What is Your Level of Fashionability?
MS:USE explores the area of clothing USE to see how we could change our user behaviour towards a more environmentally responsible alternative.
Mel at Footpath Zeitgeist describes a paper by New Zealand based Miriam Silvester of MS:USE:
Silvester sketched a useful model of clothing rhythms (the speed at which garments are replaced) and what she called “fashion levels” (the degree to which people respond to trends). People with low levels of fashionability, who buy purely for utility, and those with high fashionability, who can make current trends work with the minimum of new purchases, both have sustainable consuming practices. It’s those with medium fashionability who are the worst consumers, because they buy and quickly discard garments in order to stay ‘in fashion’. (And, I’d add, the pre-distressed garments are largely targeted to this segment.)
I find this topic fascinating! (Found the post quite a while ago, via Final Fashion.) Here’s a riveting question: is consumerism a moral issue?
Make it personal: to what level of fashionability to you aspire?
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The Mess in My Mind is the Pantscape
Yes, I realize that is not a Google-friendly title. How about 2007 Trouser Trends?
For the past few years, fashion in pant silhouette has felt positively dictatorial. Thou shalt wear boot cuts! While the innovators have clearly moved on, many dear ladies just bought their first pair within the past year. (A clean-lined boot-cut, safely called a classic, should remain wearable for a long time.)
Do you remember when skirt lengths were dictated by fashion? I do. In the ’80s if your skirt was below your knee, you were really out of it.
But we have a new freedom now in skirt lengths. Is it true that women will just not stand for being dictated to any longer? If so, is that same kind of freedom and variety emerging in trouser silhouettes?
I am thinking so.
Wide legs from Temperley, Fall 2007. A great look for many, especially those body types who add weight in the thighs.
Skinnies from Rag and Bone, Fall 2007. Work for both the slender and those who gain weight in the bust.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict the return of pantsuits. (I bought one last week, $20 at the thrift store. It’s charcoal gray wool, classic hip-length blazer and wide-ish trousers.)Badgley Mischka Fall 2007 pantsuit pictured.
All photos via Coutorture, courtesy of ShopStyle
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Lessons From Fall Fashion Week: Asymmetry
I’m telling you, the Armani thing scared me! Some of the suits were lovely, but how wearable is something with only one (long) sleeve?
Try this fun project: take a picture of your face and split it in half vertically. Mirror image each half of your face to complete the picture. In other words, make a face that is just what the left side of your face looks like, and another one that is just your right. How different do they look?
Who wears asymmetry:
a) One who is going for a high fashion, high drama look.
Yigal Azrouel
b) One with a greater than usual degree of physical asymmetry.
Twinkle
Or
c) The fashion victim. Aka foo.
For those of us with a somewhat classic style and fairly regular features, the risk of looking like we’ve been had is just too great. Other than possibly evening wear, how about we just sit this one out?
Photos via Coutorture, courtesy of ShopStyle.
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A Truly “Hack” Fashion Lab
And now, the moment a few of you have been waiting for: my hack fashion lab!
Ever since last year, when I cut off my capris to make board shorts, I’ve been thinking about just cutting stuff off. After all, there’s all kinds of stuff in the stores that’s got unfinished edges or frayed finishes. I even did one project (this summer dress, cut off and worn over a white shirt), but I never had the guts to even show it to anyone (now that I did, it is no longer in my closet. You guessed it! A darling daughter.:)
This is the perfect way to redeem all those really cute, but too short, summer dresses abundantly available at your local thrift store.
And this other outfit I really am going to wear. Tomorrow. Inspired by the short sleeve jacket pictured at youlookfab, recent talk about mixing soft red and asparagus green, and Valentine’s Day, today I took my scissors to this thrift score corduroy jacket.
Now, I am too lazy to probably ever do this, but my daughter has perfected the process for doing a nice fringe. Her technique:
- cut it off taking care to leave enough length to work with.
- pull out the horizontal threads to the chosen spot for the fringe to begin.
- measure the fringe and trim all the way around.
- put a little stitch along the edge (I forget what that stitch is called - the one you use to hem).
Voila!
What do you think?
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Good News for Apparel Retailers, Bad News For Couples
Who are these people?
Women on average say they would be willing to give up sex for 15 months for a closet full of new apparel.
They cannot possibly be married.
The survey, which was not scientific and was conducted online, also suggested that clothes often wear better than relationships. FoxNews.com.
Is this more funny or sad?
Many thanks to Blest with sons, who sent me the link, and whose handmade jewelry, available on her site, would make a fine Valentine’s Day gift. Unless you are inclined to buy CLOTHES, which seems like it might just be the way husbands should go, considering the aforementioned article.
Or you could buy these:
(From Red Envelope, romantic fortune cookies. Click picture to buy.)
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Test: Alice Ritter Fall Fashion Week
Your test: find something less than perfect in this image. Leave in comments.
I would so wear this. And so would my casually elegant daughter.
Thanks to Coutorture and ShopStyle for providing Fashion Week photos.
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Coming This Week: Fashion Hacks
When I say “hack”, I mean hack. I mean take your scissors out and cut it off. Let it fray.
This week’s Friday Fashion Lab will feature some of my own hack projects. Anybody else want to play?
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Month of Sundays: February 2007
Clearly I should have had this up sooner, but at least the pictures were taken last night. Knowing what I am going to wear to church before Sunday morning is the goal. I met it. But I didn’t wear exactly any of these combinations.
Working in the nursery creates a challenge I have mentioned before briefly here and there. Mainly that I like to sit on the floor with the little ones. And I don’t feel so lady-like doing it in a dress.
And the second challenge: washability. Dry-clean wool trousers will not do. No, usually in the Winter it’s jeans. And I take my shoes off.
The third challenge: the heat. It’s nearly always too hot. So my strip-down-to layer must be at most mid-weight cotton. My upper layer must come off without going over the head.
Outfit #1
I know this looks a little scruffy, but it works with my idiom. This long-sleeve cotton sweater I picked up this week for 48 cents at the thrift store! Today what I actually wore was this sweater with the suede blazer.
Note the shoes. Two things:
- If you are comfortable doing so, feel free to wear your pants all the way to the floor.
- Shoes right now can be an accent color totally unrelated to the rest of your outfit. Of course, it must still look good. I call these “the asparagus shoes”. You will certainly see them more this Spring.
Outfit #2
In the picture this looks really dark, but I will certainly wear this combination sometime, to something. It fits nicely and looks sharply classic, without being boring.
I was thinking Valentine’s Day a little when I put these outfits together.
Outfit #3
My attempt to illustrate Jennifer’s advice, back here.
Here’s a couple ways to get rid of the schoolgirl look:
1. Put a cami under the white shirt.
2. Fold the sweater sleeves back to above-elbow length and wear the shirt sleeves long & buttoned.
BTW, who looks good in these humongous belts?
There was an outfit #4, but I didn’t really like it. Be honest, which of these is your favorite?
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Judging By The Cover
In light of her recent weight loss, blest with sons brings an excellent post regarding the reality of judging one another on the basis of appearance.
To prove to you that you really must go over and read the entire post, I’ll quote a snippet. Okay, a whole story:
I remember once when my husband was deployed. My best friend and I were thinking of going out to dinner with the boys after a lovely day spent at my house scrapbooking. We were both in sweats and I told her I had to change before we went out. “How come you get to change when I don’t?†she asked. And I explained: “Julie, you are thin. If you go out in a sweat suit, you still look good. People will assume you just went for a run. If I go out in a sweat suit, I look like a slob and people will assume I’m too slack to bother getting dressed.â€
Now recently, in the comments here, Jenn said:
I think I tend to dress as who I WANT to be, if you can understand that. I want to be perceived a bit more as urban and arty, but live in a rural area, so I can do that by wearing things that are a little more contemporary-it makes me feel more chic and not so much like a frumpy stay at home mom.
Yes, I totally understand. I want to be blest’s mom:
My mom taught me early on to dress the way I wanted to be judged. For example, if you want the doctor to take you seriously when you go for visits, she said, don’t dress the part of frumpy, frazzled mommy. Dress the part of clean, crisp professional. She learned that lesson in numerous conferences with teachers and principals. When she showed up in jeans and a t-shirt, she wasn’t taken seriously. When she arrived in her tailored suits and heels, with her head held high, she ruled.
What about you? Are you sending the message you want to?
For me, there’s still room for improvement. I’m normally viewed as being organized, crisp and professional if you will, but my fashion authority leaves something to be desired.
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Mixed Up Fashion Lab: Summer Twinset
I promised a Fashion Lab in which I attempt to create new combinations suitable for Spring wearing out of pieces that are normally only worn in one way … drumroll, please … the twinset. After all, Spring is my most challenging season wardrobe-wise.
I like all of these except this last one. But, in reality, I just don’t like the ruffled shirt. I’ll tell you what, first person to ask for it gets it. To qualify, you must have left a comment on the new blog. Oh, and I’ll need a little it of money to cover shipping. Say $5?
Usually when people talk about splitting up sets, they are talking about suits. Either way, it’s important to remember to always clean them together.
Did this mixed-up project give you any ideas?
