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Inspiration Week 2012.15A

Somewhere between week 12 and week 15 (current) I discovered Pinterest and started pinning my online clippings. I like pinterest. But I discovered, as I started looking through the accumulated pile of magazines last week, I can't pin everything, and those magazine photos are still an issue. One can upload one's own work to pinterest, but I don't believe that I quite have the rights to a photo from a magazine as I would to a photo I took myself. I could probably pin a link to my own blog post once I reviewed why I was interested in said photo. I shall consider.

I also realized that I will quickly overwhelm the master board I have created and I shall have to break it up, but I've not yet sussed out the connections that will be most useful to me in that regard. Cell division will occur, but at which point I cannot yet predict. A pattern must emerge and along with it a plan. In the meantime, this is a catch-up post, with some things I pinned in those heady first weeks, with a few notes, and one previously unpinned item.

Take this Cushnie et Ochs dress. It is simple and classic and yet not at all boring. I love it. When I saw it I fretted over it for a week, fretted and mourned in a self-pittying way as I thought I would have no need for such a dress in a life that seemed to revolve around chinos and jeans. But of course there are opportunities, and we make our own opportunities if we so desire. I still love the dress and undoubtedly will continue to do so. The cross-draping on the bodice reminds me of a Donna Karan look from the 80s and a Vogue pattern I made at that time. I still have that pattern waiting to be unpacked, and variations on the look recur every few years.

Then I was thinking about spring coats and light-weight coats that can be used for climates with those long transitional seasons, neither hot nor cold but where something is needed. All my coats strike me as being too somber, too black.

I found this gorgeous coat by Burberry. It is linen. It will wrinkle. That doesn't really lessen the appeal for me as I like linen, but it does sharply increase the maintenance in a coat, which one would probably prefer to look a little crisp. I naturally tend toward rumpled anyway so it seems best to avoid things that will hasten the downward slide. Doesn't make me love it less. Imagination is free. Inspiration is priceless.

Other finds were more random. This little Tori Burch jacket would be great with jeans or chinos but also with a skirt or dress. And I love the trim detail. But I have lots of pretty tweeds and boucles sitting upstairs waiting to be unpacked. Trims too. I'd rather wait and make something all mine. But I admit the shades of blue and the multicolor trim are very pretty: all grown up and yet still retaining a bit of a sense of fun.

A few things have taken me by surprise. In this season filled with many pretty soft full skirts shown with casual sandals, oxfords and brogues, I am focused on pencil skirts. Who would have thought? I've been wearing full and pleated skirts for years, when pencil skirts were everywhere I wanted pleats. Now that I see skirts that are so perfectly my (former?) style, all I want is the straight and narrow, preferably brightly colored. The bold bright colors on this skirt by Lela Rose makes me smile.

Although the more subtle colors on this pretty paisley skirt by Jil Sander also make me very happy. Besides it is paisley. How can one not love paisley? No don't tell me.

Somehow I suspect that haven written that all I want is pencil skirts I will turn around and fall in love with some softly pleated number. I see the pictures, and I love the look, but when I wear last years pleated skirt I am not happy. It could be the drape of the fabric, or the style, or the way I put it together. I only know that what usually happens is that as soon as I say no, something shifts in my brain and it becomes a resounding "Yes. Now. Please".

But I promised something not in that pinterest file. This tunic by Vionnet fits the bill. I saved this to my computer from Moda Operandi before I made the mental link to pinterest and since the sale was closed, I couldn't find a link. I would wear it as it is shown on the model, with narrow pants, but I suspect it could be more versatile if the cut were good, perhaps working with a narrow skirt (see I can't escape it) and either layered or worn with a short jacket or shrug. It struck me as something to play with, idea wise, when I get my sewing room set up. I don't suppose I will duplicate Vionnet's cut, but I am not really trying. Although I would indeed wear this if it happened to land at my front door, I saved it because it inspires me to play with fabric. Now that is a good thing indeed.

April 10, 2012
Easter Pink

Pink and easter always go together in my mind, something to do with spring and rebirth and promise I suppose, although why pink instead of green or blue, I'm not sure. The intellectual side of me, the student of history and literature, always remembers that not that long ago pink was considered much too strong a color for girls, even watered down as it is, still too much of a reminder of red with its associations of warriors and blood. Good thing we are at least somewhat past those days, although I still adore a man in a pink shirt.

Anyway, the pink Lafayette 148 New York dress came in two weeks ago and seeing as it was so close, I decided I need a new Easter dress this year and that pink cotton would be perfect. This picture was taken after Easter services and is a little rumpled but still looking good. I went to the earliest full service which meant I had to get G out of bed early and didn't have time for pre-departure photos, but it was worthwhile. Afterwards I was in such a good mood because I always love the music at the Easter services and most of the congregation joined in for the Halleluliah Chorus at the end. I sang the alto part, which I still remember from when my junior high school choir sang the entire Messiah, as well as those high school years in the church choir; I didn't pass the audition for our high school choir. Of course this time I had the orchestra and the choir to help keep me on track as well, and as usual, the higher alto notes are out of my range so I had to drop down to tenor. That too brought up great memories of when a friend and I would trade parts sometimes in church and he would sing alto and I would sing tenor. I don't think the organist appreciated our efforts but we had fun.

Anyway I think my Easter-Pink association probably dates back to a particular pink Easter dress I had as a child. It was a pretty full-skirted number which had a little off white bolero with it. I adored that dress and I dreamed of pink patent mary janes to wear with it. I remember begging and whining for those shoes, making a terrible nuisance of myself, and being told they were completely impractical. And yet, on Easter morning there they were, waiting for me to wear with my pretty pink dress. I held on to those shoes for years, until there was no chance of even squeezing my foot into them. They made me so happy; the memory of them still does. I still like having a pair of pink shoes in my closet, like this pair of Manolos, which are at least 7 or 8 years old.

This post is part of Visible Monday. Pop on over and see what others are wearing. And also take a peek at the pretty pink tulips Materfamilias posted yesterday. Don't you think they would look just perfect with my dress? Easter and pink just go together.

April 9, 2012
Vodka as household necessity

When I was in Texas back in February, G was not the only member of my family who was unhappy that I had gone away. Sam too expressed his displeasure by peeing on the sofa in my office. He had done the foul deed before, and I was fit to be tied, and one of my first tasks upon my return was googling such fascinating subjects as "cat pees on furniture" which proved to be worthwhile as I learned about the usefulness of vodka, to whit:

Cats don't like the smell

It removes odors

It removes stains

After I poured vodka in a spray bottle and liberally dosed the scene of the crime, I was shocked at how good my pale gray sofa looked, all the rings and pee stains almost magically disappeared. I put the vodka aside and forgot about it.

Until last week when I was despairing over stains that were not coming out of linen napkins and thoughts that I might have to resort to special actions such as:

using only paper napkins

keeping two sets of napkins, one marked G,and one for general use, or

using linen napkins myself and giving G only paper napkins, further stigmatizing him,

when it occurred to me that I still had a bottle of vodka in the house, and if it worked on a sofa it might just work on badly stained napkins. After all, what did I have to lose (except some good vodka).

So I doused the stains with the vodka and allowed them to sit. Then I put the napkins in their normal pre-treat enzymatic bath for a few hours, then washed them. They came out mostly stain free, and they ironed beautifully as well. Well linen usually irons beautifully and perhaps they just seemed special because I was so happy, but I do think they ironed up just a little more crisply than usual, but not at all as stiff as if I had starched them.

Now of course, I used good vodka in this experiment because that is what I had in the house in the mistaken idea that I should have vodka that I like to drink. This sounds good except that I really don't drink vodka. I would be surprised if I drank vodka twice a year, and then probably only when I am out, not at home. So the next bottle will be your basic cheap vodka. I am sure it will work just as well.

April 3, 2012
The Last Saturday of March

March is waning and the deadline for filing taxes is looming.

I haven't found the information yet. It has to be in this box as I've scanned, filed, and dealt with every other box of paperwork I accumulated between December and the beginning of February when we finally landed in the house. I didn't plan to be so disorganized, but those last few weeks, when we were tired of being in the hotel and I was frustrated with appraisers that didn't show up when they were supposed to and repeated delays, when I was standing outside in the cold with a moving truck I couldn't unload, when I was scrabbling at the last minute to round up enough cash before yet another deadline passed, when mail that was supposed to show up on certain days didn't show up until days, or even a week later, by which point I was too busy to deal with it — when all that was going on, I just let the boxes pile up.

And now I am paying for it. But there is only one box remaining. That box up there in that photo. It has to be in there. I had hoped to get to it before now, but it is not really likely to happen this weekend. I can't lock myself in my office, I can't leave G to his own devices. So on Monday I may lock myself in with the scanner and the computer until it is all done.

In the meantime, today we drove around to take one of the local dogwood tours, although I noticed that I mostly took pictures of azaleas. Oh well.

I'll be back when I am feeling a little less under the gun. This may be the first year I just throw everything in a box and put it in the mail without sorting and categorizing it first. There's a first time for everything.

March 31, 2012
Venturing Out

This past weekend G and I went out to a symphony concert. We had a lovely time and we are both eager to go again. I am looking into getting a subscription for next year, and we are also buying tickets for a chamber concert this coming weekend.

The main work was Gustav Holst's The Planets, and quite frankly I was surprised to find G eager to attend. In the past he looked down at the work as a form of "classical for the masses". In this case I think that hearing something too often does the original work no favors as one becomes inured to its joys. G however has lost most of his previous associations of things including his memories of bad performances of popular symphonic works performed by second-rate orchestras. For this I am happy, as the concert was truly lovely and the piece was well played.

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra could not compete with the New York Philharmonic on a good day, but I might argue that I've heard some sub-standard Philharmonic performances and Knoxville's Orchestra could at least hold its own. But it has been a few years since we have heard the New York Philharmonic and our only basis of comparison would be the American Symphony Orchestra and I would say the Knoxville performance was far more enjoyable than any symphonic performance we have heard at Bard, either of the ASO or the Bard Symphony Orchestra. The music was, in fact, far better than we expected, considerably better than The American Symphony Orchestra which tends to be muddy and to overplay the accoustics in the theater, which does not help.

Also performed was a piece by Aaron Jay Kernis, Musical Celestis for String Orchestra which was quite lovely, and a Concerto in B Minor for Viola and Orchestra purported to be by Handel, but actually composed by a French violist named Henri Casadesus. Neither of us recalled having heard this piece before and it was quite beautiful and well played by violist Mary Persin, whom we have heard play many times in the Biava Quartet, but never as a soloist.

On a completely more shallow note, I was happy to see that people actually dressed for the concert, something that did not necessarily happen up at my country abode. In fact I fell squarely on the underdressed side in a simple gray skirt, gray sweater, tights and black flats. This had been deliberate after we attended a choral concerts where I had been dismayed to be conspicuously overdressed for the occasion while most of the audience seemed to be wearing jeans or chinos and fleece jackets. Really I find it much easier to dress "up" than "down". Even after years of semi- then full retirement I still find casual to be be difficult. I am happy to know that there will be events where I can occasionally pull out a nice dress, perhaps even lace, and dress up occasionally.

March 27, 2012
Finding a Thread of Consistency in Everyday Style

It struck me, as I was whiling away a little time with virtual shopping and clipping last week, that there should be some kind of connection between the things I dream of making and wearing and the things I actually wear. In short, my virtual wardrobe might fit occasions I don't attend in my actual life, but it should look like it actually belongs to me, or, conversely, my daily wardrobe should in some way look like it belongs to a woman who could wear the items I clip.

It also struck me that this has not particularly always been the case, although I think I have managed it more consistently since I have moved to Knoxville. I am however still finding my way, sorting through the things I brought with me, thinking about what I want to wear now, and yes, just throwing on clothes and trying to get out the door.

Sometimes I think it works, othertimes it doesn't. Here I am in the dressing room at Belk (about to try on an Eileen Fisher blouse) feeling casually pulled together, stylish, and confident. This outfit "fits" as did the rolled up jeans with the checked shirt and the white/black suede cap-toed flats,I showed you a couple of weeks ago. That woman would also be comfortable in the clothes I clipped in my inspiration files.

However, at other times I pull together an outfit but somehow the pieces don't mesh nicely with some invisible but still ever-present sense of self. For example, last week, the tee, skirt, clunky sandal combination did not work for me in that although I loved all the pieces individually, I somehow felt "outside of myself" when I was wearing them. When I look at my inspiration pages, I see no connection to that woman in the blue skirt. My dream self would not wear that outfit, although she would definitely wear the skirt and tee with other pieces.

So this whole wardrobe idea encompasses more than just clothes I love. The clothes have to play well together, in a way that reflects something true and constant about me. I can work with that.

I like long tunics and tops. Here is a top and chinos which I think work well together. I felt pretty good about this combination, although when I look at the photo I am not sure about the ankle length pants and the heel on the espadrilles, but that is a truly minor issue.

Next I tried wearing this more fitted and tailored blouse out over the same chinos, and I didn't like it at all. The whole look just felt and appeared sloppy to me, although part of the blame may be a combination of loose shirt-tails and flat espadrilles, which upped the sloppiness factor considerably to my eye.

I did however like the shirt when I tucked it in and wore a belt, even with the same espadrilles. And why not? When did I stop tucking things in? Oh, I know the answer to that and let's not go there; it is a part of the past. Besides, having finally found a pair of chinos that I like and that fit at my actual waist, why not take advantage of that fact and wear a belt?

In case you hadn't noticed from the blurry side view, and there is no reason you might, one week after beginning yoga and some mindful changes to my gait and walking habits, I am already feeling less back pain and standing up much straighter. I have to thank you all for your suggestions, and especially Duchesse, for her thoughtful advice which helped me find a good instructor whom I look forward to working with.

This post is a part of Visible Monday. Pop on over and see what else is going on.

Now for the gritty details:

picture 1: Green blouse by Lafayette 148 (purchased in February) worn with DKNY Soho jeans (2011) and Heavy Machine Sandals (2010)

Picture 2: White stretch cotton tunic blouse by Eileen Fisher (purchased that day at Belk) with Lafayette 148 (2012) and J Crew Espadrilles (2010)

Picture 3: More Lafayette 148 in the white blouse and the same chinos from picture 2. The green belt is from Banana Republic (2007 or 2008) and the espadrilles are by Diane von Furstenburg (2011).

March 26, 2012
Inspiration Week 2012.12

I started this post on Wednesday. Guess that says something about how this week has gone. Looking at clothes again is a good start towards eventually unpacking my fabric and setting up my sewing room, although a great many of the things I clipped are things I would never dream of trying to knock off, just things I think are beautiful and would wear in my imaginary life, unemcumbered as it is by the realities of economics, lifestyle, and my own physical presence.

Some of the things that caught my eye were just simple things. Dress with a lovely shape which shine when well fitted and made with quality fabrics.

Sometimes it was the fabric itself, combined with a simple elegant shape, that caught my eye. These aren't specifically ideas to copy, just things I love although they may serve as reminders and inspirations. The toile de jouy dress has a lace back, which would not be my choice, as I would actually prefer a more conservative version, with the lovely fabric front and back.

I love the way different laces were combined in these two dresses.

Rather than the fabric, it is the construction details that make these dresses stand out.

Did you would think I would save only practical pieces? Not on your life. Both of these coats are gorgeous and I would so love to wear both of them, in another world and another life of course. They are completely unreachable. But it costs nothing to save a picture, and dream, and be reminded occasionally of what I think is truly beautiful.

1. Valentino silk and cotton dress, here.

2. Yves Saint Laurent dress here.

3. Clements Ribeiro toile de jouy dress here.

4. Giambattista Valli dress here.

5. Bottega Veneta lace dress here.

6. Akris lace dress, saksfifthavenue.com (link no longer available).

7. Balenciaga dress here.

8. Comme des Garcons dress here.

9. Prada embroidered coat, from Prada Ad campaign, here.

10. Dries Van Noten coat here.

March 24, 2012
Reading Update

I mentioned last week that I had read Paul Fussell's Class: A Guide Through the American Status System, which I finished a few weeks ago. It is a book that manages to insult almost everyone in a rather snide and wickedly funny manner. It is also probably a fairly accurate description of class in America as it still stood in 1980. I'm not saying that class has changed in the intervening years, just that its expression is somewhat different now than it was then. I am sure Fussell would attribute some of this to proletariat creep in a population with much greater multicultural diversity, as well as the widening influence of what Fussell calls "category x". I remain convinced that class I still with us, although like everything else, it has evolved and perhaps become more convoluted. Even class X is suspect in my mind, not that I don’t believe it is there, but because I believe it is very difficult to completely escape the influence of class and it seems to me that much of category x is not so much outside of class as a special subset of the highly educated classes with its own sets of bias and anxieties.

Still, dated as I believe the book is, it is informative and useful in ferreting out one's own history and biases, some of which may be so well ingrained and a part of our very natures that we never really thought about their cultural repercussions. Reading the book also made me address some of my own issues, biases, and reservations about the move from our sequestered house overlooking the Hudson River to our planned community in Knoxville.

On a whim, I followed Fussell with John T. Molloy's Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others, not because I am looking for a husband or even am all that interested in the subject, but because of a recommendation. It is an engrossingly quick read but also a good solid piece of social science research. I ended up being fascinated by the research and by the stats. Highly recommended.

Lastly, I just finished Dan Wells' Partials although I am afraid I was somewhat underwhelmed. Basically, my reservations revolve around the characters, even the main characters, who seem superficial and oddly character-less. The adults are extremely narrowly rendered, and they seem like shells of ideas. Perhaps this is intended, but I would hope that the few adults who survived the loss of everything they new would be more than husks of what I can only assume to be their former selves. But even though the younger characters were more fully realized than the adults, even they seemed more like shells, especially the protagonist, Kira. By the end of the book I was willing to conceded that this may have been planned, and that this incomplete development of Kira as a person may play into the development of the story and tie into future volumes, which, in turn, may make them more interesting. Still it is a long slog, getting through one volume in the hopes of a greater payout in the next volume. I am not yet sure if I am interested enough to read the next volume when it is released

March 23, 2012
Reflect, Reflecting, Reflection

Yesterday I actually managed to cross more items off my list than I added, enough that the list seemed visibly shorter. Today not so much, although I did managed to cross off three items while I adding only two

One of those items was finally getting a mirror, which is now leaning against a wall in the guest bedroom, still in its box, although fully functional. Here I am checking it out immediately after bringing the mirror into the house wearing items that have become basics in my wardrobe since moving to Knoxville. Although I had a couple of these pieces before moving, I probably wouldn't have worn them together before, I don't know why. Perhaps I just fret less now.

Elieen Fisher tee (2012)

J Crew Skirt (2011)

Michel Kors platform sandals (2011)

I am not convinced that having the mirror will change much in terms of how I am dressing. I feel like I have explored style and expectation and now I just want to get dressed. Sometimes I'll get it "right" sometimes I won't, although the mirror will help me discern when things are way off, not that anyone else would be as critical as I myself tend to be.

Having a mirror will certainly make it easier to take a full length photo, even with stacks of paintings still stacked up against the wall in the background. I still think I find the camera more telling. Something about the flattening and two-dimensionality of the photographic image, even a photo of me looking in a mirror, seems to impose a layer of separation between me and the image of me. In the mirror I am far too prone to see my expectations of myself. It will be useful however, when I start looking at the various items in my closet that I am not yet wearing, trying to weed out the keepers and the losers.

March 20, 2012
Singles Scene

One plus One does may equal Two, but does not necessarily make a pair.

To Wit:

One Sock. Started in January. Abandoned in February. Restarted in March (last weekend) and finished.

Another Sock. Started in February and finished in early March.

When I went to Texas last month I intended to take my knitting with me. The blue sock, which is the first half of a pair for G, was just at the point where it was getting fun again, where I was about to start turningthe heel. I didn't realize that I had left it home until I was already at the airport. No problem, I thought, I can not knit for 4 days.

Wrong. Saturday, when we were at mom's old house, which happens to be fairly near The Woolie Ewe, I convinced her that I needed yarn. I managed to restrain myself and only buy one skein of Noro Silk Garden Sock and a set of size 1 double-points. Enough to have something should the urge to knit strike. It did, briefly, although I only knitted about 2 inches during that trip.

When I got home I was too intrigued by the Noro colors to go back to the blue sock so I continued knitting my own sock. I am still not getting as much knitting time in the evenings as I did in the hotel, or even back in Hyde Park, but I do manage to get an hour several evenings a week, and sometimes even two. I discovered the series Lie to Me on Netflix and I've been watching it when the opportunity arises, and knitting as I watch. When I finished the Noro sock, I immediately went back and finished G's first sock. I finished season 1 of the series, and the second sock, last night. There was just enough time left in the final episode to cast on another sock, and I opted for my pair, using the Noro yarn. We are set to continue, the sock and I, later tonight.

March 17, 2012