Day Fifty: In Which I Look Vaguely Disapproving and Clue You in to the Color Mafia

There's a brilliant scene in The Devil Wears Prada in which Meryl Streep's character explains to Anne Hathaway's character how her obviously inexpensive blue (?) sweater came to be the color that it is. She pegs it to the exact year and season of its production and the color's pre-runway origins.

Can you imagine how long the journey must be from the color prognosticators to Walmart? Actually, now that I think about it, the mothership has the kind of buying power that must command a pretty direct line to the prognosticators that be.

If you go into any retail store that sells clothing, you can easily determine what colors are currently in style. Check out the dresses and blouses or shirts for clues. Also scarves and shoes. You won't see a lot of brown this year because brown has been on the racks for about the last three or four years. Colors are rich this winter, like jewels: bright peacock blue, pomegranate, pumpkin, some red.

Who decides these things:

The International Colour Authority, for one. Their website is very mysterious. I like that they openly state that they meet twice a year, colors are planned twenty-four months ahead, and they never disclose their panelists' names. Cool.

There are other fun sites to poke around in. You can even find out what colors you'll be wearing next fall.

The mothership calls the color of the turtleneck I'm wearing here "Royal Spice." Huh? Looks like blue-green or peacock to me. It's a hard color to match things to. Black works best, I think. It's dreadful with denim.

Ensemble:

Faded Glory turtleneck sweater: $10; George cotton v-neck sweater: $3; Norma Kamali pants: $15: Necklace: $10; Earrings: $7; Earth Spirit shoes: $30

Total: $75

Love the colors together--glad to finally be able to wear the necklace. It was just too fancy to wear with other outfits and doesn't look great against my skin.

While this look appeals to me a great deal, I didn't feel fabulous wearing it. I tried to imagine that the pants were a nice, lined wool gabardine, and the v-neck was a finely wrought Italian wool. Sharp black leather boots with a 2-inch heel would have been just grand. I even would have worn this turtleneck--I like the color and it's nice and fitted and thin enough for layering. *sigh*

Tomorrow: I take a trip to Sam's Club in search of something warm to wear. It, uh, doesn't go so well.

Have a brilliant day!

Day Forty-Nine: In Which I Pretend I'm a Really Old, Kind of Stocky Twiggy, but Stand near Some Beautiful Water

There are some fall days that are just delicious. I'm thankful every day to live in a place where we have four distinct seasons, all with their own character and nuances. I confess that I'm not particularly fond of the nuances of ice storms and tornadoes, but at least the weather here is never dull.

On the other hand:

On my iTouch, the weather app face is a little picture of a sun and a temperature reading of 73 degrees. So when I get up in the morning and turn it on, I always have this frisson of pleasure, then disappointment because 73 is like a magical number. What a perfect temperature. When I was a teenager, I knew I could go sunbathe in my bathing suit if it was 73 degrees. Isn't it always 73 degrees in Hawaii, or something? I confess that I could easily live out the rest of my life anywhere that holds a constant, steady 73 degrees.

Here's a pic of our pond. I love how the look of the pond changes from day to day.

If I hadn't been doing this project, I probably wouldn't have gone to the trouble of taking this picture. I try to keep images like this in my mind, but the Internet is, sadly, much more reliable for archiving.

I'm happy to announce that the Norma Kamali gray sweater/coat has been redeemed! I put it on in the morning with a scoop neck white t-shirt and gray leggings. The entire ensemble was dull as dishwater. So I ditched the knitted self-belt and replaced it with a big woven leather one that is much better for the sweater when it comes to scale. I added a black turtleneck, black boots, and leggings. Finally, I'm loving this sweater.

Ensemble:

Norma Kamali gray sweater/coat: $20; No Boundaries belt: $8; Norma Kamali leggings: $10; Chaus turtleneck $12 (Sam's Club); L.E.I. faux sueded slouchy boots: $29; pearl stud earrings: $7

Total: $86

Can't wait to wear this again!

And one last Halloween treat that won't rot your teeth--The pumpkins that Bengal and I carved. Now they are getting nice and gooey and scary on the porch.....

 

Hope your week is full of blessings--and chocolate. Kind of the same thing!

Day Forty-Eight: Wash Before Wearing!

It's kind of tough to follow a zebra costume, and it was darned hard getting that makeup off. But the whole evening was definitely worth Bengal's massive candy haul.

After all that black and white, I was thinking a little red might be nice.  In laying out my clothes for  church on Sunday morning, I picked out a George black sheath dress that you haven't seen before and paired it with that cute red and black cardigan I wore to Bouchercon a few weeks ago. But then I realized that it was yet another zebra print. And I just couldn't go there.

I did go red, after all.

(I have to start remembering to keep the dogs in the house when I take these photos. As soon as they hear the camera's timer beeping, they think it's time to play and come running. I can't tell you how many pics I've had taken while being knocked over by the dogs, had a dog running behind me so it looks like I've grown a tail, or was laughing so hard that I fell out of the picture. Do forgive me if I look askance at my dear Hrothgar. He's particularly enthusiastic.)

It's not a bad outfit. I'm still grateful to reader Dave for pointing out that I needed a little color in my life. I've rarely worn red--Like red shoes, anything red on the body announces itself as soon as you come into a room. Whether you like it or not. Also, it's not great against my skin because my skin has too much yellow in it and it doesn't complement the red. It helps to have the white shirt between the red and the rest of me, I think.

Fortunately, our church is a very laid back sort of place. Blue jeans are always welcome.

This was a comfortable outfit, but a little boring. You can't see it here, but I wore a kind of spiffy necklace that looks like a silver model of some solar system. I guess my head would have to be the sun? Uh, let's not take that any further. But the sweater and blouse did need a little something to jazz them up.

Problems: While I am delighted to tell you that the sweater is cotton, and not that damned acrylic stuff, I'm afraid it's way too thin to be warm. In photos, you can also see the white of the blouse showing through in the chest area. (BTW--If you're planning to have your picture taken while wearing something knitted and black, do wear a black bra, definitely not a white one, or you will look like something is trying to escape through the front of your top. Fair warning.)

Here's what my sweet white blouse looked like after I took it and the sweater off:

Can you see all the nasty red lint? Ugh. I was very worried that is wouldn't wash away. It did, but I made sure to use extra detergent and several rinses. Why do I think that this would never happen with, say, an Adrienne Vittadini sweater? I truly would have appreciated a heads-up on the lint thing here, Walmart!

Ensemble: Faded Glory sweater: $10; Faded Glory jeans: $15; To the Max blouse (LOVE the 4-button cuffs. I want more To the Max stuff, but I only found a few pieces in Kirkwood, MO) $17; Earth Spirit shoes: $30; George necklace: $7; Sterling silver hoops: $12    Total: $91

Remember: Wash before wearing!!!!

Day Forty-Seven: (Insert Zebra Vocalization Here)

The last time I wore a Halloween costume was for my daughter's party nine years ago. I was an Egyptian princess of some sort and probably bought it online somewhere.

A good friend recently told me about reading a Karl Lagerfeld quote on the transformative power of fashion. Costumes provide the ultimate transformation, don't they? At first I wasn't sure what motivated me to dress up this year, but now I think that transformation has become a kind of habit over these past few weeks. So when I saw a zebra-stripe turtleneck at Sam's Club a few weeks ago, I was suddenly once again excited about becoming someone (something!) else.

One thing I forgot about turning myself into a zebra--I forgot that they have bristly black manes. P said I looked a little like a white Bengal tiger. But every small child I saw while trick or treating with my son Halloween night pointed at me and declared me to be a zebra. That works for me!

 

 

Ensemble:

Chaus turtleneck: $15 (Sam's Club); Hat: $5; Scarf: $5: Gloves: $3; L.E.I. boots: $29; Black jeans: $15 (On sale at Dillard's last year*)

Total: $72

I made the ears and braided tail from yarn, felt, and pipe cleaners. Hint: When misusing a hot glue gun, don't try to peel random hot glue drops off of your skin until they cool. The top layer of skin will come off. Just saying....

*A small confession. I had to invoke the "evening gown exception" rule because I tried to buy black jeans at my nearest Walmart and couldn't find a pair that fit me. I forgot to look at another WM, and found myself facing a chilly H'ween night in thin cotton leggings. Sometimes one just can't suffer that much for fashion. I give myself a pass because they were on clearance last year and were some off-brand at Dillard's. I didn't want to fib about it. I'm a terrible liar. It's just not worth the angst.

If you can, feel free to post your (family-friendly) costume pics in a comment!

Have a fabulous week!

Day Forty-Six: Target vs. Walmart, and Cotton is Comfy for Pumpkin-Carving

I don't know about you, but I'm completely full of Halloween candy and packed on an extra 1.5 pounds of water (I'm sure that's what it is...) overnight. Among many other things, I ate both Baby Ruths that Bengal brought home in his bag, as well as the single Goetze bullseye caramel--my very favorites. I don't ever remember getting those in my bags as a kid.

I'll post my zebra costume pics here with price, etc details tomorrow. If you absolutely have to see them right this very minute, you can check out my Facebook profile pic. (And do send me a friend request if we don't have an e-friendship already.)

So, Thursday's shopping trip with Rebecca: The Target-Walmart battle:

First thing--Rebecca is adorable and looks as though she's about ten years younger than she is, which is 25, I think. She's teaching high school seniors, so it's important that she has a look that demands respect right off.

Second thing--Becca is a size 0/2. Yes, you read that right. If she chose, she could go to NYC right now and become a designer's fit model. But she's very sweet, so I don't hate her for being so petite, perfectly proportioned and in possession of the longest waist I've seen on a live person. (I only suffer a little from waist-envy, as I have no waist at all.)

 

We started at Target. You know I'm a big Target fan. I don't buy many everyday clothes there because I'm not all that into trends and they skew a little young. But they have terrific workout wear, tee-shirts, scarves, faux jewelry, and jammies. I buy a lot of kids' stuff, too.

Target is great for hip young things like Becca. Stylish, fun, but not disposable fashion. Lots of office-suitable wear. But when I started ticking off Tim Gunn's list in my head, and got a look at the prices, I realized that we weren't going to get very far on a limited budget. (I didn't realize their clearance section had gotten so large--I missed it on the first trip there on Thursday. But only the summery stuff was truly well-priced.

So it was off to the mothership....

Here's what we got for $114:

L.E.I. blue jeans
Royal Spice (Turquoise) turtleneck
Royal Spice ruffle-neck henley
Pomegranate 3/4 sleeve knit sweater
Black pleather belt
Black tights
Black chunky cardigan
Black turtleneck
Off-white turtleneck
Pomegranate flats
Black mules

She looks great! (You're wondering why there aren't photos of Rebecca in her new clothes here. Unfortunately, I didn't know we were going to Walmart. I was sure we'd get everything at Target.)

Here's a pic of the henley.

Then, because black pants are a total necessity and investment, we went back to Target to buy the size 0/2 pants that fit her better than the WM George label pants. ($24.95).

Walmart has a very limited supply of XS clothes. Such a shame. There were many more things she could have bought that would have worked. But I think Rebecca has an excellent start and did a fabulous job of choosing clothes that make her look like a teacher to be reckoned with.

What I learned: I'm, uh, getting a little price-sensitive. It's just as well that for now I have to stay away from Dillard's, Banana Republic, J.Peterman, Bluefly.com, Peruvian Connection, Nordstrom's, Anthropologie, etc. I've gotten so completely into the WM mindset that I don't know that I could dress myself in pricier clothes--or in anything but solid colors. The shopping trip was great fun, though, and I'd do it again any time!

_________

Here's my Friday (Day 46) pumpkin-carving and working at the book fair ensemble:

Ralph Lauren ivory cotton sweater (Sam's Club): $20; Calvin Klein cotton cords (Sam's): $18; Sliver stud earrings: $7; Red rubber rain boots: $25    Total: $70

Tomorrow: Zebra stripes.

*** Photo of Royal Spice henley from www.walmart.com