A week ago we went to the McCarty Pottery in Merigold, Mississippi, and I took this photo of their beautiful water garden. Today in North Carolina the outdoors looks like a water garden, and to walk around the neighborhood is to feel that we're breathing underwater.
Various work things on today.
Wearing:
*Secondhand Chicos linen button shirt, bought January 2023, dyed Rit Evening Blue by me last year, last worn July 15
*Secondhand Cynthia Rowley pink linen trousers, bought June 2024, last worn June 13, before we went to Norway --- so it's been a while.
*Secondhand Stegmann leather clogs, bought July 2024, last worn day before yesterday
I said yesterday that, having #ditchedthepantschallenged in July (not that that was much of a challenge at all), I wanted to cycle my one pair of pants, these linen trousers, back into the mix. I didn't have them on my plan, sketched out in haste, for this week --- but today, there they were, so I decided to put them on. It had been a minute.
These clogs were a good purchase, not least because they work with a pink hemline. They're soft and un-orange enough to provide a gentle contrast here, and I like them. I also like, as I've said before, that they're an alternative to sandals when the weather is still hot, but I don't necessarily want to dress for summer. I could see taking these trousers into the fall, tweaking with light layers for more transitional-season outfits that would be cool and breathable but not scream LET'S GO TO THE BEACH.
These colors here are, actually, kind of beachy, but it's only August 2, so that's fine. I love the washed blue with the washed pink and the light-but-not-white shoe.
I also like that my whole outfit today is secondhand.
I experimented with double-buttoning my shirt: I buttoned the top button into the bottommost buttonhole, then buttoned its own regular buttonhole over that, if that makes sense. Then I buttoned up the rest of the shirt. That gives you the half-tucked look that's been kind of trendy for a while, and has the advantage of breaking up straight lines across your body. You don't just appear as a big boxy shirt, which is helpful when in fact what you are wearing is a big boxy shirt.
There are video tutorials all over the place for doing this little trick --- you just have to watch a few and experiment in front of the mirror until you like what you've accomplished. That's what I've done, at any rate. I actually watched this one, which creates a different kind of look, but I messed around and ended up with what you see here. There are all kinds of ways to double-button to change the shape of your button shirt, take in some volume and bulk, whatever. I like following that account, incidentally, even though in body type and aesthetic this lady could not possibly be more different from me. I just file it under Older Women Being Vibrant.
ETA: I double-buttoned my shirt underneath --- that is, I brought up the bottom buttonhole first and buttoned the top button through it, then buttoned the regular top buttonhole over that. In the linked video, she does the opposite, which produces the different effect you see there. You can play around and see what effects you can create, and what results you like the best.
I like that I can show the high waist of these trousers, which elongates my leg, without the bulk of a tucked-in shirt. And again, I love these colors together. I'm feeling, again, that teacher-whose-classroom-people-hang-out-in vibe --- though in fact I am not that person and have not been that person since 1989, when I really didn't have a vibe, other than clueless. Still, we play roles in our heads all the time. At least, I do. And I think it helps to have one to step into and be. However I might happen to feel, I can play this character --- who is me, on some deep level. I'm not being fake. I'm just giving myself a congenial shape to inhabit in the world, so that I can function.
Colors check out okay, I think:
Here I'm not even trying to look nice. It's still early. This is more or less my you're talking to me and I'm still drinking coffee face. But again, thanks to the tone I'm wearing, I'm drinking coffee with a pulse, and blood in my face, and color in my eyes.
This face says get serious, so I suppose I had better do that.
And ah, here's the sun.
High today of 94F, not quite as intense as the 97F originally predicted for today. Still: 97% humidity. We're all going to have to grow gills.
ALSO:
Experimenting with hairpins.
I just braided my hair, folded it up and into itself at the back of my head, and stuck these big U-pins in. No idea whether it will stay up, but I like the effect.
Also, yeah, the silicone thingummy was coming off the earpiece of my glasses. Fixed now.
AND:
One of my new-to-me pairs of shoes has arrived, and I think I'm in love.
These are Alegrias, a brand I had not heard of until I stumbled on them, in a search for orthopedically supportive Mary Janes the other day. As you can see, they have a very wide toe box, a sort of rounded square. I love the blunt silhouette --- my feet are naturally pretty narrow and long, but a wider, chunkier shoe helps mitigate against the narrowness and length, and adds some balance to the whole silhouette of my body, where I carry a good bit of width in my hips. That's why I like Birkenstocks, for example. The shape just feels right for my body, not to mention the comfort they offer my feet.
These have a patented "rocking sole" --- it's hard to see in these photos, but it's a low platform that tapers off toward the toe, like the hull of a John boat. This is supposed to help you not pronate, and to walk with a healthy stride. As I've mentioned before, nurses seem to wear these shoes a lot.
Anyway, they're insanely comfortable. I hadn't planned to wear them all day, but I think I will.
Other bonuses:
*These are in very good shape for used shoes, and the uppers are leather, so they can be polished and shined --- they'll stay nice-looking much longer than synthetic shoes would do.
*Also, the sole is stitched on, not glued: sturdier, and easier to repair in a shoe shop
*This shoe retails for $130 a pair, and I bought them for $21 on Ebay.
They're fun with my outfit today, too. It's a different vibe from the Stegmann clogs, but I kind of like the sharp contrast at my feet.
In short, I'm really, really happy with this shoe purchase. I'm not buying other clothes, but I'm not sorry to have bought some shoes right now. I'll wear these all fall and winter with all my dresses, tights, leggings, etc. They suit my AARP Goes to Kindergarten aesthetic, as well as my Cool Teacher aesthetic. I will look sharp and arty at readings. And so on.
Meanwhile, I've posted both my Xero Colorado sandals and my Xero Cassie Mary Janes for sale on Poshmark, so I hope I can move those along to new homes soon. In total, I'm selling or have sold six pairs of shoes in this round of reselling. And I've bought three --- these Mary Janes, the pair of brown snakeskin-print leather Earth shoes I bought at the same time, and . . . yeah . . . a second pair of Alegrias, in this same style but in a floral print, because I thought that that would be a lot of fun. Those too would retail for $130, and the seller was asking $30, so . . . yeah.
Again, I'm not sorry. I've always not bought the fun shoes because I thought I had to buy something I could wear with everything, one pair of shoes for all functions. Now, in anticipation of turning 60, I am buying the fun shoes, especially when I can buy really good shoes at this kind of discount. I also figure --- I'm moving six pairs of shoes out of my closet into somebody else's. I can replace them with three* pairs of shoes. That seems reasonable.
And now I really must return to my day's endeavors.
*Four. I've bought four pairs of shoes. The clogs and three, count'em, three pairs of Mary Janes. Sorry not sorry. I'm still wearing the MJs that came today, and I love them. I've walked in them. They're fantastic. Holy cow, what great shoes. Happiness is mine.