Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Day 70: Just When I Was Looking for Something To Make Me Drop That Doughnut!

I came into this project with both eyes open. Well, okay. Maybe my eyes weren't quite open all the way, but I did get a pretty good view of the bottom of the cliff I was about to jump off of.

Occasionally, I think, Why am I taking all these pictures? I don't particularly like to have my picture taken. I promise I'm not clinically narcissistic. But it seemed to me that either I was going to have to spend the whole year photographing clothes on my office closet door or buy a mannequin to dress every day. I think it's only fair for me to shoot myself (no pun intended) in my WM/Sam's Club clothes so you can see what they look like on a real, live person.

Today, I'm kinda wishing I'd bought that mannequin.

I know I've sent you to MyShape.com and MissusSmartyPants.com to check out what body type you have, and learn how you can select clothes that flatter--no matter the cost. Did you go? I know a few readers let me know they made a real difference for them. It pays to be able to approach a rack of clothes knowing that you can ignore 50-60% of them right off the bat. It's a real time saver. (There are tons of other free places on the web to figure out your shape. Just google!)

But the deal is, one really should pay attention to the results. Seriously. If I'd been true to my shape and plan, I never would have bought this sweater:




The color's a tad questionable for me, too. But we won't go there now.

Here's what's wrong with the sweater with me in it:

--Never, ever put a sharp horizontal line across the widest part of your body
--Never, ever have a dramatic color shift at the widest part of your body
--Never, ever buy a sweater that looks like a giant cube of broccoli
--The color Broccoli is not the same as Olive
--Never layer a turtleneck beneath a sweater that was made to be worn with a dickey or a cami
--If you have broad shoulders, never, ever wear giant collars whose points point straight at your broad shoulders
--My lack of a waist means that I kind of look like a lollipop if I wear skinny pants. The shape of this sweater intensifies the illusion.

Guess I'll be taking the matching fuschia sweater back before I take the tags off!

Ensemble:

August Silk Cotton Sweater $17; Calvin Klein cords: $17; George turtleneck: $10; Earrings: $7; Earth Spirit shoes: $30    Total: $81

And the kitten's name:

Kind of tough. In the end we decided on Nina Garcia. It's going to be so much easier to rename Scout and Hrothgar to Michael Kors and Tim Gunn than it would be to name them Pinta and Santa Maria!

Have a fun, hassle-free Wednesday!



7 comments:

  1. Okay, I have to confess this sweater is the first thing I've seen on the blog that I really haven't liked. Green is my favorite color, but apparently... not that shade! Don't be so hard on yourself, tho - YOU look good in anything, even questionably colored sweaters! : )

    Happy almost Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for your blog!

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  2. Love the kitty's name! And you're right: broccoli is not the same as olive. Although not sure the color is the issue here so much.

    Love your blog!

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  3. The kitty is SO cute! And I agree totally with your decision to model the clothes. The experiment is not complete without real life evidence! Clothes look so much different on. Thanks for the body help -- I'm taking these tips to heart. You always look adorable, though! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, my lovely!

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  4. Carrie--I appreciate your honesty! And I'm extra-thankful that you've been here since the beginning!

    Karen--You crack me up! And you're so right...color is NOT the big issue. But I'm not going to think about the big issue until after the Chocolate Pecan Pie is gone... ;)

    Sweet Michelle--You are my modeling inspiration. Your bravery makes me feel brave!

    Hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving!!!

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  5. I learn a LOT from this blog! OH, and my Mums joined Myshape as well and she REALLY loves it. (She's so funny, she keeps telling me she has a hard time finding "age appropriate" clothes, so Myshapes has been a real help.)

    Now how do you figure out good color and bad color? Because I was SO going for the tans when you stopped me.

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  6. Love that your Mom is getting fashion goodness online!

    Colors? You'll need to figure out if you're a Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring palette. The palettes will give you a good idea of what colors look best on you. Having seen you try on many things, I'd say you're definitely NOT a Summer or Spring. My bet is Winter. Take a look at these sites. If you click through, there are a couple of tests, too. http://hubpages.com/hub/Your-Makeup--Clothing-Color-Palette and http://www.colormebeautifulbook.com/html/Test-Light_Complex.html

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