Things That Are Not For You

Or me, in this case. I like to keep mini-lists on my phone; four financial goals, three restaurants I want to visit, two perfumes to sample. The newest list is Things That Are Not For You:


1. Wrap dresses: I've tried dozens, and they always gap or reveal too much.

2. Button Front Shirts: ditto.

3. Pull-On Boots: I just ordered ANOTHER pair, and the short versions make my ankles look like sticks. Like this:

My friend Michelle just made caramel apples and brought me FIVE. I am so happy.

On my ankles, they don't look so yummy.

Giving up wrap dresses and button fronts, isn't a big problem. There are plenty of dress styles that look swell on me, and pull-on blouses are just fine too. But I love those short cowboy-ish boots, and the boots I just ordered are pink suede and they are DOLLINK (as Krazy Kat would say).

Dusty pink suede, moderate heel, so cute I'm gonna die. Plus, well made, super comfy, on sale. Is a puzzlement.

Here's what I wore today, lifted directly from Pinterest:

Halogen blue skirt (eBay), Ann Taylor linen jacket, Talbots tee and my beloved Ecco nude heels. I might take this jacket to the tailors and have them take up the sleeves, or at lease see what it will cost. They have a cute lining and look nice cuffed, but I would be happier if they were the correct length. Oh, and new hair too, what do you think?

I'm reading (and enjoying) a new style book by Lois Joy Johnson called The Wardrobe Wakeup. She mentions the question of looking expensive, and catches at my concern about this style goal.  My fear is that inexpensive clothes look cheap, but conversely, trying to look expensive is a shallow goal, or at the least a first world problem. Money is the answer/money is not the answer. I would not be comfortable in what I think of as "status" items; a fur coat, a Birkin bag, anything where the logo matters more than the item. But I appreciate the value and quality of something well-made and thus expensive. The author's advice is to wear one expensive thing, like a vintage Hermes scarf or a nice watch or a really good jacket.

She also made the excellent point that wearing a simple stylish outfit is pretty easy, but putting together an offbeat look is hard, and if you don't get it exactly right, it is usually perfectly wrong. Heh. I'm all for easy.

This weekend I ordered a mixed media black ponte and faux leather jacket. I thought I'd be so on trend. When it came I looked like an extra from Springtime for Hitler. Sigh.