I began the morning, as usual, on the back steps with Dora, who thought she'd help me drink my coffee. Here she is, taking a little break from helping me drink my coffee to watch the Solomon's Seal inherit the earth.
Meanwhile, though I have some work to get to, I'm still thinking about Elyse Holladay's set of style habits, which I began talking about yesterday and the day before. As I was getting dressed this morning, I was reminded of another of those habits, which I might paraphrase thus: Have a designated place to put clothes you've worn that you plan to rewear before you wash them.
Now, my general MO is simply to rehang those clothes or put them back in the drawer. As long as I designated them as clean, then they go back with the other clean clothes. If they're not clean, then they go in the wash.
But in actual practice, I don't hang things back up as soon as I take them off. Generally, last thing at night, I'm getting undressed and into my nightclothes in the bathroom. My closet is in the bedroom, on the far wall. My husband is generally already in bed and dozing as he waits for me to join him. At that point, I'm really not going to go tramping back and forth from the bathroom to my closet, opening and closing drawers, creating a disturbance. I'm going to take my clothes off in the bathroom and leave them there until the next day, at least.
But do I leave them in a pile on top of the hamper? Well, actually, yes, sometimes. But since I started keeping a drying rack in the bathroom, more often I do this:
Airing the clothes, it's called. Sometimes I put them away the very next day. Sometimes I don't put them away until I have something wet that needs to air-dry, and there's no room on the rack unless I put clothes away. Either way, there they are, visible. If I want to wear something again, there it is. It's not buried in a pile. It's straight and fresh, and if I want to put it on again, it's ready.
Today, as it happens, I didn't want to repeat anything I wore yesterday. That outfit was fine, but probably not really an ace. It was the kind of combination that I'd probably tweak before wearing it again: not bad, but not exactly right, either. Also, I had seen this photo of a dress, which I liked very much. That is, I liked the dress. I wouldn't style it in the same way, because I'm not a ball-cap or sneakers kind of girl. That look is great on her; I would feel like not-me in those items. But I loved the dress: the neckline, the overall silhouette, the soft color and detail.
I don't have anything like that dress in my closet --- or do I? Not a dress, certainly. None of my dresses really does what that dress does, which might be a problem to consider remedying down the line. But if I have, today, the itch to look like that, what do I do about it?
I consider what elements of the look I'm itching for I can actually accomplish.
*graceful neckline: check
*fit-and-flare silhouette: check
*soft colors: check
*some subtle detail: check
I don't have a dress like that, but I do have this navy embroidered cotton tee, bought new long ago, plus this thrifted sage-green cotton-twill full skirt. The twill is a little heavier and less flowy than the dress, and than my normal preferences, but the shape is nice, and I adore the color. I really like it paired with any kind of blue. It fit better about five pounds ago, but it does still fit, especially if I wear it fairly high on my torso. It needs ironing --- I try not to buy clothes that need ironing, because I so seldom do iron --- but I'm not sure the little turn-up at the hem is that noticeable. I have resolved not to be bothered by it today, at any rate. I like the pale-dusty-pink belt with this combination, too. And the sandals: I just wear them. I put them on first thing in the morning, and they're on my feet, and that's that. But they do contrast with the skirt, and they don't exactly match the top, so I think they work.
Overall this is a far more body-flattering outfit than yesterday's was.
Things I couldn't accomplish with items I own:
*All one color
*That twisted belt/waist detail on Elyse's dress, which I really love but didn't have a good way to replicate
*The all-in-one-ness of a dress
But that's okay. Yes, I'd love a dress that ticked all those boxes, but I'm pretty happy with the outfit I did put together, out of things I already own, inspired by the image of the dress.
I have loved this top for so many years. It has a nice curved hemline, too, so it looks nice untucked over a narrower bottom --- I'd wear it with my very straight, narrow, sage-green Gap shorts, for example. The one problem with it is that the neckline is so wide that it's hard not to have my bra straps show, which is one of those things that really bug me. I've solved the problem by buying a navy bamboo bralette, so that if either the neckline or the bra strap slips, it's not obvious that a bra strap is showing.
All in all, this outfit confirms to me that I'm right in holding out for a new dress with a defined waist. I love my swing dresses, but this silhouette is honestly more flattering on me. I am thinking that depending on what's available in the fall, I'll either ask for or treat myself to a Fiona dress for my birthday, in addition to the sleeveless defined-waist dress I hope to purchase for the summer and the conference I'm going to in the early fall in Texas. While I keep being attracted to crossover/wrap-style dresses, which if done well would be insanely flattering, I'm just never convinced that they are done well. Even in the model picture on the website, for example, look at the bodice of this Brookyln. This is a dress which, especially in the new long version, I would really like to like. But even here, it looks like what the top "crossover" wants to do is fall open, and somebody has pulled it up out of alignment so that it wouldn't. The model is beautiful, but the dress does not fit her well. I haven't seen too many pictures where that particular dress has looked as though it fit well. And while yes, "get to know a tailor" is another one of those style habits, I'm not sure why you'd pay $138 for a dress that looks, on the model in the promotional pictures, like the "before you took it to the tailor" phase of wear. I love Wool&, but they definitely have their misses as well as their hits, in terms of basic design. Anyway, that knowledge does help me narrow down my purchase window. As much as I'm tempted by that new Isabelle design, linked above --- and I really am, especially since I also don't love the Brooklyn's fluttery sleeves --- I don't think I want to risk it, if I have other, better choices.
Hair up again, partly because I haven't washed it. I've ordered a new kind of shampoo and conditioner bar: Vida Bars, recommended for curly or wavy hair (no affiliate, just a link). I've seen them recommended, and as I'm not entirely happy with my current shampoo bar, I thought I'd try them. My husband has taken to using the kids' shower upstairs; he likes the Yellow Bird bars we currently have, so I'm not canceling my subscription for now, just taking them up to that bathroom. I'm trying to hold out on a hair wash until the new bars arrive, so that I can try them right away. But also, it's nice to have my hair up and out of my way, and an updo does show off the lovely neckline of my top.
And on with the day.
LATER:
I was also interested in this analysis of what does and doesn't make an outfit. I wouldn't exactly wear the actual outfit represented here, but the principle is very helpful: to consider shape and proportion and the interplay of textures. I'd also add color, since I'm not generally a person who wears black.
I was thinking about this because when I went out on the shady front porch, I felt chilly and in need of a top layer. I could have thrown on any old cardigan, but I chose this one:
It could stand to be even a hair shorter, but I chose it because it is cropped and kind of bolero-jacket shaped. It looks like an outfit element, not just something I put on because I felt cold. A jean jacket would be even better, probably --- I have worn a jean jacket with this skirt and a little detail-y top and liked the effect. On the other hand, the softness of the cardigan, as long as it's not too long or droopy, seems to balance the relative structure of the skirt. I also just like the lighter blue on both the sage-green and the navy.
Here I am holding my eyes open really wide so I don't blink, but as always, I like blues. I like them against my skin. I always feel radiant in blue, and that's a good thing to know about myself. If I want to feel confident and as though I am "showing up" as myself, then: BLUE. Even in bad lighting, it never lets me down.
What's that color for you? It's worth finding out and making that color your "black." I can't promise that you'll never feel bad about yourself again, but I can promise that if you know that color and wear it, you'll feel consistently better.