Originally, I was going to dig up a video of an old "Underalls" ad for this post. Not because I ever owned a pair, but because it all seems so esoteric now. However, it is Friday.
This thing called love I just can't handle it This thing called love I must get round to it I ain't ready Crazy little thing called love
What I was looking for was simple: a pair of tights, or stockings, with a cotton top and nylon legs. Is it so difficult? I like cotton tights, but the weather has changed; the ones I have feel too heavy now. And I loathe anything pantyhose-shaped that's all nylon.
Aha! I have one of these on order. Not only a cotton top, but also cotton toes. Seems quite useful...only comes in black though.
I know this style is old school, but a navy blue dress with a conservative-ish print...anywhere from knee to calf length, with anything from no sleeves, to 3/4 sleeves...is actually quite useful. Even better if it doesn't require ironing. The fabric should be lightweight, but not flimsy.
I'm beginning to think this:
...is better than this:
I love the idea of a stretchy camisole that stays up at the neck, and stays down at the hem...but the original camisole just seems like so much fabric. If only they made a regular-length "ShamWow of camisoles" camisole.
And, the short version comes in only black or white. The long cami boasts 46 colors, for crying in a bucket.
I realize I've never gotten around to linking to other fashion blogs.
Partly because I don't see my blog as a fashion blog. I'm too lazy to take those nifty outfit-a-day pics, I don't bother listing where I got anything; in fact I post things I never got anyway. Moreover, this used to function as more of a beauty blog, and, before that, a personal meaningless blog. I've been blogging since the late 1990's iirc. This won't remain a fashion blog.
And partly it's too much work to do much else with this blog beyond porting it from its current, soon-to-be-deprecated FTP format.
But I do read other fashion blogs. In fact I've been a bit amazed at how many of them there are now...good ones.
I started out reading Fashion for Nerds, for obvious reasons (pretty sure I googled "fashion for nerds"). :)
From there, I began to follow academichic, which features a team of "Three feminist PhD candidates at a Midwest university, on a crusade against the ill-fitting polyester suit of academic yore."
Ah...that's it. I've been slowly trying the links on Fashion For Nerds' sidebar.
I read J.Crew blogs, but not religiously (I don't shop 'Crew enough to do so). They're incredibly useful, given how many 'Crew items are offered only online or in catalogs, and for the 'Crew Final Sale.
The above J.Crew Jackie Shell is on my wishlist. I have the Jackie cardigan:
At first I'd the notion of doing the twinset thing, but a twinset is kind of useless for my purposes. A nice idea, but far more striking when done in an unusual color, so the perfect match of the two pieces jumps out at you.
My Jackie cardigan is in the "Pearl" color pictured...it's next to the ideal item for our San Francisco Bay Area climate, once we shed the current chill and launch into what we call spring and summer. Typically the day begins cold...even in summer, I wear a leather jacket in the morning. Soon enough it morphs into something almost sweating hot, but then I work in an air-conditioned building where you can't open a window. A cardigan is necessary, but the psychological coolness of an off-white layer, preferably with 3/4 or bracelet sleeves, means hardly ever having to "put on and take off."
However, a Pearl twinset just doesn't seem thrilling enough to warrant the purchase of the shell. How it ended up on my wishlist is it looks terribly useful in its own right. An off-white shell (like the cardigan, less headache than white-white) would coordinate with just about any skirt, pants, cardigan or jacket. Wouldn't need ironing, isn't low-cut nor sheer, just wash and hang to dry.
The sole annoying factor: the shells aren't available in stores, which makes no logical sense. Wouldn't they sell more shells, were they stocked alongside the matching cardigans? (I'm not even sure what size to get, plus there's the morbid shipping charge.)
I'm...still working on the basics. It's just that the basics, for women, tend to be complicated.
Take your strapless bra. If you're built small, it may have never been a big deal. You get a bra with the silicone squiggles inside, and call it a day.
If support is a greater issue, there is nothing more intimidating than straplessness. You're thinking, if I bend over, is this thing going to pop? Or will it gradually slide down into a state of non-existence?
Yet, logic dictates that a good strapless should work as well as a regular bra. The dynamics are a bit different: you'd need a tighter band, along with the silicone squiggles. The band should not be too narrow. The one I'm contemplating (above) has two rows of hooks; three would be ideal, probably, but I'll settle for two if the rest of it works as well as they say.
The cup size has to be big enough...I read somewhere to go down one band size and up one cup size. Which actually should not be necessary, as the strapless manufacturer should adjust the sizes accordingly...I'm just saying.
This model features removable straps, so you can also do wide-set, racerback, or halter straps.
Happy Saturday!
posted by Colleen Shirazi
2010-03-13
at 9:00 PM (Pacific)
International Women's Day - Iranian Embassy - Ottawa, Canada March 8th 2010 (Pt. 1)
I got the skirt.
Mmmmm...even nicer than in the pic. I'd envisioned it as a "slap it on, it's Friday" thing, but it's actually formal enough to wear during the week.
The fabric is thicker than it appears; it's rayon but feels more like a fairly substantial cotton knit. The side "ruffle" is comprised of two pieces of cloth sewn together, engineered to fall as if it were a ruffle. The skirt is lined, with two pockets...and even the sides are interesting. The fabric is not lined up to match perfectly, but it doesn't have to be, because the pattern flows as if the sides were in fact lined up. In real life, the print is even more sprightly, as if some mad artist had scrawled it in a fit of passion.
Because the skirt is not flared (nor is it tight), you could conceivably cover the top part of it with a cardigan or pullover sweater, if you wanted a subtler effect.
All in all...sweet.
This is so cute!
Like the J. Crew Black Blossom Nico Skirt--based on the image alone, not something I'd normally consider. But, in person, the deep blue version of this is to die for.
The other colors...the pinky-red one was cheesy-looking, like bad lingerie. The lime green and orange versions...hm...not bad, particularly the orange. But the blue was dead-on; looked truly vintage, what with the antiqued lace and deep blue crinkly-ish silk. It reminded me of a vintage silk bed jacket I had when I was a teenager.
Why so many wardrobe posts? It is finite, you know. Once you have developed a skill, you move on.
In the meantime...
Ever wish you were twenty-two again? I can admit I don't, most of the time. It would be the ideal age for this jaunty heart-printed skirt. But when you're actually twenty-two, you don't have the money to spend on frivolity.
Likewise...this dress is printed with little colored horses. Yup, horses. Way pretty, but again, a tad too youthful for me.
I wonder if this thing works? It's touted as the ShamWow of camisoles (sorry, I seem to have ShamWow on my mind lately)--one size fits size 0 to 24. Supposedly it won't creep down, nor will it ride up. But...is it shapewear? Shapewear is 21st-century for "girdle"? Hm. I'd like to find out.
I couldn't resist this skirt. It's not the same as the stripes:
...nor the graph-paper print I've been turning over in my mind. Yet there is something graphical about it...and it's relatively long (20"). The sole concern I have is, it's rayon, which might be prone to wrinkles. But it couldn't be worse than linen, right? I have a linen skirt I love. It tends to get squashed, and I don't care.
When I embarked upon this working-wardrobe journey, I wasn't planning on buying a lot of skirts. Old school thought revolves around suits or dresses...but then this is based on the notion that working women are either executives (suits) or secretaries (dresses). Either you have a secretary, or you are a secretary.
I've found skirts more versatile than either. The same skirt can keep going, with any number of blouses, cardigans, pullovers, even a nice tee shirt; shoes or boots, stockings or tights. A good skirt can sort of span the seasons. I don't buy trendy skirts such as bubble or maxi, or anything I wouldn't want to wear five years from now (okay, I'm cheap).
I can admit I've been a bit mesmerized by the J.Crew website. It's not that the clothes are...different, in the obvious sense. They're not; in fact they're formulaic, classical if you will. They offer virtually the same clothes year after year.
What's eye-popping is, you'll be tooling along on the site, wondering just how many tissue tanks it is humanly possible to create, or cursing the 'Crew for not producing more non-dryclean items, then you'll suddenly bump into this:
Hold the phone! I don't mean the skirt (which is gorgeous). What the heck is she wearing, if it's not little socks and sensible oxfords? with this smashing silk skirt and office-friendly white top?
I love you, J.Crew! erm...it's not that I want to wear little socks, it's the idea of pushing the envelope.
I got this when they were marked down, in "Pale Blossom."
Hermmm...this shirt reminds me of a guy you like, who isn't particularly wealthy, not widely regarded as hunky, yet there's something about him that drives you crazy.
I mean it's not a great shirt by objective standards. 'Crew ditched the raw edge in the neckline, but the seams are not fabulously finished; the material is sheer-ish (not to the point you'd need a camisole). The neckline dips a bit too much in front for a boatneck, is a bit too wide to truly cover bra straps. You don't get straps in your face, just a slight edge either side. It strikes me you'd need a specific shoulder size to pull this off; small or wide shoulders might not work. And it's a bit tight on the bust.
Still, I couldn't wait to wear it. It's hardly a winter top, not the kind of material I'd normally wear to work...but, it's great. It's just right. Pale Blossom is a lovely very pale pink. Were the shirt a more substantial cotton, it probably wouldn't work...it's the sheerness (again without being horribly sheer), the sublime color and boatneck that all add up to "more than a tee."
Try a microfiber waffleweave towel < hair-dries-faster > 02/24 13:59:25
because it absorbs so much moisture before you start to dry
Yes sham wow or the car shamies < 1stchicagostyle > 02/24 19:35:45
work well
...
These posts were in reference to a question about hairdryer performance...but it's something I've wanted to try for quite some time. You get one of those super-absorbent Sham Wow-type towels and use it to dry your hair in the morning (I don't like to blow-dry).
I realize I wrote something a bit stodgy the other day: Odds and sods, part 6, to the effect that long skirts are aging. I don't think long skirts are aging, but I am cautious about buying them...because it's easier for them to go wrong. They can be done well, like everything else.
Spring is...actually not here. Yet it's important to pull yourself out of any wintery slump.
J.Crew marked these down (for a magnanimous three days), so I decided to try it out. Not in the above shade--though tempting, I already have a cardigan in that exact lilac. A neutral boatneck would be more useful to me.
I 86'd the notion of trying LL Bean's boatneck (too casual) or Sunhee Moon's (sold out). A good boatneck is oddly uncommon. Oh well, let's see if the J.Crack version is all it's, ah, cracked up to be.
Once you delve into the sheer, something like this is essential. I was glad to spot a camisole with lace on it, and not some dreary miniscule edge o' lace. Here they've even nicely matched up the lace in the center. The only fuddling aspect is why they don't have cream or nude...yet, who cares, "nude" can mean more than your standard creamy brown. The light grey one would do it; the idea is any colorless color, softly blending rather than standing out.
This skirt is not going to be here until March. It looks ordinary--on me, it's not going to be that short, more a knee length (always check the measurements)--it sorta looks like a sewing project, the kind of thing you'd make if you weren't totally lame with a sewing machine.
Yet it seems ideal for what I want. Much as I like the idea of long skirts, I find them aging, on someone who's actually aging (they seem more youthful on the young). A miniskirt is aging as well, again unless you are young. Mid-length works best.
And, it's difficult finding prints that don't cost a fortune...I'm not against that, actually, makes better sense than mediocre prints...here I want a print that doesn't register as a print. If I could find something that looks like graph paper, so much the better, but stripes will do it.
The moment of truth for any shampoo whore, I would suppose, lies within repurchase of same (the shampoo, not the whore). Is that shampoo really all that?
I've found Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose handiest for a.) the several days after processing hair (I color mine), and b.) great to mix with other shampoos. I'm not scientific about that, just mix a dash into some other shampoo to make it more moisturizing. If you have dry hair, it's likely best used straight.
Blue Camomile is utilitarian, the "Flex" shampoo of the modern age.
I'm going to try their Primrose and Lavender shampoo as a possible replacement for Dr. Hauschka Nasturtium and Lemon shampoo. Sorry, Hauschka! As ideal as Nasturtium and... is for itchy scalp, it is now $20 for 8 oz. If Primrose and... flies, it'll be at a quarter of the cost.
Yup, I checked this out on our glorious three-day weekend. In the images, it appears tiny, not something I'd normally even consider. But my daughter spotted it, and liked it, so naturally I had to at least try it on.
By now, I've acquired several solid-colored skirts; they're by far more useful than prints, but then I have solid-colored tops...after a while, you really want a patterned skirt. "Black Blossom" doesn't seem too camouflage-y to me, but rather a handy combination of black and brown, neutral enough so the skirt doesn't wear you, and sure to coordinate with just about anything.
They didn't have the full range of sizes in the shop, so I grabbed the biggest mid-range size, and the biggest skirt altogether (you know, the lone one at the back of the rack). I figured a.) I'm not 5'10"+ like the model, and b.) the trick would be to get a big skirt. The "model height factor" adds two or three inches in length for me, and the large size places the waistband lower, lengthening another two to three inches.
Altogether, this falls six inches longer on me than in the picture. It's shorter than any other skirt in my collection, but not what I'd call a mini.
By the way, I appreciate the side pockets in this thing; they're unobtrusive, but a nice touch.
March 3, 2010: Edited to add: I decided to shrink this some in the dryer (it really was too big). It shrinks about one size that way. It got a bit shorter (still not a mini) and less belled-out, which is what I was after.
