Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Five Sugars Shorts






I am not sure that it was warm enough today (at least for me) for the outfit that I chose to wear.  But there was no going back from first choices today.  I did not get up extra early and, by the time I had finished dressing, there was no time left to rethink my outfit.  I had places to be and people to see.  So I suffered ... a little.  I hate being cold.  I wish that I could say that there will be no repeats of today, but I know that there will be.

Friday, April 29, 2011

A Black Mood Outfit




Believe it or not, I had intended to wear a combination of orange and yellow today.  I actually put on a combination of orange and yellow early this morning.  But after about an hour of wearing the combination of orange and yellow, I decided that I didn't want to go with a combination of orange and yellow.  So I put on a combination of black and grey.  I guess that I am still feeling that "black mood" that I spoke of earlier this week.  Good thing that I was up early enough to have had the time to test drive and reject a combination of orange and yellow before setting foot outside the house.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Mrs. Beasley's Outfit


What I wore today reminded me of Mrs. Beasley.  I can't explain why.  Mrs. Beasley wore a polka dotted electric blue "dress" with bright yellow trim.  Some associations can't be explained.  They just are.  In any event, being reminded of Mrs. Beasley, I started to fixate on her glasses:  Large black square frames.  I would love to have glasses like that.  Is this the beginning of a hunt?

Walking On Kilimanjaro




I used to know someone who, with her partner, travelled twice a year to what I would call exotic locations.  Her travels were truly adventurous and those of us who were less adventurous than or less capable of being as adventurous as her lived vicariously through her.  Sadly, I don't know what became of her.  The shoes that I wore yesterday made me think of her.  The shoes are named "Kilimanjaro".  The shoes reminded me of my adventurous friend because she is the only one I know who might be in a position to say that she walked on the actual (Mount) Kilimanjaro.  I suspect that the Kilimanjaro that I walked on today will be the only Kilimanjaro that I will ever walk on.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

When I Wore Black






Back in the days when I wore nothing but black (black and more black), people used to say to me that the colour one chose to wear was a reflection of one's mood.  "Poppycock", I used to retort, "I wear black when I am happy, sad, mad or whatever."  (I suppose people were simply trying to figure out whether, by suddenly choosing to wear nothing but black, I was trying to say that I was sad.  I hope that my answer convinced them that I wasn't, because I truly wasn't.)  Now that I wear, not only back, but also all of the colours of the rainbow, I am definitely aware of the connection between the colours that I choose to wear and my mood.  Now wearing black during the day signals that I don't want to be conspicuous, that I want to withdraw and think, to reflect on things, that I want to be quiet, that I want to stop and smell the roses, that I want to slow down.  Of course wearing black for a formal evening out signals something entirely different ... I think ... or maybe not.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Everything's Coming Up Roses Jeans





I do know that the jeans trend right now is flared (bell-bottomed) and down to the ground.  Sadly, I have never liked the down to the ground (what I call the picking up dirt) length on my jeans.  Where jeans are concerned, I have always been a cropped length type of girl.  And, as much as I may like the flared (bell-bottomed) jeans, I don't think that they would look so good cropped.  So I guess you won't be seeing flared (bell-bottomed) jeans on me.  I found the jeans that I wore today at the back of my closet a couple of weeks ago (when I was doing yet another paring down of my wardrobe).  I remember liking them when I first got them (this was some time ago now), and I still like them.  It's the embroidery on them.  It makes all the difference in the world to me. And, speaking of liking things, I simply adore my jacket.  I bought it at the Spring One of a Kind show.  I fell in love with it the moment that I saw it.  I had just seen True Grit (the 1969 version) and I remember thinking how very "True Grit-ty" the jacket was:  I could picture Kim Darby's character wearing it.  It was an extravagant purchase, to be sure.  But I don't regret it one bit.

Friday, April 22, 2011

The Girl At The Window Dress





This morning, when I had to, yet again, put on a sweater, I experienced a moment of frustration.  I quickly counted the number of months that had passed since I first started wearing sweaters this past Fall.  Six full months.  At the end of April, it will be seven full months.  As much as I love sweaters, I am getting tired of having to wear sweaters.  Funny, how much difference a day makes.  Yesterday, I was pointing out the advantages of the lingering chilly weather.  Today, I am, well, -----ing about it.  I am sure that I will be back to making the best of things tomorrow.  I just needed a day off from putting a brave face on.  I always feel so bad for complaining about the weather, when so many people have to bear much worse weather than I have had to bear so far.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Strawberry Fields Forever Dress










If I start dressing in Spring-like outfits (I would be crazy to wear actual Spring outfits, for I would simply freeze), do you suppose that I could coax Spring out of hiding?  It certainly didn't work today.  But if I had some sign that it might work, I would certainly be willing to keep trying.  I can, however, think of one advantage to Spring staying in hiding.  It gives one the opportunity to try out some of the Fall outfits that just walked down the runways of the "fashion capitals" of the world.  Not the actual outfits of course, but ones inspired by the actual outfits.  That is what I did today.  I tried on for size my interpretation of this outfit from the Steven Alan Fall 2011 ready-to-wear collection:


Image from style.com

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A Rainy Day Outfit





As soon as I typed out the title of this post, I realized that it held a double meaning for me.  First, it refers to the outfit that I wore today, literally a rainy day.  Second, it refers to the fact that the outfit that I wore today was one of several that I have stowed at the back of mind for days like today when getting dressed in the morning proves to be impossible (i.e., when I have "nothing to wear") -- a figurative rainy day.  I chuckled a little when this double meaning came to me.  Oh, the little things that amuse me!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Check Mate Shirt




When I saw the skirt that I wore today hanging on the sales racks at Urban Outfitters (some months back), I was instantly attracted to it.  It was a plaid skirt, and I am always mad for plaid.  But that aside, I loved the colours in it:  the olive green, the rust and the bright orange.  So imagine my disappointment when I discovered that it was a tad too big for me (okay, perhaps more than a tad too big for me).  But I pushed the disappointment aside.  It was too good a deal and I loved it too much to pass it up.  I would make it work ... somehow.  The skirt lay in waiting for a couple of months.  Then, I acquired the oversized orange check shirt, which I knew immediately would become the skirt's mate.  Still that wasn't enough:  An oversized orange check shirt does not a too large skirt make small.  Shortly thereafter, I hit upon the solution, one that I have turned to in the past:  Attach some suspenders to the skirt and make it an overall-type garment.  Perhaps not a solution for everyone, but it had worked for me before so why not this time.  A couple more months and much scanning of outfits later, the vest and sweater were added and, voila, today's outfit was born!  Quite the laborious process, n'est ce pas?  It isn't always so, but every once in a while, it is truly a struggle.  Oh, and please take note of the crossed button down collar.  That is definitely a blast from my past (my university days again).  I have no idea where are this nostalgia for my school days that I am experiencing lately is coming from.

Monday, April 18, 2011

New Drawer Hardware








Every once in a while, I get this desire to change the decor in my place.  Usually, to sate the desire, I simply re-arrange the furniture (which sometimes proves hazardous if one has become used to the existing placement of furniture).  Less frequently, I actually acquire something new for the home (furniture, lighting, bric-a-brac).  This past weekend, I decided to change the hardware on the doors and drawers in my kitchen and to change the drawer pulls on the chest of drawers in the bedroom.  I also wanted to add some new bric-a-brac to the house (one of those old gynmasium clocks protected from errant balls of all sorts by a wire cage and an old chalkboard from a train station) but I didn't get around to doing that (I hope both pieces are still around when I go for them later this week).  It was fun creating a slightly different home space.  Now I am enjoying it.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Is It Spring Or Winter Or What?





What a strange day today was.  It was overcast one moment and clear and sunshiny the next.  It rained, it hailed and it snowed, alternately.  And, it was windy ... very windy (I had to hold on to my hat).  The next couple of days are supposed to bring more of the same, although not all on the same day.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with all the changes without over or under dressing on any particular day!  (P.S.  I am getting quite attached to the frilly, yellow scarf.)