy or sticky.
 
Some explication ensues. Over the weekend I reviewed blog photos for the past year. Hey, most things look pretty good. Also, Heather is correct that the camera isn't always the best judge (though generally a better one than my optimistic eyes). A couple of outfits need a little proportion adjustment. I have two full Boden skirts that I think are not sleek or simple enough; some gathers, some ruffles. I will consider selling those. I have a few tops and jackets with puffy sleeves, or with gathers at the armscye; I think those also have to go.

One particular top, the Ann Taylor black chiffon blouse, is problematic. I realized that every time I wore it I felt hot and sticky, probably because it is polyester and not silk. I need to wear it in cooler weather and review. I feel warm and flushed often enough these days without the assistance of my clothes. I'm also a little annoyed with elastic sleeves. I think this is a costcutting measure on the part of the manufacturer and it pisses me off. I don't like having marks on my arms just because my sleeves ride up at my desk.

My denim shirts aren't bringing their A game either. I want a denim-looking shirt that isn't denim weight, one that is long enough to tuck in, but with vertical darts or seams at the waist so there isn't a huge excess of material there. I saw a really nice version of this shirt at Nordstrom and Pinned it. One resolution I would like to make is not to buy any more button-fronts, but sometimes I am helpless in the face of a J. Crew "perfect" shirt.

I'm tempted to swear not to buy anything with a collar, period. I have loads of jackets and many of them are making me feel (at work) a little dated. Oddly, I like the idea of wearing them as play clothes, with bright jeans, or as outerwear with a warm scarf in the fall. That is part of the balance issue I refer to. My play clothes are minimal because I don't want to stain or damage my work clothes, and my work clothes feel a little "office fussy." Moving 25% of my office wear to the minor leagues will be a good start. I'm trying to decide whether a physical separation in my closet would be helpful (or just fun - I do love organizing things). Putting on a blazer stood me in good stead for years, but I think I need to upgrade my work wardrobe again.

And that's the final thing I realized: that I've been here before.  In the past I have upgraded my shopping habits, my fashion goals, my work wardrobe, and my style goals. It is actually a great feeling to think that I've done this before and it worked out well.
 

Today I wore a Talbot's top and skirt, and my lovely Everybody sandals. I can say with confidence that I love all the sandals I bought this year (can't say the same for the shoes, sadly).  I wish this top had just a little more definition in the waist. And damn those elastic sleeves!
  
To be continued: revising the shopping questions, and, what does "looks expensive" mean, anyway?

Not So Profound

I don't know how other, much more prolific, bloggers manage to write anything meaningful after 5 PM. I've been thinking about the budget all day and cannot say much more than "Fire bad, tree pretty."

After all of those pastels earlier in the week, I went a bit more neutral on Wednesday. Red necklace, beige sweater, red skirt, beige sandals. The big gray lump, lower right, is Riley.

And we're BRIGHT again on Thursday! Orange Ann Taylor dress, cream linen Ann Taylor jacket, gold Aquatalia pumps and a couple of gold necklaces of uncertain provenance. Isn't that a groovy color? I debated for a few weeks, because the dress is sleeveless, and a bit too open to wear without a jacket or sweater. Black seemed kind of harsh, and any other color detracted from the lovely orange-y goodness of the dress. Then I tried it with the linen jacket and was pleased with the result.

The bracelet is basically three cheapie bracelets wound together: rhinestones, ribbon, orange beads. Which is why I only paid five bucks for it. Orange! Sparkly! The ring is a lot classier: an Australian opal that Barry gave me many years ago. See the cute stripes that line the jacket sleeves? I'm always cuffing jackets because of my short little T-Rex arms.

And the really exciting news?!

A dream realized! I am going home to sit on it. But no food or drink, no sir.

Gray and Red

I was delighted with this Talbot's skirt. Nice to have a summery fabric (eyelet) in a sophisticated style (pencil). I wore an old favorite: a cross-dyed black and white linen shirt from Jones New York. I should take it in a bit; it's always been a bit floppy at the waist, but that was fine on a July day. I wore my Miz Mooz red pumps because my toes are getting a breather from polish and must be concealed.

I have rather mad hair as I gave in to the humidity and slathered my hair with Aveda Confixor.

I've been thinking more about the idea of buying one great thing instead of five pretty good items. It's kind of freeing. I have spent a lot of time trying to fill (possibly imaginary) holes in my wardrobe; searching for the "right" red summer skirt or the "perfect" gray tee. There isn't a lot of room for inspiration to strike in that scenario, not to mention that I end up with three different pink skirts because I've been thinking about them constantly.

The big, grand, fantastic purchases loom large in your head. You don't forget that you have a perfectly fabulous purse at home when you spent $300 on it. These purchases can and should be unique, too - not just another pencil skirt to wear to work. 

What if you could only buy clothes that were NOT on sale? What about buying only things that cost MORE than $200? I spent the weekend "flipping" purchases in my head that way. About a decade ago, I began to feel that the $40 items were preventing me from ever getting the big ticket items. I had 40 pairs of shoes and was still sitting on the scruffy couch we got when we got married. I tried aiming for more expensive things, but because I didn't really get the hang of it, I would up with some nice stuff and a boat load of debt.

Big (whatever that means to you) pieces feel risky. What if you stain it the first time you wear it, or gain weight and can't fit into it? It's not just clothes, of course. What if you drop that piece of pottery when dusting and it shatters? What if you leave it in a hotel somewhere (I've done that a few times) after buying it on vacation? And don't get me started on losing jewelry or breaking a heel, because when you wear it, you WEAR it, and it wears out. I could potentially keep a painting the rest of my life, but nothing that I put on will last forever.

Again with the aspect of freedom, though. If I buy something expensive, I'm not going to look at anything else that month. This might take some getting used to, but not if I am completely occupied with admiring my lovely new fill-in-the-blank. It was certainly super fun looking at $300 shoes on 6 PM.

Think! Chiara $240