Inspired Wearing

Since the second grade I've approached dressing thematically. I would wake up and think "today I want to be pretty" and put on my twirliest dress, with a slip, tights, matching hair accoutrement and let's not forget the clicking shoes! (Did anyone else beg Mom for shoes that made the loudest click-clack?) Then the next day would be totally different, perhaps "funky." I would conjure my inner Punky Brewster and bust out the acid wash skit, blue shirt & yellow suspenders. I LOVE that my mom supplied me with such ensembles. I could always tell the 'new outfit' shaped boxes under the Christmas tree and ignored the groans and eye rolls of my family as I absconded to try on outfit number 4. What a lucky, lucky girl I was! Stretch pants, vests, feather hair clips, tights, hot pink spandex, jeans patched with leather... these clothes would make today's hipster swoon, I swear.

Obviously, the outer shell has been a concern my entire life. On numerous occasions, my little eight or nine year old mind even considered making a chart to keep from wearing the same outfit more than once a month. I often wonder if this kind of vanity is a weakness and grapple with whether to admit that or not. It can often take me a really long time to get dressed. It's SO important and what if I just don't know what to wear that day!? I wish I could roll out of bed and put on the first shirt I touch... but I just can't. We're taught that it's the inner beauty that counts, which I get and am cool with, but that's not my problem. I can wear messy clothes with holes that are baggy, unflattering, mis-matching, what have you... I just have to decide to and make a "look" out of it. (I'm somewhat comforted by the fact that there are people, stylists, who do this as a career!) It's not like I'm some high fashion slave who needs the next BIG thing. I know my worth as a human being has nothing to do with what I decide to wear, I just need to feel like myself.

Some days this is easier said than done, depending on how much breakfast I've had ( I'm a terrible dresser when I'm hungry) and what my closet is filled with. If I haven't done laundry... it's gets harder. I start to pull out rarely worn items, and then feel weird all day.

One of my resolutions for this new year is to get rid of clothes that don't fit, don't feel right, or aren't unique enough. Life is too short to wear a boring collar, I think, for me at least. I'm so excited for this one, I can't even wait for 2009 to start! The other day I tossed some undies that were too small, then later, a pair that was too big . From now on, if some article of clothing bugs me... I'm getting rid of it or making it better somehow.

Inspired by my friend Cal's crochet tutorials and mission to wear something handmade everyday, I decided to do my first fix up job. Now, it's just and old JCrew 'normal' sweater I've had it since I moved to NY in 2003. Despite it's being super warm and functional, it's not really that cute. Yet, I still find myself wearing it again and again all winter and it never feels quite right.





The answer to your question is..... "Yes"
I did just cut some new "Lego Bangs."

As for your other question, Yes.
I am aware that my room is one doily away from a the "Granny Chachka Museum" award.
Thanks for noticing. It's been hard work.

I survived Renegade 2008!

Someone make the tee shirt already! I survived Renegade 2008!

Scheduling a craft fair in a drained pool is an awesome idea...until... the thunderstorms come and the pool fills up to your ankles! Well, that might be an exaggeration but not for my corner at least. I'm telling you, by the end of the first day, the Brooklyn Renegade Craft Fair had turned into one of the most fashionable wet tee shirt contests imaginable. Picture it, insanely cute gals in their summer frocks and high waisted shorts bearded boys in their shortest shorts, all running around soaked to the bone. I'm just saying, nothing like giant rain storms to bring people *ahem* together! My friend Anne told about how she and a bunch of kids gathered in the small, drizzle free entrance to wait it out, when all of a sudden one dude says, "Ok... townspeople!" and he spontaneously inspires them all to play Mafia. Way to make lemonade, Mr. and by the way, are you single?

But we survived! All and all, it was a blast! I made new friends and found some sweet new things, which I'll post soon.

Our booth on Saturday before the rain:




The cute kids across the way weren't scared by a little rain, they set up camp like pros!

Love the rolled up jeans and sneaks on dudes, btw...

The rain begins and NEVER ends!!

Slightly freezing...

The next day was a little less rainy. We decided to condense to one table, just in case it rained again. I think it made things cuter! There were many reactions to my Fathers Day sign... the most common being "oh crap! I forgot to call my dad!" Followed by immediate dialing.



I made this tie last minute Sunday morning and it sold right away. I'm glad I grabbed a shot of it. More cattails on the way I think.

Laundry Day

For me laundry-day often also means clean-out-my-drawers-and-closet-day which pretty much morphs into crazy-outfits-day as I try to decide if I want to really keep that dress I haven't worn in two years, that funny beach hat or the tall boots I just bought on a whim kind of hurt my toes a bit. Does this happen to anyone else??

Usually, I reach a point in this process where I'm happy to part with old clothes or more accurately, put them in a bag to take to Salvation Army sometime in the next six months. And sometimes I come up with new outfits which may or may not work for all occasions.

The one on the right is a perfect example. I got the dress part at century 21 and while cute, the top kinda hangs open, requiring some sort of extra coverage underneath. It's also Britney Spears short. So I was breaking in the new boots, slipped on the dress to see if I should even keep it and spotted the little vintage corset top I just got a Treehouse last weekend. I wondered how it would look on top. It certainly takes care of the 'extra coverage' part and looks a little cute, right?

Now that the weather's starting to hint at Fall, it seemed as good a time as any to pull out those skinny jeans. The only problem is, my skinny jeans are a little more skinny than my legs seem to be right now. I remember my mom telling stories about how she and her girlfriends in college would sit in their jeans in the tub to make them fit. I wasn't quite ready to do that just yet, mostly because I didn't want to have to walk around in drippy britches. I did, however, give my legs a good squirt down with the spray bottle and then did a bunch of stretching. I also tried this with my pink fredflare shoes, that are a bit too tight. I figured, "Why not while I'm at it?"