The Space Between My Peers

The main fashion take-away for my 18 year-old from our Italy trip? They didn’t wear many prints. She kept commenting on how much easier coordinating outfits would be if prints weren’t in the picture. (I told her with her idiom she’d be better off learning to mix prints and go for the trendy Dutch style we also saw.)

Do you wonder what place prints should occupy in your wardrobe?

• If you prefer solids, I noticed the Italians mixed textures and details into their ensembles, thereby keeping them from looking boring.
• A simple way to keep from having to mix prints: use them in only one part of the wardrobe, for example tops and blouses. Or suits and jackets. Or skirts and pants (my preference).
• Want to wear multiple prints? Pattern-mixing advice from “The Prince of Chintz”, famous interior designer Mario Buatta, via Sensational Color:

start with a biggest pattern first and then add all the other elements based off of the colors in the largest pattern chosen

This technique is illustrated in detail in a tutorial at Vintage Threads.

Are you a print person or a solid person? As the weather warms up I am drawn to more prints, but solids remain the backbone of my wardrobe.

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 I skipped posting for Teen-style Tuesday in order to spend time with my parents, who were in town to attend the annual Semi-Casual banquet (my older daughter was one of the special honorees this year).  Mom took this picture.

About my outfit:

• Mom bought me the safari style jacket for Christmas. 
• Same pants I wore last year. 
• Same shoes I wore the year before.

At the last minute, in order to more accurately repeat the contrast in my own coloring, thereby creating a more flattering ensemble, I selected the brown gingham check camp shirt. 

It’s also the humor in this outfit.  What’s so funny, you ask?  When I was small, back in the day when brown was the “in” color, my sister and I had gingham dresses.  Mine was brown.  Trouble was, I always thought that brown dress meant I was boring; which faulty thinking became known as the “brown dress syndrome”.  As an adult, though, I realized that my mom always liked brown, therefore choosing to dress me in it could not be bad. 

Wearing brown checks reminds me that I am way over the ”brown dress syndrome”, the whole thing was childish thinking in the first place.  What about you?  Have you uncovered any remnants of childish thinking in your own wardrobe choices? 

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I own a million pieces of turquoise jewelry, I love the stone. I however never know the type of clothing especially the tops to wear. My hair is ruby midnight with purple under tones. My eyes are dark blue and my skin naturally has a yellow undertone. When I changed my hair to this dark color friends and family said it looked beautiful on me and made my eyes really stand out. I figured this is the best place to ask this question because I read such great advise to the above question. Thank You to all of you who answered (Judi)

(Ruby midnight = rich auburn black)

My best advice is to wear solid tops in deep, intense colors: black, midnight or royal blue, purple. With dark blue eyes, blues - including turquoise - are natural.

I think what I’m suggesting is that the turquoise is naturally going to harmonize with and flatter your eye color, and a top in a dark color, when combined with the dark hair, will frame the face. It’s going to be a dramatic look!

Alternatively, turquoise is appearing in lots of great prints these days. Depending on your personal style idiom, either a funky kind of ethnic look or a more simply elegant backdrop seem natural to me with turquoise jewelry.

A third option with turquoise is to use its complement, which is orange or brown. White is my favorite hot-weather black substitute. And metallics always look elegant with turquoise.

Okay, readers, Judi was asking for your advice. What tops do you suggest with turquoise jewelry?

Just for fun, here’s some pictures of looks that might work:





Incidentally, while in Italy, we saw LOTS of cute metallic sporty shoes.

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Let’s start with the bad news:

• there’s been a death in the family (my hero’s grandfather).
• the trench doesn’t want to iron. I’m not giving up yet, but it’s not looking good (labeling says ‘do not iron, do not dry clean’). Suggestions?
• I have an abundance of work to do yet on my taxes, and some complications to work through.

The good news:

• $1 Monday at Value Village: I found a pair of black pants. For a ministry I’m involved in, I need black pants at least a half-dozen times per year. And now that I have decided on a black and white palette for spring black pants are more of a “must-have” for my wardrobe, as they are for many of the rest of you. These are Eddie Bauer, fit very nicely, and are super-soft cotton.
• my new glasses are done. That should help alot with the reading necessary to complete the “bad news” paperwork.
• I’m going to Portland Fashion Week in October. I’ll stay with my sister. Anybody else planning on being there?

Okay, and since I need to get back to work on all the myriad things I must do before leaving next week, I’ll close with a quote from denim designer Michelle Siwy:

I think with the way information is processed these days, trends are staying longer and overlapping, which is causing people to just be unique individuals because they are no longer afraid or intimidated to try.

Read the entire Coutorture interview here.

I completely agree. And this is absolutely good news.  Once upon a time there may have been a more defined fashion cycle, but now there is so much information available to everyone. Fashion heroes are less trendsetters than they are just those who have discovered what works for them (their idiom) and are willing to stick to it ruthlessly. I’m not there yet.

What about you? Is there a new look you are a little afraid to try? Alternatively, is there a saturated look to which you feel both drawn and repulsed?

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How many of you lovely ladies are consciously or unconsciously taking the advice of Tim Gunn and hunting out your own sweat suit alternative? Personally I’ve never been captivated by sweats, I suppose jeans and a sweater is my sweat suit alternative, but I was recently captivated by this, the crispest-looking active-wear outfit I have ever seen:

eddie bauer brushed fleece jacket and cargo pants

Incidentally, since, as you know, I have no TV, I was delighted to learn via Fashion Me Fabulous, who also posts the entire list of 10 items, this fabulous news:

For the fashion conscience without access to Bravo, you can watch episodes online at BravoTV.com

Now all I need to do is schedule myself a day off.

Update: Sadly, it appears I am too late. If the program ever comes back on, please drop me a line. Also, I am always looking for invitations to watch What Not to Wear.

Wearing sweats in public seems to be an emotionally-charged topic. What are your thoughts? Do you need an alternative?

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Vildy sent in the link to this fascinating article:

A dress code will be observed

Think you stand out in a crowd? Not according to a fascinating photographic exhibition

Elizabeth Day
Sunday February 17, 2008
The Observer

There is a scene in Monty Python’s Life of Brian where the eponymous hero addresses a vast crowd of devoted followers who have mistaken him for the Messiah. ‘You are all individuals,’ he shouts. ‘Yes,’ they reply with one voice. ‘We are all individuals.’ It is the sort of joke that delights Dutch photographer Ari Versluis, who has spent the last 14 years documenting the disconnection between our human desire to feel unique while also belonging to a greater whole. Since 1994, he and his stylist, Ellie Uyttenbroek, have travelled the world seeking to document the dress codes of different social and cultural groups. What they discovered was a series of modern fashion tribes - people who dress the same, often without even realising it.

clickable photo groups

http://www.exactitudes.com/

Personally, I was unable to find the “exact” group I would fit into amongst the pictured, which perhaps wouldn’t be represented there anyway if they hadn’t traveled to Spokane to take pictures. I’m positive I am subject to a dress code, the degree of “exactitude” with which the individual submits to it varies according to personality, etc.

For example, I am currently in the market for a new pair of glasses. Feeling immense pressure to conform and buy something like these,that is, horizontal, with heavy temples. They remind me of “Geordi things“. (When the ladies were very small and we still had TV, they used to flip their little plastic headbands down over their eyes … )

At any rate, this style is not for me.

If I should happen to mention to anyone that I don’t want whatever the current style is, they inevitably say “rimless” which is worse.  Rimless, or wire rims, just make my eyes disappear altogether.

What I really want:  something with a delicate-looking plastic rim and a larger field of vision.  Leave links if you have suggestions.

More on this to come. 

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What I would have worn to the opening performance of Little Mermaid last Friday night, had it been an option.

And then, if I had this dress, I would proceed to wear it to every possible function for the next - oh, I don’t know how many - years. Until it didn’t fit any more. After all, with a dress this awesome, who needs variety?

More gorgeously wearable plumness at Coutorture’s editorial, The Only Oscar We Care About. Or view the entire collection. Or read their New York Fashion Week Trend Recap (honestly, I just don’t have the visual stamina to do much on fashion week myself).

BTW, I’m seeing this purple everywhere, which I take as a good thing. It’s one of the only bright colors which actually looks decent on me. The fact that it looks good on but doesn’t fit my usual color scheme makes it a perfect candidate for a dress.

Update:  Or a swimsuit.  If you come across one, please leave a comment and let us know where you found it!

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The short answer is: it’s Biblical.

Often, as young people move towards finding their own personal style idiom, they either experiment or rebel. While rebellion can often be avoided (IMO most rebellion can be avoided by not forcing kids to wear polo shirts), I consider experimenting to be rather a normal part of this stage of life.

And experimenting can get into some androgynous looks: men wearing makeup, women with short hair, and so on. The dangers in these things are, as I see them:

1. people really not being able to tell if you are a boy or a girl.
2. portraying the wrong idea regarding your *interests*.

So, while I encourage experimenting to develop your own style, it seems best to take care to maintain your God-given gender identity.  In other words, make sure that it is obvious you are female.

Some thoughts:

1. Carry a purse.  (This works for all kinds of things - like being able to distinguish between the workers and the shoppers in a store.)
2. If your hair is short, wear girly earrings.  Or a scarf.
3. Buy girl fit shirts, rather than wearing men’s.

More suggestions?

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What do you do when the expert what to wear advice conflicts with itself? Like bootcut balancing hips and tapered lengthening legs and you have hips and short legs?

Allow me to suggest a few responses:

1. Stick to classics.
2. Pick whichever option is currently in style.
3. Throw on a pair of high heels. High heels fix everything.
4. Wear whatever you want, even if you know it looks ugly.

What conflicting advice do you run up against?

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A hands free umbrella? What would that be, something that sits on your head? In a word - yes!
Before I met him, my hero’s summer hat was a desert camouflage boonie hat; and this was before Desert Storm made them popular. Now we each have a different color pattern. An inexpensive and functional hat, they really do keep the rain off both glasses and neck. Mine is solid green.

Now, in time for the recent barn party, I got my winter version - a wool felt crushable cowboy hat. In true chicken and egg style, I’m not certain which came first, though, reading Hats Decoded at StyleBites, pointing out that wide brim is the hat shape for me, or my hero trying on cowboy hats at the western store where we buy his jeans, causing me to notice that they were wool.

In any case, after deciding that I was just going to get a wool cowboy hat and wear it with a silk scarf under, I found this one which features a serendipitous bonus: EAR FLAPS! Who would have thought? They work!

Now, your assignment, if you choose to accept it:  read the post at StyleBites and come back and tell me if you can identify a workable hat shape for yourself.  I’m stoked!  No more buying a $10 hat each winter, only to revert to cotton balls when the laughter and mocking becomes unbearable!

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