Between My Peers Classics: Rule Number 2
Continuing the “Blogiversary Celebration”, I now bring you Rule Number 2, from the December 2005 archives:
Everything you wear should make you feel like yourself, going where you are going and doing what you are doing. Nothing is more distracting than feeling inappropriately dressed. Be yourself. Then focus on reaching out and making others feel comfortable.
I suppose that could be more concisely said, but I’m not sure how. Now I’m busy thinking about belt placement. This afternoon I should be taking pictures for the fashion lab.
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Athletic Shoes: A Better Color Choice
L.A. Gear - Women’s Honey (Brown/Pink/Bone) Free Shipping from Shoes.Com
Yes, it’s true. Mervyns is closing stores in several states (I wrote about it last February). So Saturday, on our way home from our second family Thanksgiving gathering, we stopped to check out the sales. Romantic/Trendsetter daughter and I both found athletic shoes.
And then we noticed the pattern. Hers are grey with green, mine (pictured) are brown. Both are our eye color.
Which makes perfect sense. Athletic shoes are sporty and active, they should be an accent color. Which leads me to a question I’ve had for years:
Who looks good in white runners?
Now I think I know the answer, test this on yourself: someone whose inseam is greater than half her body’s total length. Or greater than four head-lengths.
Am I on to something?
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Between My Peers Classics: Rule Number 1
At Jenn’s suggestion, in honor of my blogiversary, I am going to try to do a little “mini-series” featuring some of my favorite posts. Since I started this blog November 26th, 2005, the November 2005 archive only contains four posts. I like them all. But the following is the most significant in terms of getting dressed:
Forget what the so-called fashion experts tell you, the focal point for every outfit should be your FACE (not any other body part or a piece of jewelry). It’s a matter of human dignity.
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You Are Invited to a Fashion Lab
In the spirit of cooperative problem-solving, I invite you all to participate with me in analyzing the topic of belt placement.
- Why did it just not work when one friend took her belt off the other night and put it on another friend in the same, low-slung position?
- Does it really work to belt a cardigan or jacket?
- How about transforming a fitted sheath into an empire-waist with a ribbon belt?
You embellishment people must have many more creative ideas to add.
Here’s my invitation. I will post a Fashion Lab: Belt Placement piece this Friday, Dec 1st (sometime after I get up, PST). If you would like to play, just write a piece picturing or describing or testing something related to belt placement, and leave the link in comments on this post. I will link to you, in the spirit of a blog carnival. If you have no blog, I will publish your piece here.
BTW, my Blogiversary was November 26th.
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Thanksgiving Leftovers Party
Have you ever been to a leftovers party? Picture a potluck of Thanksgiving leftovers and games, with your friends, since yesterday was spent with relatives.
My outfit (that’s me on the right, but dd’s outfit is so cute I made her be in the picture too):
- Old Gap jeans. I paid $1 at the thrift store. As usual, I am wearing silk “pants” under.
- Old merino wool turtleneck, originally clearance at JCPenney.
- Gotta love the burgundy quilted jacket with corduroy trim. $10 at the “Eddie (Bauer) Outlet”. It’s too “classic” for my style, I wear it as a costume. Alot.
- My practical shoes.
- Yay! My birthday belt came today!
Something else to be thankful for: the ladies bought us Apples to Apples
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What I Will Wear: Thanksgiving
About the feet: I will really be wearing my practical shoes, but I wanted my sister to be able to see the slippers that I bought with part of the gift card she gave me for my birthday.
Unfortunately I didn’t realize until it was too late that you can’t really see the coolest thing about this outfit:
The blazer is brown (multi) velvet paisley!
More later!
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What To Wear: Thanksgiving
Now that we are really getting close, and I have a fairly full social calendar this weekend, I am beginning to give serious thought to what I am going to wear for Thanksgiving. The big question mark is, “What kind of an event is Thanksgiving, really?”
When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was more of a fancy dinner. I wore a dress. But this weekend we will be attending two separate dinners given at people’s lake houses. Probably a bit more casual. Dressy leisure wear?
If it fit me, I might wear this leather blazer, for sale on ebay, along with jeans and a nice shirt and boots. Unfortunately it’s a hair too small. Would it fit you? (Starting bid $9.25 American. Auction ends in just over five hours.)
I’m going to try to “play dress-up” and take some pictures some time today. In the meantime, how do people dress at your Thanksgiving festivities?
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Uniform Template for SAHM
Googling “SAHM Wardrobe Basics” brings people to this site on a regular basis. If you got here that way — welcome! Just know that what you are about to view is not a one-size-fits-all prescription, but a suggestion for a specific, real live person. Adapt to suit yourself.
The basic template:
- basic bottom (jeans, khakis, black slacks, or simple skirt)
- + tee-shirt in a flattering color (sleeve-length dependant on season, sweater for extreme cold)
- + layer as needed for warmth and dressing up/down.
How this works practically:
Running around the house, doing stuff with the kids, you are wearing your jeans and a tee-shirt topped with a sweatshirt if it’s cold. You have a Bible Study, parent/teacher conference, or some other such meeting to go to. Remove the sweatshirt, throw on your black wool blazer, and you arrive looking crisp and stylish. (I’ll let you in on a little secret, though. The blazer pictured is fleece, Gap Lightweight fleece blazer, and on sale for $49.95. Update (Jan 10th, 2007): these are still around in some stores, on clearance for much less now!)
What could be simpler?
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What To Do With Too-long Jeans
Don’t hate me because I’m average.
Three thoughts for when the inseam on your beloved jeans seems super-sized:
- Take a page from Maria Palma’s (metaphorical) book and tuck ‘em into boots.
- My personal fave, from The Pocket Stylist, by Kendall Farr, cut them off and let them fray.
- If you really want to hem them, Dacia Ray has this fabulous old post showing how.
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Fashion Lab: Jeans Tucked Into Boots
When I first noticed the practice of tucking jeans into knee-high boots being revived, I thought to myself, “I’ll just sit this one out”.
Until one day last week. Walking at noon with my husband, I happened to notice a lady on the other side of the street. Her boots were very like mine, and she looked quite normal wearing them with jeans tucked in. With the color value similarity of the dark jeans and brown boots, her legs looked like legs (not hams on pedestals, which was my fear).
The other thing I noticed was that her top was a light color, in contrast to the pant/boot combination.
“Ah ha!” Maybe that’s the trick.
So here you have it:
- What I actually wore today. Since I was the greeting mentor at our MOPS group, I wore my Eddie Bauer Seattle Suede jean jacket over my sweater.
- The look I am testing: dark jeans, tucked into knee-high boots, topped by a light colored top. I think it works!
- For the sake of comparison, the same look only with a dark brown top.
What do you think of jeans tucked into boots? What techniques have you successfully used?
