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