I love you, Sally Hansen.

I was swabbing down the interior of a pair of my favorite shoes with isopropyl alcohol to prepare them to receive a pair of comfy gel inserts, when I thought to search online for an answer to the question "How do you get rid of black scuff marks on patent leather shoes?" I found a site that recommended mineral oil (which I don't have on hand,) petroleum jelly (which I don't have on hand,) pure acetone (which I don't have on hand) and nail polish remover. Since I did have nail polish remover, I hesitantly gave it a go. I was worried about damaging the shiny finish of the patent leather. I was concerned about staining the light colored part of the shoes. I was anxious about ruining my beloved shoes. Then I realized that we were talking about dark black scuff marks on silver grey leather- how much more visible did I think any damage caused by my cleaning efforts was going to be? So I took a Q-tip saturated in nail polish remover, picked a tiny spot at the very bottom of the heel of one of the shoes and rubbed very gently. And the mark just disappeared! It worked so well that I'm embarrassed not to have tried it before, and to have been walking around in terribly scuffed shoes which could have been so easily cleaned.

I wish I took before pictures to show the full transformation. I frankly didn't believe that this was going to work.

You can see some of the scuffing in this photo:

 Look at them now:

I apologize if you're reading this and you can't understand what all the fuss is about and why I dedicated a whole post to cleaning my shoes with nail polish remover, but I freakin' love these shoes and I'm ecstatic over this discovery. Bear with me, sometimes it's the little things, you know?

Tuesday and Wednesday's outfits.

When I bought the boots I'm wearing here at DSW, for (I think) about $125 my receipt said something like- "You saved $1200." I find this rather amusing. The boots are great. I love them and wear them often, and Chris has finally tired of making pirate jokes when I do- but $125 was a splurge for me at the time. Twelve hundred dollars would have covered a year's tuition for me then. Paying $125 for boots meant that I went without other things like unnecessary coffees and meals with friends. I'm happy to own these boots, and I think they're well worth the $125 I paid, but I can't fathom paying $1325 for them.

The relationship between what things are worth and what they cost is a strange one. There's a part of me that wonders if I don't like these boots more because I believe that they were, at some point, really expensive. And is there someone out there who paid a whopping $1325 for these boots and thinks that they paid what they were worth and that they got what they paid for?

I had hoped it would be warmer. I was actually about to leave the house without a jacket but grabbed this one at the last minute. I ended up being cold all day and never taking off the jacket, or the scarf.

There is a weird shadow in this photo, but I wanted to show the boot tops and the belt at the back of the jacket.

All in all, Tuesdays outfit wasn't a raging success in my opinion. I was cold, and I felt pretty frumpy. The black and blue combination seems too unremittingly dark and the scarf, which I was hoping tied it all together does nothing helpful visually. At least it did keep me warm.

Which brings us to today-

Today's outfit is a bit of a departure for me. I usually don't wear anything this figure revealing. Comparing the pictures from yesterday and today I'm forced to admit that this tighter, lighter shirt is much more flattering than yesterday's top. But I've been wearing my coat pretty much all day- because, as Chris commented, when he took these photos this morning- "That sure is a lot of boob!"

If you asked me what I'd rather look like- like I had large breasts or like I had a fat stomach- I'd go for the breasts. I think most women would. But it seems that I consistently choose the opposite with my clothing. Even given that I am really sucking it in here, for the photos, I can concede that I appear a lot slimmer in this outfit. The problem is that I feel fatter. And very, very exposed. I'm not sure how to reconcile this. I want to look better. I want to do the best possible job dressing the body I have. And this IS it- I mean, its all on display. Do I just push through my discomfort and hope I eventually get used to it?

Two new hats; one great weekend.

Over the weekend Chris and I drove down to the Bay Area to visit family and friends and to pick up a hat I had ordered in October. I selected this hat at a trunk show at fino fino, a fantastic hat shop in Menlo Park where I interned when I was an undergraduate. Chris owns several custom made hats from Graham Thompson at Optimo. This was my first. A brown Milan straw fedora with a blue band.

None of the sample ribbon colors were quite what I wanted when I ordered this hat but the hat maker assured me that he knew just what I had in mind and it would be perfect. And it turns out he did, and it is!

I hadn't planned ahead and worn something that would compliment this hat, but I did find an additional hat that I couldn't leave the shop without and, as luck would have it, it matched my outfit perfectly!

I wore this hat all evening and Sunday too. On Sunday we visited a wonderful museum- the Oakland Museum of California. I consider myself to be a bit of a museum aficionado; in any city I visit the local museum is usually the first place on my list of spots to visit.  This museum, which I had never even heard of before last month, has earned a spot near the top of my list of great museums. And it's not even completed yet. Ultimately, the museum will be three levels, but only the first two levels are currently open to the public. The first level features California art. The second level is devoted to California history. And the third level, which I believe opens next year, will be dedicated to natural history.

In the terraced garden with weeping pear trees.

It was an unseasonably gorgeous day which meant we could really appreciate the sculpture garden. I apologize that I completely neglected to make note of any of the artist information for the pieces we snapped.
I should have thought to credit them.

My stylish niece and I give peace (and Star Trek) a chance.

M is for Margaret

One of the nicest things about this museum is the effort that has been put into making the exhibits as experiential as possible. There are even a few objects that you can actually touch- usually verboten in a traditional museum.

I try out a bronze replica of Huey Newton's chair.

About to enter a cool installation.

Chris and I were making plans to visit here again before we had even left the building.

On Saturday I wore:
black long sleeved top: secondhand (but very much like this one)

black pleated skirt with white embroidery: secondhand
black tights: not sure
black shoes: secondhand
black "orange alley" hat: by deanna gibbons purchased from fino fino
grey coat: macys

On Sunday I wore:
the same black long sleeved top
black asymmetrical paneled skirt: laura ryan
another pair of black tights: not sure where these came from either
burgundy patent leather clutch: neiman marcus (from before my student days)
the same black shoes
and my new deanna gibbons hat: I'm totally intrigued by the name "orange alley." I must remember to ask about it.

Flirting with minimalsim.

The idea of a minimalist lifestyle often strikes me as intriguing and appealing. I think I'm really a collector by nature but I'm seduced by the promise of a streamlined, carefree, uncluttered existence. There is something incredibly alluring, even heady and intoxicating, about the kind of mad, throw caution to the wind type of life changing plans that begin with- "First, I'll sell all my stuff and then grab a flight to (insert dream destination here) with just a carry on and a camera."

Or there's the fantasy of emulating the slim Parisian mademoiselle  who has such refined personal style her wardrobe consists of five perfectly tailored Chanel suits, a pair of vintage Levis and a fabulous cocktail dress, who looks perfectly appropriate wherever she goes.

The thing is, a lot of my possessions bring me a great deal of joy. Maybe not joy that is the equivalent of true love or lasting friendship, but many of the things I own give me an undeniable  frisson of pleasure when I use them or see them. But many of them don't. And some of the things I own (mostly pieces of clothing) seem to actively mock me and torment me with their inappropriateness. A quick glance inside my closet is enough to break your heart.

Embarrassing

Shameful

Why would someone who professes to love clothes as much as I, treat them this badly? Surely this is a symptom of having too much. What was intended as a walk-in closet has deteriorated into a stand at the door and peer-in closet.

Tragic

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say minimalism flirts with me. The lure of uncluttered surfaces and freedom from unbridled consumerism is terribly tempting. But I admire minimalism from a safe distance, sometimes wondering- "what if?" but never taking the plunge. Minimalism is like a spare, sleek, handsome stranger sending me come hither glances with a knowing smile. "Come on, loosen up baby," Minimalism cajoles, with an unidentifiable but distinctly European accent, "You don't need all this stuff. Let it go. Come away with me and I'll show you how to really live." But I fear I'm just not ready to end my dysfunctional long term relationship with all my stuff. What if it doesn't work out with my spartan stranger? Will I be left with nothing?

Lately, I've been attempting a romance with Minimalism on a casual basis- no commitments- and I'm still trying to salvage my current relationship with my stuff.
 
My New Year's resolutions this year included a pledge to eliminate (donate, recycle, give away or throw away) one thing everyday and five things for every new thing purchased. Thus far, this plan has been limited to my wardrobe because that's where I have the most excess, but eventually I'm anticipating expanding into other areas. My vow is to stick to the one a day/five for new items regimen for the whole of 2011. I aspire to own only things that I love.

The month of January was practically painless. I was able to eliminate items from my life without a second thought- ten year old faded black shapeless tank top with the hem coming down? Out! Light wash size 6!!! boot cut jeans? Gone! Easy. Even having to eliminate 15 additional items to offset acquisitions this month, (the wedge boots, brown Anthro shoes and a cotton cardigan- a late arriving Christmas gift from my father,) didn't cause me any undue concern. Even though the cardigan was a gift and not a purchase, five items left my closet and joined the donation pile in the garage. Admittedly, they haven't left the garage yet, but I plan on dropping a bag off at the Goodwill every month, I've just been too busy this week. There is no danger these things will sneakily find their way back upstairs to the closet; the things I chose to eliminate this month were remarkably easy to part with. I'm expecting this process to start getting difficult about the middle of March. I'm anticipating some real gut wrenching anxiety to set in around July. But at some point I'll find myself in the situation where I'm considering buying something new and this new thing won't seem worth the price of getting rid of five of my treasured wardrobe staples.  I'm looking forward hopefully to that day.

I don't think I'll ever get to the level of the French mademoiselle in my fantasy example but I would like to have only as many garments as I have hangers, only as many shoes as I have storage boxes, and only as many sweaters as I have shelf space to accommodate them. I'd also like to be confident in the knowledge that every item in my closet both fits me and flatters me.

I went back and forth for a bit on whether items purchased second hand counted as requiring a sacrifice of five items. I've decided, at least for this year, that they do. If what I really want to achieve is a really edited, refined wardrobe then stuff from the thrift store can't be considered a free for all. What doesn't require a five item sacrifice is anything I make myself, or the tools or materials to accomplish making my own stuff, or thrift store items that I intend to alter somehow. Making and altering clothes are creative behaviors I want to encourage in myself.

An additional closet full of clothes that do not fit me.

This closet is at least somewhat organized.

I have a closet full of clothes that I can wear but I'm not sure they flatter me, and I have another closet full of clothes I think are pretty great but don't fit me. What I'd like to end up with on New Year's Eve 2011 is a single closet adequately stocked with things I look great in and enjoy wearing. I know that this isn't true minimalism, but frankly, I don't want to have to live with only the number of shoes I really need. How many is that anyway? Five pairs? Two? The very thought terrifies me.

Approaching perfection? Or not so much?

To my mind this has always felt like a nearly perfect outfit. Seeing the photographs makes me wonder if it really works as well as I thought.  In these pictures it seems a little dowdy.  I just don't see the sophisticated glamor I have always thought I was communicating when I wore ensemble.  So now what do I do?  One of the reasons I began this blog was to be able to examine my style more objectively than I could do by just looking in the mirror for a few moments a day.  Which is likely to be closer to the reality the rest of the world sees, what's in my mind's eye or what is captured by the camera's lens?  Am I going to be forced to admit that an outfit I've always felt I looked great in is actually not so great?

While the jury is still out, let me sing this outfit's praises. Here's what I love about it: The skirt actually fits my waist and reaches my knees. It's made of a gorgeous dove grey polyester rayon blend that feels super soft and has a lovely drape. The hem is bound with silvery satin bias binding. The same satin is used as a yoke detail that unfortunately doesn't show when I wear the skirt with a top that is not tucked in. I attempted a tucked in top this morning but had to abandon the idea because the proportions were off and it appeared that my breasts and my waist were fighting to occupy the same space. Not at all appealing.

Although I've had the black boat-neck top for years, and I realize it's nothing particularly special, I've always really liked it. I've always felt that it had an Audrey Hepburn vibe with the three quarter sleeves. I've intended for years to make a number of tops like these in much nicer fabric as part of a "core wardrobe plan." Unfortunately, now that I see the top in these photographs, I notice that the fact that the sleeves and the hem end at the same level and that makes me appear awfully wide. At least I haven't already put dozens of hours into making several of these boat-necks before making this discovery.

The shoes are some of my favorites. Silver and black patent spectator oxfords with curved heels and ribbon laces. Yes, they hurt my feet. No, I don't care. Much. I ended up having to walk much more today than I had anticipated and my feet are killing me, but it won't stop me from wearing them again.

This is the first time I've worn the pin. The boat-neck top seems to be the perfect blank canvas for a vintage pin. I think I wear my pins kind of high, but I like them to sit nearer my shoulder than my chest. I think it looks more modern. Yeah, I know- I just said I want my vintage pin to look modern. Maybe I don't know what I want.

Today I wore:
black boat-neck top: gap
grey gored skirt: second hand
heather grey tights: not sure
silver and grey oxfords: nordstrom
silver leaf pin: eBay

If more people wore hats...

Whenever I wear a hat someone invariably says to me- "I love your hat; I wish people still wore hats." Or- "I love your hat; I would love to see people wear hats more often." Or- "I love your hat; I wish I could wear hats." I can't say that I disagree with them. I too love my hats, and I would love it if people wore hats more often, and I generally wish people would wear hats, especially people who claim to really want to wear them.

It seems rude of me to want to respond to these compliments with a terse- "Well, wear hats then." But logically, if all the people who claim to want to wear hats, wore hats, a lot more people would be wearing hats. I don't have any special hat wearing magic tips to share. You just put the thing on your head and you go about your business. And I don't buy the whole I can't wear hats/I don't look good in hats excuse. I wasn't really so long ago that almost everyone wore hats almost all of the time. Have you ever seen a vintage photograph of anyone wearing a hat and thought- "Oh no, that poor woman was obviously not a hat person,"? Everyone was a hat person when everyone wore hats.

I'll admit it does take a little bit of effort to wear a hat these days, a little bit of courage. People will look at you. But they're looking at you anyway. And mostly what they're thinking is- "Cool hat. I wish I could wear hats."

Today I wore:
navy felt fedora: wayne wichern millinery (the official name of this hat is the Z fedora but I refer to mine as the film noir fedora)
grey v-neck sweater: gap
jeans: gap
grey boots: nordstrom

Reality vs. rock star

The reality of these boots, on me, is a bit different from what I had imagined when I ordered them. You might wonder why I imagined that I would have skinny rock star heroin addict thighs when these boots arrived. You might wonder, but I have no satisfactory answer to give you. Not only did I imagine toothpick legs emerging from the top of these boots, I imagined denim clad toothpicks. The reality is that there is no way a single additional fiber of anything is coming between my legs and these boots. I actually didn't think I was going to be able to zipper them over my calves when I initially tried them on.

Last quarter a group of students in my lab/discussion section conducted a research project that examined students' perceptions of different styles of shoes. They included an image of a boot similar to these in their survey. The survey results indicated that the boots in question were not a big hit at my university, especially with male students. I particularly remember one quote from a male student who said something to the effect that the boots looked like an item that would indicate that their wearer was "not from around here." I imagine that he probably meant that "around here" people wear regular stuff and not weird stuff like over the knee wedge boots. But I prefer to think that when people here see me in my rock star boots (even with out my having rock star legs) they think I must come from some wonderful faraway place where everyone wears totally awesome boots all the time. (Even if that place only exists in my imagination, much like my rock star skinny legs.)

Who cares if I have thighs like tree trunks? My boots kick ass!

Fantastic news- today there were ten!!! photos that I was willing to post to the blog. I actually got to pick my favorites rather than just select the ones that made me cringe the least. This might be good for me after all.

Not a great photo of me- but the boots look great!