My Carrie Bradshaw-ish Moment ...

This is about as close to a "Carrie Moment" as I've had. (Carrie Bradshaw, not the Stephen King sad Carrie that had the bucket of pig blood dumped on her head and retaliated by psychically burning and exploding her entire town. I've had fantasies like this, too, but that's a story for another day.) If you don't recognize the contraption I'm grasping possessively, it's a "four straight-armed commercial clothes rack". All shiny and perfect and with locking rollers. And although it looks like I'm either making a V for Victory or indicating "Peace, baby" in the photo, I am actually telling you how many of these clothes racks I have! Two! 

I'm so happy.

Dan saw a dozen or so of these sitting on the mall sidewalk outside what had been the Goody's clothing store. The store was closing forever and the doors were open only to liquidate it's fixtures. I've wanted some just like these forever, but I didn't want to stop and inquire about them, sure that they wanted too pretty a penny for them. But Dan wanted to check them out, just in case. He often has a nose for great bargains. (He of the vintage tan cashmere overcoat he got for a song, years ago in Seattle. I don't even own any cashmere!)

"Twenty dollars ... for two," said the very nice young lady who was working the liquidation sale.

"Yes, please!" we said, in unison. "Really ... for two of them? We'll take two! Thank you!"

We were driving our little car, so we had to disassemble them to get them home, but we managed. And I now am on my way to having one of our extra bedrooms converted into a walk-in closet, sort of. Remember Carrie Bradshaw and the walk-in closet of her dreams? It's not in Big's Manhattan town house, but I know how she felt. And Dan gave me that fantasy for a mere $20.00 and a little quality time with a wrench and a pair of pliers. It's only a step, but it is a step. What a guy.

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And look ... I gotz boyfriend jeans! Not the most flattering pants I've ever worn, but I surprised how much fun they were to wear, rolled up and with ankle booties from Target adorned with a satisfying number of straps and buckles. 

Additionally, the excellently fitting, perfectly priced black blazer is one less item I have to check off my Fall Lust List. I'm not the one in our family that loves a bargain just for it's own sake, but I have to say I'm a fan of precisely the right thing at a price I can actually afford.   

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Update:

Monday 10/21

Nope, not deja vu.  I'm joining Traveling Patti and all the gang at Visible Monday  with this little post that many of you have already seen.  Apologies go out to you for that, and I'll try to get back on track fast! IRL, I'm off to try to finish repairing the water heater.  Now where did I put that pipe wrench ...

Going On Quest and Wish List with Bullets

It's here. It's That Time of Year. There is almost a hard-wired, instinctual quality to my desire to go On Quest when fall arrives. It's elemental. I raise my snoot to the wind coming from the Big City, and sniff the air for the faint spoor of delivery trucks bringing Fall/Winter 2013 items into the shops. My pulse picks up and the blood rushes a little quicker in anticipation of the hunt.  Predatory stalking analogies for my enthusiasm are only a slight exaggeration.

On a more realistic level, this is more about another kind of human satisfaction, so perhaps it's better to say that I'm officially On Quest. I've gone from just thinking about and longing for fall and winter items, and now I'm actively looking for specific things to freshen up what I've drug from the back of my closet from last winter.  This is a favorite activity.

The Quest is deeply thematic in our Western culture and is pan-cultural in all its forms. It's been analyzed and defined, and tales of our heroes on quest are immediately recognizable to every child who has ever heard a fairy tale or read about Harry Potter. Some of the elements present in every good Quest tale are not limited to but include;

• Tasks and processes that requires lots of effort from hero
• Obstacles, forces, creatures or nemeses that try to prevent the Hero from her quest
• Travel of some distance
• Distracting and seductive, exotic or romantic elements
• The search for a hidden or difficult to obtain object of extreme meaning, love, spiritual fulfillment, or magical power

Does that or does that not perfectly describe trying to find some particular new item for your fall wardrobe on a weekend trip to the stores, shops or Mall? It does from my perspective, but I'm up for it anyway.

Real life Quest Elements include;

• Parking, or lack of it
• Other people's screaming children (bless their dear little hearts...)
• Fellow shoppers unconscious of others while in mobile phone conversations (especially those that I don't want to hear) 
• Nonexistent or difficult sales staff 
• Lack of selection and/or sizes
• Finances are always a force to be reckoned with
• Travel: everything I want is at least 40 miles away
• Distracting or seductive elements: it's the magpie in me that causes me to gravitate to "that shiny object over there" instead of the task at hand. (The good thing about it is that I've obtained some of my most beloved clothes and accessories that way.)
• Certainly, my wardrobe has meaning for me, if not exactly spiritual fulfillment. And I know for a fact that some clothes are simply magical.

I'm not a window shopper. I don't usually browse unless I'm looking for a particular item, and since I only have three or four total hours available per week for this sometimes problematic activity, I tend to get organized in planning the process and can exhibit a serious "singleness of purpose" when I'm about it.

Like all heroes, I'm armed with my special weapons or virtues. In this case, that's my seasonal Wish List. I began work on it a month or so ago, when I began reviewing last winter's wardrobe. Happily, after they've been a few months in storage, I can look at each item and make a quick decision whether to rejoice and welcome it back into rotation, cull it completely or put it on hold. It's the keeper items that send me On Quest. This year, I'm extra pleased to report that I'm good on a lot of basics due to paying closer attention to what I was doing last fall!

After review, I begin adding items to the list. Some of the items I'm looking for this fall are;

• Chain necklaces in various metals 
• A bright handbag or two to pair with neutrals ... and I'm looking for a lot of neutrals
• Replacement Breton tees and crew neck pullovers and tights, perhaps textured stockings
• Looser silhouette pants ( It's past time to figure out what Boyfriend Jeans actually are and how I might try to wear them ... sigh....)
• Mid-heel pumps (yummmm ... )
• Select colors in above the ankle booties (already have plenty of black, need cordovan or oxblood!)
• That elusive Navy blazer I've wanted for two seasons now
• An additional interesting A-Line or fuller skirt or two

Within the list are some general conceptual maxims and caveats;

• Don't panic or get too caught up and buy a bunch of stuff ... do what you can and really shop your closet for silhouettes.
• Simple outfits will take great accessories ... not many, but good ones.
• Minimal thinking ... you haz it! All will be silhouette and textures.

But the really big caveat that I've repeated like a mantra is this:

Hold out for True Love. Don't buy it if it just appeals. All purchases must be True Love or nothing.

We'll see how I do with all that. Stay tuned.

At last we had a cool day where a jacket was needed! This is a recent bargain from DKNY. The top part is knit, with a wide, peplum-esque finish on the bottom. Dan loves this outfit ... he's a fan of Breton Stripes, deep wine colors and the fact that I was wearing Chloé.

These Bandolino pumps are a recent Wish List acquistion: oxblood or burgundy pumps.   (Check-mark!)

(Much closer than the color shown in my photo, and you can see a little of the tiny, reptile print of the shoe fabric. )

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It's  Visible Monday at  Bird of Paradise Patti's Not Dead Yet Style party!  Great women doing great things.  Check it out for lots of inspiration!  

Keeping My Cool ... Then Remembering Where I Put It

As I write, it looks like fall has finally decided to visit western Mid-Nowhere. The sky is gray, deep in clouds that brought us some very welcome rain yesterday, and the cooler-looking looking skies are a relief from the sun-pounded days of our summer.


But looks can be deceiving. It's also almost 80% humidity and the temperature will reach 80° F (or, not quite 27° C) in the next couple of hours. And I'm trying to figure out what to wear to the Big City where I will be until evening when it's due to drop 15 degrees.


There are things I love about summer dressing, and I'm always invigorated when fall-winter "coat weather" begins, but this is a problematic time. It feels weird to go summery and sleeveless, but it's too warm for even a light jacket, much less a coat. Until I need it after the sun goes down.


But for once ... I'm on top of it. I got it covered. Or me covered. And I've managed to avoid just throwing on a cardi. Cardigans are wonderful tools for transitional seasons, but not all cardigans are created equal. But one of my personal prejudices is that I think they can sometimes look a little extra-elderly on me now that I'm of advanced age. This impractical peculiarity of mine comes from memories of my little maternal grandmother; silver-blue haired, stooped and fragile. She always had to have her sweater. We'd all be piled in the car, heading somewhere to enjoy a summer family event, and someone would be sent back to get the sweater, just in case it miraculously cooled off. And just about as often, we'd have to double back to retrieve what my grandfather called "that damned sweater" that Granny had forgotten and left behind.


IMPORTANT NOTE: I apply this caveat to no one but me! This is not meant as a rule or suggestion for anyone. This is just my own issue. I know I'm not yet in Granny's physical state of decrepitude. And I constantly note fabulous looking women of my age and older running around, all cute in their cardigans. I think, though, that since there are style options for even us seriously advanced citizens, we ought to sometimes apply them.


Look at it this way. Young hipster guys are sometimes seen in "grandpa cardigans" and a bow tie. It's a look. Put that on a bona fide old man, and you have a whole different gestalt. Some looks can define you in ways that might not be optimum for your self-image. Just saying.


Like I said above, though, I got it covered. Look, a faux-leather cardi! Or a leather-cardigan hybrid. Whatever you call it, this little Willi Smith item will be just the ticket later in the evening when I need it over this silky little shirt!


Granny wouldn't have touched this kind of sweater with a ten-foot pole.

(Update ... Monday afternoon, just before posting: I went looking for that cool-cardi this morning, and I found I'd forgotten it in the back of the car that Dan took to work this morning. Yikes. I can hear Granny laughing, and it's more than a little creepy. )

Slouchy Pants Redux and Cud Chewing

I'm a ruminator. One of the behaviors that identifies a ruminator is that they habitually latch onto a thought or concern and worry it into a much larger issue than it ought to be. And just when you think you should be done with it, you find yourself chewing on it again. And again. Just like a real ruminant, a cow chewing her cud.

One of my favorite special tidbits that I like to chew on until I'm furious is an edict a piece of advice ordered by offered from a 20 or 30-something fashion editor to us matured women: don't wear a style if you wore it when it was around the first time.

I fell into the old rumination cycle while I was pressing a new hem into the printed pants you see below. As I eased the slightly tricky hem of these soft pants that narrow at the ankle, I was reminded that I had done this often before, in another decade, when we were all wearing pegged pants.
That thought led to the above mentioned stupid advice. And that thought led me to remember just how many decades I have been looking at clothes and how they're worn and all the decisions I've made about them.

I've been around the block a time or two, and seen a lot of style come and go, and come back around yet again.

The 50's ...
I was born in 1950, so although I was a child during this decade, I saw a lot of fashion on my mother and especially my grandmother-the-tailor (you can read about her HERE.)  I remember desperately wanting a poodle skirt ( a circle skirt with an appliqued French poodle on the front ) so I was paying attention. I remember these fashion ideas as popular ones; fit and flare, circle skirts, shirtwaist dress, motorcycle jackets, pointy-toe pumps, cute flats, leopard print, denim, wide belts, peplums, bobby socks and oxfords.


The 60's ...
As a teenager, my style world was rocked by the Beatles and the British Invasion, Twiggy, Courrèges and the mini skirt, anything Mod or Rocker, as well as these ideas; color blocking, preppie looks, Madras plaids, anything "flower-child" or bohemian, denim, knee high boots.


The 70's ...
For me, this time marked the worst of the Vietnam Era (continuing from the mid-60s and the end of the war in 1975). Lots of politics in ideas about clothing. Style ideas included; minis (still), midis, maxis, a-line and pleated skirts, wide leg pants and flares, pantsuits, jumpsuits, more denim, especially high-waisted jeans and bell-bottoms. Wedges, platforms, knee high boots (still), over-sized sunglasses, camo, psychedelia and graphic prints.


The 80s ...
This was my Art School Era and I was thinking about leggings, high-waisted jeans (still), tulle skirts, more motorcycle jackets, neon, layers, underwear as outerwear, 18th century military jackets (New Romantic anything), slouchy and harem pants, pegged jeans, punk anything.


The 90s ...
Out in the world in Seattle I saw grunge anything, flannel, plaid, baseball caps (forward and backward), ripped jeans, leggings (still), Doc Martins, flatforms, platforms (again), overalls, animal prints (again), denim (still), moto jackets (again), menswear blazers.


The 00s ...
The Aughties were marked by lots of change (straight leg jeans and skinnies) but also lots retro looks; leggings (still), knee high and thigh-high boots (again and still), platforms(still), wedges (still), flatforms (again and ew!), blazers (still), minis (again and still), camo (again).  Here in Arkansas, lots of stuff just leftover from the 90's.


The Present 10s ...
All 00s, most of the 90s, and quite a lot from the other eras above in one form or another.

Here's the big point, if any of you youngsters still believe the stupid advice we still have shoved at us from time to time. Women my age have seen it ALL before. Given all the stuff I tried, or could have tired and rejected the first time around, my question for those edict-issuing young editors is this: just what do you think I should be wearing? Bustles? A toga?

Any cud worth chewing is generally swallowed by the ruminant. Human ruminators like me always have the option of swallowing whatever it is that's fretting them, or spitting it out. So finally, in the spirit of finally exorcising this particular source of reoccurring annoyance I reply:

" Ptooey ! " (Splat.)

So here I am in slouchy pants redux. They are happening in lots of lengths, but I'm grateful that I'm seeing them in a longer length. So much nicer on my squatness petite frame. I would have worn these the first time around with big, swoopy hair, a pair of platforms, a blouse with some serious shoulder and perhaps a wide belt. 

Here's that peplum I promised to show from last week's strange experience at Target and 3.1 Phillip Lim! I like it with these soft, drapey pants.

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Popping over to join the Still Summery Patti at Visible Monday  Come over and see what's up, why don't 'cha !

My Private Show ... 3.1 Phillip Lim at Target!

Although September 22nd is the first official day of fall, my own personal fall style-season has already arrived. At 5:30 Sunday morning when my alarm went off, my quest for a few fall pieces began with our very early trip to the Big City Target for the 8:00 launch of the Phillip Lim 3.1 collaboration.

For at least two months, I've been seeing the glossy ads for this, even in all the ginormous fall issues of the Big Important Fashion Magazines. Target spent some bucks on this. Articles touted it as the most talked about collaboration since the Missoni debacle of the previous year. (A debacle only for customers who wanted merchandise that was instantly sold out to crowds and never replenished. Target and presumably Missoni did just dandy.) I've been a fan of Lim's really interesting handbag designs for a while, but only a fan as they are generally beyond my budget by a couple of digits. The big deal about the bags for Target is that they are very like his nearly-iconic-It bag-status "Pashli", but not complete knock-offs of his own more rarefied line. More like companion pieces. What a good idea for EveryWoman like me!

At the very same time Dan and I were hustling our sleepy selves into the car so we could make it to town in time to queue up if we needed to, stores in an earlier time zone were already selling out of dresses, sweaters, tops, pants and especially bags. As I'm writing this there are articles like the one in the Los Angeles Times  by Tiffany Hsu, wherein she describes the line of shoppers waiting and the mini-melee that ensued when the coveted handbags ran out of stock and restocking was attempted. Bloggers from the east coast began reporting that handbags where out of stock online and in stores an hour after store opening. The clothes went fast, but the handbags were, as expected, the stars of the show and disappeared even more quickly.

Photo by Erin Yamagata, Uptown Target, NYC ... see street-style pictures and notes by editor Annie Georgia Greenberg at the Refinery 29 site.

We arrived at about 7:50 and pulled in to an almost empty parking lot. At 8:00 we wandered into the store, all by ourselves. We found one lone employee, hanging a few things on a rack that I recognized from the Lim group. There were only about about eight items from the dozens of items available in Lim's clothing line. ( Rats.) No bags. None. (Double-Rats.) As I was picking out the items I wanted to try for size, I chatted with the young woman leisurely putting out the few items from the collection. I asked about bags, and she pointed at a big pile of huge boxes, all packed with the Lim bags, just waiting to be opened.

I need to call the store today and brag on this nice young lady. She obligingly called another very nice young lady and together they opened the boxes as Dan and I watched, effectively giving us a private showing and lavish choice of all the bags in the collection. They dutifully opened boxes until I found just what I wanted. Both colors!

The dress I had my heart set on was there, but after trying it on I wasn't thrilled or even pleased, so I didn't buy it.

The dress looks like it hangs softly on the model in all the ads, but it's made of very crisp, almost canvas-like fabric that stands away from the body in awkward ways. It's proportioned for a much taller woman, and the back of this dress ended at the top of my calves, and the waist about mid-hip. Sad. I love this print.

However, the same fabric worked a treat on a zip-up peplum shell that fit very nicely.

 (Yessss! I bought this, but no pics of me yet ... too tired to try to make photos. So many possibilities to combine it with, 

so watch this space. )

And the print was repeated on a flowy, georgette-like fabric shirt, and I'm happy with the way it hangs from the interestingly cut shoulder. (Happy me. Bought this one, too, and look forward to trying this in several ways. There's a teaser in the title pic at the top of this post.  But for the full treatment ... again, watch this space as well! )

I also bought a navy circle skirt that is just the right length for me, but a mini on the models. Sometimes it works out that way for me, sometimes not.

 The one piece that I really wanted to try on was a navy and black tuxedo jacket, but our store isn't big enough to warrant this item, it seems. Never mind, I'll find one that will probably fit better later on, somewhere else.  (Harrumph.)

After I picked out my pieces, Dan and I wandered around for another few minutes, picking up every-day staples that we usually buy at Target. When we left, there were still no other shoppers for the collaboration. I know it seems a little ( or a lot) silly that a woman my age would be so enthusiastic about a Big-Box experience like this one. In a place where not much of any consequence for the world at large ever happens, these little experiences allow me to participate in the smallest way with other women in the world who look at and think about design, care about the process and don't have the resources to respond to current ideas and dress like we might wish. Just a little good design at a really affordable price comes our way only once in a while, and because it is rare, it has meaning for me when it appears.

So, sad little events like these are what keep me connected to the larger world, even if I'm the only one at the party. Frankly, lucky me. 

I had fun!

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Linking up with the lovey and talented Elena Fey at her Monday Bloom  linky-party today!