last hurrah

My 30’s went out with a bang (and a bunch of wigs).  I feel truly celebrated.

And on that note, I am going to pause on this lovely clothing blog.  I’ve enjoyed the challenge of thinking of new ways to share my thoughts.  I like clothes so it was easy and fun to do.  I want to keep writing in some way, but no longer in this fashion (pun!).

There is plenty still to discuss.  I have my path of reducing my closet down to 33 items (spoiler alert… it will never happen).  I just learned about a thing called a “scuba skirt.”  Have I talked about my excessive cadre of leg warmers? My hatred of fur vests?  This skirt that I am planning to make from an old dress?  Have I shared with you my opinion on what it means to dress professional and why integrity should be more important than putting yourself in tight, strange clothing in order to “dress to impress”?

A big hug out to Katie and Beth who originally started this blog and then asked to have me join.  Unfortunately, their wonderful contributions trickled down as my inspirations kept going. 

Thank you readers for checking me out (literally and figuratively) over these years.  I feel that I have accomplished something.  We now all agree that black does not belong with navy blue, that white socks are rarely a good idea and that patterns can be amazing.  And, it made it worth all my effort when a friend told me that I inspired her to think twice about what she was wearing.  She changed into something more colorful.  I consider that a win.

 

thinking

Everyday has been different but in the long run they have been the same.

How do you set aside energy and time to make progress in your life?  Are you able to look back at your birthday to reflect back over the previous year and say “I did this.” 

Perhaps you have to think small.  I still fit in the majority of my clothes.  I am healthy and generally happy.  I’ve learned how to make pancakes from scratch.  I am creative enough to make crafty things.  I can climb harder than before and hit a softball over the shortstop’s head.  I have great friends.  I still care about what I wear.

(This is a fun gray/black blazer from H&M that I got for cheap.  It has a weird roundish 80’s shape and it perfect for office life where it is always cold.)

WIP

I am a Work In Progress.

 

I believe I succeeded in reducing my closet by half.  I did not, however, put much thought into what goes with what.  I would have to be much more strategic (less fun) in order to again reduce my closet by half.  But I am proud that my shoes are only in one layer on their shelf now.

 

Count: ~75 clothing, scarf and shoe items
Status: mildly happy, but not deeply challenged
Curious: if I reduce my clothing options, will I have less clothing topics to write about?

keep it simple, stupid

I recently caught wind of an idea that has been around for a handful of years – you VOLUNTARILY pare down your closet to only 33 pieces of clothing/jewelry/bags/shoes for 3 months.  The idea is that by simplifying your closet, you find space for happiness and you fine tune your “look” and approach to fashion.  Part of me is aghast and yet strangely interested in the concept.  If you google “33 pieces of clothing” you get great blog entries but I suggest first reading the article from the woman who started it, Courtney Carver: http://bemorewithless.com/minimalist-fashion-projects/

Here are the basic rules:

What: 33 items including clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear and shoes.

What not: these items are not counted as part of the 33 items – wedding ring, underwear, sleep, in-home lounge wear, and workout clothing (you can only wear your workout clothing to workout)

The idea is to make a seasonal wardrobe and box up clothes that you want to keep but are planning not to wear during the next three months.  Part of the process is being honest and ruthless.  Get rid of clothes that do not fit and that you do not wear often.  Then, after the 3 months, you switch out items to better fit the weather as well as rotate things in and out. 

What kind of work would I have to do?  A quick count has me over 150 pieces of clothing/scarves/purses/shoes that are currently in my closet and drawers (and note that this does not count the winter clothes packed away under the bed).  I think I could reasonably get down to about 75-50 pieces for the summer.  The extra challenge would be to find space to put the clothes that I want to keep but that did not make the cut.  In a small house my closet IS the place where I am able to store clothing. 

Over the next few weeks, I am going to try to reduce my summer closet to about half of the size that it currently is (as stated above, to about 75-50 items).  I will start with making piles of give-away, keep-but-put-away, and keepers.  I will include shoes and scarves but I am still on the fence whether to include jackets and bags and jewelry.  And, to make it less troubling, once I get the reduced closet, I am going to try for only 1 month.  I will re-evaluate at the end of June to see what I think.  Then, I may tighten up and try to reduce again for a month.  Baby steps are the only way this is going to get done. 

Is cheating likely?  Yes.  I really really like variety in my clothes and wearing similar outfits week to week has me bored just thinking about it.  So, it will be interesting to see how this experiment goes. 

But I do know that these guys are making the cut.

 

thrift

Recycled (soul)

And trying to build karma (for the next life)

to infinity and beyond

Infinity scarves are everywhere and with good reason – they are cute.  I converted a normal fringed scarf to an infinity scarf with a quick line of sewing and trimming off the extra bits.  Happy with the result. 

I do think about the naming of this type of scarf.  Infinity  or circle scarf- just a scarf that has no beginning and no end.  It could have easily been called a donut.  Or an universe scarf.  Or time.

tubed

Until recently, I only had a metal tube bead.  Now I have a necklace.

(I had purchased it months ago.  See: http://practicalandperfect.blogspot.com/2013/12/beads.html)

I realized that if I deconstructed a chain necklace with a needle-nose pliers, I could actually put the tube on the chain.  Look at me.  Thinking.

reunited and it feels so good

Twice a year I have a fun project where I change about a third of my closet.  And by fun I really do mean fun.  In spring, I put away my bulky sweaters, turtlenecks and warm scarves, and out come the skirts, shorts and sun dresses.  Good-bye boots and hello sandals.  I use a few under-the-bed-storage boxes that are each filled to the brim. 

I have a tiny closet but I think I would have this seasonal migration even if I had a larger closet.  There is something good about storing away items that you are kind of tired of and being reunited with favorites that a younger-you put away for the future-you to unpack.  A kind of short-term time capsule of your fashion sense.

I take advantage of this changing of the guards by making decisions on pieces of clothing that I have not worn often enough, feel no longer suit me, or are obviously no longer cool.  If I am on the fence about keeping a winter item, I will put away to make the decision when I unpack the item in the fall. 

This time I easily filled about 3 grocery bags with clothes, shoes and jewelry.  Most of this will go to Goodwill.  

 

I always learn a bit about myself during this process.  I have a lot of summer shoes.  I have many boring pants.  And, my shirts are definitely more in the range of pink/red/orange.

 

But more than learning about myself, I start to get more excited about the summer – here comes the warmth that allows one to wear skirts and shoes without socks.  However, I have learned not to pack all my cardigans away since it is evitable that the office will be stupidly cold.  Yay summer!

this is a haiku about my stolen hospital scrubs that I wear as pajamas

so comfortable

my brother, they were once his
I did not steal them

 



material girl

Today is a weekend day that I have without my hubby.  I decided to venture to the material store to innocently get a small section of cloth for a kitchen curtain project.  Due to my willpower (?) I purchased 4 items that had to come home with me.  Once I am done with my imagined house projects, patches of these materials may make it to a bag or two. 

But, I wanted to share a project that is literally one of the easiest ways to make a scarf.  Find a jersey knit that is super soft and in a color that you adore.  Then order about 1.5 yards.  Done. 

Of course you could trim or get fancy with making different shapes (longer rectangle or a square).  Jersey knit does not need to be trimmed and it is definitely “in” to have rough edges to clothing items.  The scarf I “made” is of a rust color which is slowly becoming my new off-color (move over mustard).

double up

Two scarves are better than one. 

thank you new shoes for my old blisters

In order to dress it up at work, I determined new black flats were required.  I am totally on board with the craze of the ballet flats – they are easy to walk in and are a perfect mix of fancy and casual.  Typically I can walk in them all day no problem but every spring my feet must go through a phase of toughening up in order to wear shoes without socks.

I earned a nice blister wearing my new flats (Clarks) this week.  I’m satisfied with them but not incredibly excited since they are just black flats.  But they have a fun cutout design that makes them different than the hundreds of black flats I see out there on everyone’s feet. 

Now I need time to heal my heels and then I can wear them once again.

team bronze

In the battle of silver and gold, I used to be full-on silver.  And proud of that fact.  As the years soften me, I am finding an interest in bronze jewelry like the necklace I am wearing.  This was a gift and each time I wear it I enjoy it a bit more.  Bronze is like a softer cousin of gold, showing character and less obnoxious shine.  Old fashioned in a cool, funky sort of way.

This necklace is a great length, is lightweight and easy to wear.  “It is like wearing nothing at all” (Ned Flanders)

this is a tank top.

This is a tank top (underneath a used shirt from the Gap that I have had now for several months).

I have several of them: pink, white, black, blue, stripes, maroon... well, ok, more than several of them.  They keep me warm, are helpful if your shirt is a bit see-through, and they provide a few more inches beneath your shirt so that it is ok to wear it in public.

khakis vs. leafblowers

I had the option of trying on a pair of comfortable looking khaki pants (on sale) from Land’s End in Sears over the weekend.  However, when I got to the changing room to try a few things on, I couldn’t even take them off of the hanger.  I am against them.   When falling asleep last night, I was thinking of what other items I also dislike and thought I would go through an exercise of comparing them.

What leaf-blowers and khaki pants have in common:

They both remind me of work and effort.
They are not really needed, but people think that they are.
They are both considered practical and I am sure that you can find both at Target.
They symbolize suburbia. 
When you put them on, you clench them at the waist.
I do not own either of them.

What leaf-blowers and khaki pants do NOT have in common:

One of them is really noisy and is gas-powered.
One of them is very common and can be found in closets.
One of them is a bit too hard-core lawn-work wise.
One of them has pockets.
I had to wear one of them to my high-school job at KFC.
The main purpose of one of them is to blow leafs around.

that is the question (today).

to be (buttoned), or

not to be (buttoned)?

buttonizing

(I am feeling festive today and have decided to write in the spirit of staff meeting notes.  This week I have put in hours and hours and some more hours into meetings and drafting meeting notes.  Why not another?)

Quarterly Button Meeting (3/20/2014)

Attendees: me, my hubby, my mom, you and a bunch of other people

Purpose of the meeting:

• Provide status report on my thoughts on buttons. 
• Receive feedback and corrections as needed.

Agenda:

1. Discuss progress on the button project.
2.  Share photos.
3. Create action list.

Meeting notes:

1. Discuss progress on the button project.
1. Why I like buttons:
1. There is something quite appealing about big plastic shiny buttons. 
2. Generally, the bigger the button the better it is
3.  “Buttony” is the perfect word to describe a shirt that is all about the button.
4. A single, well-placed button can transform the mediocre to spectacular.  The button does not even need to be effective or useable to be amazing
2. About MEC and my new tank top:
1. Over the weekend, I spent some time in Vancouver.  And, when one is in Canada, one must go to Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC).
1. When I was first introduced to MEC it was years ago during my honeymoon and the US to Canadian dollar was really in our favor and so all this great outdoor gear was cheap cheap cheap.
2. Now the US to Canadian dollar is about the same but there are still some great deals and some brands you cannot get here in the states.
3. This cute tank top was only CAN$10.  Besides the amazing colored stripes, the frosting on the cake was the small centered button front and center.  I mean, come on.
3.  Future button work:
1.  Discussion on if I will ever outgrow buttons.  I will do some research on this, but the answer is no.
2.  A risk was identified that I sometimes buy random buttons with no specific project or item of clothing in mind.  It is noted that I have several small containers of buttons that have come from shirts and art projects.
1.  Possible idea to pursue:
1.  Switching out boring buttons for different colored buttons on a cardigan
2. Figuring out how to use the button hole sewer thing on my sewing machine
3. “Buttonizing” a shirt for no apparent reason.
3.  Suggestion was made to continue to look for clothing items that have one or more buttons.  Preference will be made on cute contrasting colored buttons, super large buttons, or well-placed buttons.
2.  Share photos.

     3. Create action list.

1. Action, due 3/31/2014 (owner = all): please comment below if compelled.
2. Action, due 12/31/2014 (owner = met): purchase more items with buttons.

 

St. Patty's day run

I enjoyed my first international 5K event this weekend in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  I was happy to find out that Canadians are just like us and did not take the run too seriously and there was plenty of green hats, red beards and beer-orientated costumes.  My outfit was rather tame but I rocked fun tights that I had to MacGyver with a toe clipper in order to convert them into leggings since the alternative was to have smooshed toes and a droopy crotch.  That is what you get for cheapo tights from Target.  But, they kept me warm from the cold until the run was over and I could get myself a few irish coffees.

Check out the costume (especially the shorts!) that my fearless running partner had - they are amazing.

 

quickie

“It was too much to say that the two articles of clothing matched, but at least they seemed to get along.”

I like this sentence from a book I am currently reading (The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle).  I have been on a reading streak of books that are set in post-apocalyptic futures.  And, a good number of them are about people unknowingly living in domes. 

Anywaaaay, this week has been moving too fast to have anything significant to write about in terms of what I am wearing.  I did get a hair cut. 

tight(s)

Over the past weekend, a trip to Target was taken in the hopes of finding fun St. Patty’s day items for our upcoming 5K run in Vancouver.  Target is a hot bed of tights – one would think it is a fad or something.  I got these maroon ones, some basic black ones (see previous post http://practicalandperfect.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-story-of-goldilocks-and-black-tights.html) and some classy shamrock tights (stay tuned!).

2 sentences

I recently read an article about horror stories that are only 2 sentences long.  (If you want to check out the horror ones: http://www.mandatory.com/2014/02/21/20-terrifying-two-sentence-horror-stories/)  I liked that idea and got inspired to write a person’s story in terms of their fashion and only use 2 sentences.  I am not good at sneakily taking photos of people so I do not have photos to match each of the stories.  Sorry about that. 

He is sitting in front of me on the bus and he is wearing a top hat.  It is not even 7am so either he is off to a magical job or he is up to no good.

The short mother of seven wore her baggy brown suede robin-hood boots up to her knees.  Her jean culottes took it from there.

She proudly wore her hair back in a tight ponytail.  She has discovered if you circumvent your head with bobby pins and barrettes your hair will never do anything interesting, ever.

She wore her pants a big tighter than she should.  Her top too.

She tries really hard for an effortless funky look.  On the weekends she wears the same sweats and sweater again and again.

 

Her dress pants remind you of lips drawn tightly over clenched teeth.  All that you are going to find in her pants is judging and unhappiness.

His boring sweater is the same color as his boring corduroy paints.  Brown.

His relaxed faded jeans hide a great ass and his baggy t-shirt showcases his sense of humor.  He should always wear flip flops.

in a blaze(r) of glory

I am finding that there is a theme to my outfits already this week.  And, it is only Tuesday.  I wore one yesterday and one today.  My plan is to wear one tomorrow.

Blazers.  They seem to be where my head is at.  Am I losing some casualness, “manning-up” at work, and jogging down my career path?  Or, perhaps I am over this whole thing called winter and I would rather not wear another sweater? Or, is it just a random pattern of the way things are this week? 

The one I am wearing today is an amazing find at Goodwill. It is made of horribly rough polyester and is completely home-made.  The print and the cute short sleeves make it amazing. 

If one thinks about blazers too long, did you know that the song “Blaze of Glory” by Bon Jovi worms it way into your head?  It would tickle me to have Weird Al have his own version:

I'm going down to work in a blazer of glory....

(Full confession: the internet provided me with the lyrics and the fact that it is from Bon Jovi.  The youtube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1n07PIhFBQ) is actually the first time I heard the song all the way through.  Meh.  I can see why everyone mostly sings along to the line that repeats about the blaze of glory thing.)

polished

dense

I find myself in possession of a thick fashion magazine (InStyle (which is not one that I normally go for but it promised 616 (why is it usually a weird number?) pages of “spring fashion!”)).  I generally only indulge in magazines before a plane flight but I already know that I spent my money wisely since I have literally spent like 20 minutes paging through the magazine and I have yet to come to any articles – there have only been advertisements (I wonder if someone can exaggerate (and, tell me why this word is like the hardest thing in the world to spell (yes, I am pleasantly happy about exaggerating about exaggeration)) AND still be telling the truth at the same time?).  But, I have come to realize that advertisements are a vital part of a fashion magazine since they are crazy creative and if successful, make you yearn for something that you do not have.  And, the really good advertisements entertain you and make you wonder what the hell is going on.  That is what magazine fashion is all about.  Visually eavesdropping on a world that you do not belong to. 

 

a hoot

It is pleasantly ironic that I find myself wearing a Valentine-themed owl t-shirt for a holiday I dislike from a store that I am generally un-lucky at (Urban Outfitters).  But, here I am.

quiz time!

Please choose one that best describes you.

Regarding skinny jeans and boots,

a)      I am driving this fad’s bandwagon.  Woot woot!  Every woman should have this in their wardrobe no matter their size or age.  People of the future should uncover our bones from the 2010’s to see everyone in skinny jeans and boots and should assume it was for some religious reason.

b)      They are evil except when I see just the right combination of appropriate jeans and fun boots on a cute figure.

c)       I am confused on why this fad makes it ok to wear brown boots with black leggings.  Please tell me why.  Where did our collective common sense go?

d)      I can only assume we will have legging/boot parties in 2050 like we have 80’s parties now.  So hang on to those costumes!

e)      When I see non-skinny pants tucked into boots I huddle in the corner in a fetal position until it all goes away.

f)       I am intrigued by this fashion fad and I am willing to try it out with some hesitations.

g)      I have no opinion about this fad that is taking over the world.  I also think all music is great.

5K love run

Today I endured/enjoyed a cold-ass but sunny 5K Valentine run.  I was pretty happy with my costume which was all about this cute navy and pink sweater skirt (from Forever21).  Plus, of course, leggings, tall socks and like 3 tops and a hat and mittens.  I had to forgive myself the transgression of wearing both black and navy, but I bought the skirt before I knew that the run’s shirt was black.  

I also feel like I have to point out the sexy number on my bib.

 

ridiculousness

Ridiculousness is the theme of the last week.  This includes my view on work (blerg), the cold weather (hrmph) and the Seahawks win (woo!).  But unfortunately, it does not include my personal fashion accomplishments (blah).  So, instead of photos of items and outfits you may have already seen me talk about, here are some random photos on heels.  Because what is more ridiculous than heels? 

let's start with the ridiculously freaky (shiver)...

and continue with the ridiculously cute (gnomes!)...

and finish with the ridiculously amazing (R2D2!).

Super Outfit

It is customary to wear your team colors the Friday before a game.  And one might argue that this Friday is the most important of all Fridays.  In the past I have had an uncanny way of inadvertently wearing the color of the opposition.  But today I am wearing lots of green and blue to show my support of the Seahawks (who are playing Denver on Sunday for those of you not in the football frame of mind). 

I am not completely sure if what I am wearing passes as official team colors of College Navy, Action Green, or Wolf Grey.  But this is not important since I am wearing the colors in spirit.  This is where

fashion, team sports and superstitions intersect.  Go Hawks!