Day Thirty-One: Costume Change!

I'm still in Indianapolis at Bouchercon. Saturday morning is my last event--an International Thriller Writers panel about an anthology--100 Must Read Thrillers--that will be out in 2010. I feel so privileged to have an essay on a Sherlock Holmes tale, The Hound of the Baskervilles, in it, though I'm terribly nervous about appearing on the panel. On Thursday, I attended a panel featuring several Sherlock Holmes experts. Wish I could have them all with me on the thriller panel!

Here's what I wore on Thursday:

That's the delightful Julie Kramer, author of the mysteries Stalking Susan and Missing Mark, on my right. One of the best things about attending a conference is getting the opportunity to spend time with friends.

Ensemble:

Finally found a lightweight, black, v-neck cotton sweater. It's delicate and so will take special care.

Sweater: George $3 (clearance from $12); White blouse: George $12; Norma Kamali Classic Career Pants: $15; Shoes: Earth Spirit Black Leather $30; Jewelry: Necklace $8; Earrings $7 Total: $75

Evening Ensemble:

Had a great time at a restaurant called "Tastings." You purchase reloadable wine cards that let you dispense 2 oz portions of wine from specially tapped bottles. Very cool. And the food was amazing, too. (And just a tiny bit of shameless name-dropping...drank wine with wonderful writer chicks J.T. Ellison, Erica Spindler, and Sue Grafton. So much fun!)

Cable and Gauge Sweater (Sam's) $17; Norma Kamali Wide Legged Pants $18; George satin-trimmed black shell $8; Norma Kamali Red Shoes $20; Bracelet $8; Sparkly pearl earrings: $5  Total: $76

Props to the fabulous Keith Raffel for being brave enough to shoot the picture for me. Thanks, Keith!

Have a blessed weekend! xo

Day Thirty: (Day 30!!!)

With this post, I pass my first landmark goal. Thirty days!

I'm a little stunned to have made it this far. Two thoughts immediately come to mind: 1) I have eleven months to go; and 2) This is harder than I thought, but not in ways that I thought it would be.

Eleven months is a long time. It's roughly the gestation period for a horse or a mule. Twelve months gets you a buffalo or a camel. Thank goodness I didn't go for the elephant project, which would have been two years.

I decided to do this for a year because, well, a year gets me through every season plus transitional periods. September is a fashion transition period: You can't really wear white, but it's not yet time for sweaters and long pants. I tried not to overbuy for this period. I did end up overbuying of course because I panicked (love the word "panicked" because you get to add that K) and was afraid I'd be half-naked for the early fall. Everyone advised me to wear layers. Layers are useful, yes. But layering inexpensive poly jersey (bought a lot of it I'll be returning) is neither comfortable nor attractive.

More transitions will come between winter and spring.  One advantage of not overbuying is that I can check out spring clothes just as soon as they're available and get them in the sizes I need.

The challenges: I've already posted about the photography issues, and Best Beloved Friend Maggie has generously offered to advise me on them from afar. Assembling outfits is much more time-consuming than I imagined. There are many days when I just want to throw on sweats to write or do housework, but I feel pretty compelled to look like I haven't given up. (In life and on the blog) The last challenge is shopping. I'm not a big shopper. I'm a buyer. I tend to do big shopping excursions five or six times a year--they're often connected to Author Girl events. Now, I'm at freaking Walmart five or six times a week! And often when I travel. Oh, and there's the writing and picture posting. Really, that's the best part.

The night before a convention opens is like the first night on a cruise ship: nobody really dresses up because they've been traveling and probably haven't yet unpacked. I packed an outfit for evening just in case, but I ended up just wearing down to the bar the outfit I'd worn all day:

I love, love, love this Norma Kamali Snow Trees shirt. So comfortable, plus I like the extra-long sleeves. (The flash washed it out--it's a good, solid black color.) I wore the George Slimming Black Cami beneath it so I'd be warm.

Norma Kamali Snow Trees Shirt $10 (?); Nine West Jeans (Sam's) $17; Earth Spirit Black Clogs $30;

Jewelry: That Damned Necklace $7; Earrings: Sterling Hoops $12  Total: $76

****Special thanks to the lovely and talented Answer Girl for taking the picture. And welcome, Tribe!

Having a fabulous time. Very nervous about my morning panel with David Morrell, Gayle Lynds, and Lee Child! Wish me luck!

Day Twenty-Nine: In Which I Feel Rather Ordinary and Wear Old Shoes

I'm here in Indianapolis this week for Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention. It's a thrill to have the con back in the Midwest again. My first Bouchercon was in Madison, Wisconsin, back in 2006. I was just an observer then. My book wasn't to come out for months--and in fact was pushed back so that it ended up being a full year later. Bouchercon Alaska was the following year, and I missed Baltimore last year.

Bouchercon Madison was the start of my Author Girl Wardrobe. I dressed very, very carefully. After a month of wearing entire outfits that cost an average of fifty or sixty dollars, it's a little shocking to realize that I once spent about $2000 on clothes to wear over four days of a convention. Plus, I spent one afternoon in Madison shopping and ended up replacing the awards night outfit I'd packed with a new skirt, shoes, a $70 cami and a sheer top to wear over it. (Let's not even discuss what I spent before each of my month-long book tours.)

I still have all of those clothes. I buy good clothes and keep them a long time. That's one of the advantages of buying clothes that are flattering and enhance one's personal style, rather than clothes that are wedded to a particular trend.

It's a little weird to be here at Bouchercon again with hangers and drawers loaded with new clothes from a discount store--the most expensive piece with me is the $80 leather jacket I bought at Sam's Club. Next in line is the $30 pleather bomber I'm wearing below. But if you knock off the leather jacket, the average piece I brought with me cost $15. Including shoes. Less if you count jewelry.

I find discussing the cost of things kind of awkward. It just occurred to me that you might be curious. Me, I'm still adjusting. But in a positive way, I think.



So, my dears. Here's the jacket you voted in. You have good taste! (Even my daughter covets it. I told her to get her own. She can afford the $30.)

Please ignore the shapeless eggplant shirt. I dislike it. I made a huge pile of clothes that I need to return and my closet is suddenly emptier. Also, we might call the shoes a kind of a fudge. Both Walmart and Kohl's had these brown mules last year. Same manufacturer, same style. I bought them at Kohl's last fall, then was reminded of them when I saw a last, super-discounted, identical pair at Walmart a couple of weeks ago. (It seemed way too stupid to buy identical shoes. Judge says the fit the spirit of the law, if not the letter.)

Faded Glory pleather bomber: $30; Faded Glory jeans: $15; White Stag Eggplant cotton 3/4 sleeve shirt: $10; That Damn Necklace: $7; Earrings: $7; Shoes: $24   Total: $93

Still hate the shirt.

Here I thought I was being brave....This woman wore the same dress for a month. Wow! I agree with many of her points, but the piece is way too short, leaving me to want more.

Have a great Thursday. TTFN!

Day Twenty-Eight: A Big Gray Sweater and A Very Revealing Photo Session

Shooting this photo was a quite the revelatory experience:

I know that I'm not much of a photographer. I'm still trying to learn the ins and outs of the five year-old Canon Power Shot A95 that my mom is lending me for this project. I have only regular floor and table lamps with daylight bulbs to light my office door and whatever I'm shooting. There's never enough light, unless I'm shooting early in the morning. The room's single window has an eastern exposure. I'm lucky to have a tripod.

Still, I had to take upwards of thirty pictures to get this just-acceptable shot. It was very time-consuming. If funds weren't an issue, I'd shift around my entire office to accommodate better lighting. From everything I've read, I don't need a more expensive camera. I just need to use this one more productively. I've always wanted to take decent photographs, and it's much more complicated than I ever imagined. I've always had as much respect for good photographers as I do good writers and painters, but pursuing this project has solidified the facts for me. Photography is a difficult art and an even tougher craft.

But beyond the photography, there's the issue of the subject. Remember a few days ago when I mentioned that a woman who wears a size six is considered to be Plus Size in the industry? Well, now I can see why. I'm reliably a size six or eight. More often an eight, unless I'm wearing a high-end designer. (Size four in St. John Knits--but they're notorious for their vanity sizing.)

Granted, this Norma Kamali Sweater Coat is not particularly flattering on me anyway, darn it. But, really, it does point out the fact that I am short. And not a size two or four.

Here's what it looks like on a mannequin/form. Funny, huh?

Damn. If only it looked like that on me.

I knew even before I looked in the mirror that I needed to be taller to wear this sweater. I thought "heels" immediately. Possible fixes: Heels, of course--two to three inches. Also, black pants that hang from the hip to keep me from having that snake-that-swallowed-a-rodent-yesterday look. Leggings or cropped pants make everyone look shorter. Not good, unless you have extra height you want to get rid of. And the belt. The shapelessness of the sweater is only enhanced by the insubstantial belt. Doesn't matter that it's the same color.

Norma Kamali Sweater Coat: $20; Norma Kamali Leggings: $10; Norma Kamali Ballet Flats: $20; Jewelry: White Stag Earrings: $12; Necklace $7  Total: $69

This is all getting a bit depressing, I fear. This project has revealed to me that I'm heavier than I think I look, shorter than I think I look, and that I'm a very limited photographer! No. I'm just kidding--sort of. There's so much to learn here. I've done enough reading and listening and watching to know why this particular outfit (along with others) looks bad. The question remains the same: Can I find enough variety through one retailer to dress myself with some sense of style and attractiveness for an entire year? Here at the one month mark (I blog a day or two behind), I'm still not sure.

So much to consider--I could write chapters on this body image thing alone. And when in the world did I start looking like this woman, bless her heart?! (So, I'm not a pear shape, but the resemblance is still there.)

Last but not least,  I really need to get going on my fiction, or else I won't even be able to shop at Walmart!

Off to Bouchercon in Indianapolis--TTFN!

Day Twenty-Seven: What I Wore the Day My Son Army-Crawled Underneath 10 Pews to Get to the Front of the Church

Yes, the title says it all.

As I was downstairs in the church nursery with my darling, incredibly well-behaved seventeen year-old daughter, minding toddlers and a cranky baby or two, my son was upstairs having a great adventure.

If I may say, "Sweet Jesus," I experienced one of the most horrifying moments of my mommyhood when a friend came downstairs to tell me that ten year-old Bengal was making his way to the front of the church by army-crawling on his belly, through and around the feet of the congregation. I arrived at the sanctuary door just in time to see him pop up in the second row, dart around the end of the pew (this would be in the center aisle), run in front of several people in the front pew, and sit down in the middle of it. Reader, I confess that I knew not what to do in the face of all the smirks, raised eyebrows, and nervous laughter.

 My first instinct was to march into the church, drag the child out by his ears, and move to another state. But God mercifully told me to run. Away. Fortunately, my daughter came to the rescue. I sent her upstairs to sit with the boy until the service was over. He's still alive, btw.

I could tell you more, but you're not here for the grisly details of such things, I know. It just tended to overshadow the rest of the day, the week, etc....

Here's what I wore for nursery duty:

I had planned to wear this shirt with the black NK jeans as well, but they were waaaay too long. They have to lose 3 inches at the hem, at least. I'd rather have to shorten them than be irritated about their being an inch too short--the Faded Glory jeans could all be longer.

I like the shirt. I've never been one for horizontal stripes, of course. Horizontal lines tend to broaden the body, as you can see. But I think the whole effect with the dark jeans is a little odd, don't you? It makes me look small on the top, but kind of roundish in the middle, and smaller again at the legs. Weird. Kind of like a stripy snake who's digesting a large rodent.

Also, the shirt is a little to low and broadly cut for my taste, so I layered it over a white cami. It worked reasonably well, I think.

B+ overall, despite the fact that I look like an unhappy wax dummy here. I apparently learned nothing from watching America's Next Top Model and Project Runway season after season. It didn't help that I shot this at 10:00 at night after a long day.

Norma Kamali OTS Striped Henley in Cobalt: $12; Nine West Jeans $16 (Sam's Club); George Slimming Cami $10; Shoes: Earth Spirit Mules $30; Jewelry: $7

Tomorrow: Off to Bouchercon! Still not sure what to wear....

Have a lovely, non-mortifying day!