Help Wanted: Personal Chef
What’s for dinner? Sadly, I have no idea. I keep thinking about garlic and butter, but remain perplexed.
But consider this: yesterday, in one hour, I bought a navy blazer (brand name) and lined wool skirt (also brand name) for myself, a cotton jacket for a friend and a t-shirt for a daughter, all of it in like-new condition, for $6.
WILL SHOP (for your clothes, in exchange) FOR FOOD. Any takers?
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National Singles Awareness Day?
Most holidays I really dislike. Maybe it’s all the hoop-la, traditions, and expectations, always leading to disappointments. Maybe it’s just that I like my everyday life. Valentine’s Day, however, is different.
Being married to a guy who lives his Christian faith (John 15:13), I have no need of Valentine’s Day expectations. For us, every day is like Valentine’s Day. So, no matter how we celebrate it, Valentine’s Day is never a disappointment.
This year he gets to buy me a crown.
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How Not to Use the Quiz
Don’t use any personality quiz to cause trauma in another’s life.
From “I Don’t Have a Thing to Wear” The Psychology of Your Closet, by Judie Taggart and Jackie Walker:
Guessing another person’s persona can be a slippery slope, so don’t turn it into a parlor game. After reading or hearing these descriptions, most women know in their deepest being exactly what fashion persona or mix of personas they possess. Woe be unto friends who tell them, “I’m sure you are a ______”.
People can become testy when identified incorrectly …
In my own life, some of my most traumatic moments have come from being misunderstood. Like the time my husband and I were buying a pregnancy test and the checker was shocked that we were a couple. (I’ll tell you another day how my wardrobe changed as a result.)
Or when I took a DISC test with a group I work with and was the lone “I”. Even more distressing, the “boss” had a hard time seeing me that way. He has, however, graciously kept me around and adjusted my assignments accordingly.
Categorizing people into fashion personalities, learning styles, personality models, or any other similitudes, is merely a tool. As a tool, it’s utility is primarily to the individual, in understanding self. Remember, there are not four different kinds of people in the world, or six, but many.
I prescribe a personal idiom. Be yourself. And be gentle with one another.
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Sunday Project
In honor of today being MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) Friday, and to kick-off the trek from fashion personality identification to personal idiom development: a Sunday project that you can do with your kids.
As you read the Sunday ads, pull out pictures of any outfits that you feel really express your personal style. Sort them into four piles: leisure, casual, business, and social (the four lifestyle segments). Make yourself a collage for each.
Clearly, you may need to supplement the ads. Catalogs are my favorite. I just don’t recommend using magazines, they are full of crazy stuff that I never see in the stores. Not that I want to.
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My 15 Minutes of Fame
Around 10 p.m. Tuesday I published the quiz . Around 7 a.m. today I received a message from Quizilla telling that my creation was ranked #49 on their top 50 list. I think it got all the way to #45, before dropping off sometime midday.
Oh well.
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Which Kind of Elegant Are You?
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Who We Are or Choose To Be
You can’t choose your kids, and you can’t choose your parents, but you can choose your kids’ parents.
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Characteristics of a Color
In applying artistic principles to one’s visual appearance, it is beneficial to understand the properties of color. They are:
- Hue: the dimension of color that defines its place on the color wheel. In other words, what we perceive as different “colors” (red, violet, blue, and so on).
- Value: the lightness or darkness of a color.
- Saturation (aka “chroma”): how intense or muted the color appears.
The Inter-Society Color Council at the National Bureau of Standards provides a system for standardization of color designations based on Munsell color notation. Most of us don’t need to be that specific.
As a practical first step to applying these principles, determine your dominant color characteristic. Ask yourself, what is most noticeable about my coloring? A very fair-skinned blonde might be noticed first for the lightness of her personal coloring, thereby making value her most obvious color characteristic. The warm (orange) coloring of a red-head may dominate, while someone else may be most obviously muted or intense.
More later on using color to create harmony and contrast. Questions?
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Those Packets of 30 Colors
Maybe you had your coloring analyzed once and have a packet of fabric swatches corresponding to your “season”. Considering switching to a simpler system ? Here’s how you can still employ those additional colors:
- A colorful coat. Since we tend to select neutral color pants, our coats don’t have to be neutral, they just need to be flattering.
- A few items for punch, especially things you find that are so cheap they’re almost free.
- Things you sweat on everyday, like exercise t-shirts or summer tank tops.
- Stand alone outfits, such as dresses.
As for separates, mix and match works much better when what you want to mix will actually match.
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When to Compromise
Sometimes a deal just seems too good to pass up. Since we are right smack in the middle of one of the best clearance periods of the year, I offer the following sanity-saving tips.
When to compromise:
- Compromise on color, as long as it looks good on you.
- Compromise on fabric, in an item that is difficult for you to find.
- Compromise on fit, but only by buying a little bigger.
- Consider buying something with a minor defect, if you have the time and skills to fix it. Don’t be afraid to ask for a little bit more off the price.
When not to compromise:
- If the estimated cost-per-wear will still exceed your needs. Be honest, how much will you really wear the item?
- If it causes you to violate Rule #1, the face as focal point.
- If it causes you to violate Rule #2, dress so you feel like yourself.
- If it ruins your silhouette or can’t be made to work with either of your balance points.
No matter how good a deal you may think you are getting, nobody is paying you to take anything home. It’s only a great deal if it works for you.
