Funny that on this blog about my creative life I've never really written about clothes. After all, the main creative thing I do each and every day is get dressed. Chris likes to tease me about how long it takes for me to get out of the house, but over the years I've become pretty good at defending myself: it's not vanity, or craziness, that motivates the endless changes and readjustments -- it's creativity! I tell him, "I have to feel like ME." And unlike him, in his man-uniform of t-shirts and jeans or dickies, me is an unpredictable styling client. What works one day might feel uncomfortable and wrong the next. I have to find that sweet spot - a balance between aesthetics and attitude, between color and shape. In that way it's a lot like painting. I think I've shyed away from talking wardrobe here because A) doing so involves taking pictures of oneself and that's more than a little daunting and B) there are so many fabulous fashion blogs out there, and my wallet just can't support attempting to be in that league! My best friend I and used to fantasize in college about having tons of money, how one of the main things we'd do with it would be to dress so well. Which is still a seductive thought... it'd be all Isabel Marant, Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, Lanvin and Rodarte for me, all the time. But I've kinda gotten over the dream. Most days, between thrifting, clothing swaps, my grandma's old vintage stuff (she was amazing) and the under $20 rack at Anthropologie, I total out at about 15 bucks spent per outfit, and that's something I'm pretty proud of, you know? I'd rather spend our limited funds right now on birthday presents or date nights out or... groceries! But I see no reason to allow the lack of access to Fashion to get in the way of having style. I love throwing things together and I love the on-a-shoestring quest to express myself. So, I'm thinking I'll try posting some outfit pics once and a while here. Represent that side of my creativity. Maybe up my game a bit.
Yesterday, to run back-to-school errands with my girls, I wore:
pale pink cardi: gifted a million years ago from my aunt, black silk camisole: vintage from my grandma's closet, gray jeans: Anthropologie sale, silver feather earrings: hand-me-downs from my mom, bracelets: grandma, gifted, Express (circa 2001), and DIY friendships by moi.
worn with studded blue flats: Kohl's.
And then today, to take the kids to the dentist:
green tee: Gap sale, blue skirt: thrifted, brown suede belt: vintage hand-me-down from my mom, wedges: thrifted, earrings: Indigo boutique (gift certificate, thank you nursery school auction), bracelets: see above, leather cuff: my brother's 16-year old girlfriend didn't want it anymore. I'm shameless ;)
(btw blue duct tape on the bottom of your shoes may not look cute, but it is a sure-fire way to keep from slipping!)
So there you go, my first foray into outfit posts. Of course, both days I ended up in cut-offs and flip flops, covered in paint, but that's good too...
Mural update coming soon. Can't believe summer's almost over. Sigh.
xoxo, Alison
