Would like to figure out a way to keep the belt rack visible in the closet. I've decided I might donate a coat to the Salvation Army that I've had for five years. I bought it with the JC Penney gift certificate I was given when I left my old job. Donating the coat would free up room in the coat closet. I will try it on tonight and decide what I want to do because I'm not sure the zipper zips up completely anymore. It seems wasteful to me to get rid of the coat after only five years. The short red coat has a hood and flap pockets.
My wishful thinking has me dreaming of making room in the closets for a guy's clothes. Would that be possible at some point? We shall see. I get the idea that my life will turn on a dime next year so stayed tuned for any news in here to that effect.
The talk went well last night. The co-leader told me, "You were no-nonsense and intelligent. You spoke beautifully." I had felt I was of no help though a woman came up to me afterward and a father shook my hand at the end of the night. You hear stories of such hell and want only to make it better for the mothers and fathers and their loved ones.
The coat I donate to Sal's when I get a chance to bring the donations bag there. I now have easy access to the belt rack. You wonder about this. The details are finishing touches and not an afterthought. They make the difference between so-so and stand out. Was it Vivienne Westwood who suggested in a fashion magazine that a woman should err on the dramatic side? I'm not so keen to appear dramatic and wear theater makeup anymore. I used to covet being dramatic and that was when I didn't realize I did so because the Dramatic woman is the style type immediately after me so I had a secret striving to come across as larger-than-life.Now I'd rather my clothes take a backseat to my humanitarian actions. This sounds two-faced doesn't it? You can look good while doing good. Yet I would rather not look weird while trying to come across as stable and not shaky. That is how I've reconciled this through the years.
Today I wear the silver-tone ring with my red military jacket and the Sephora Mat10 lipstick. It's a matte red that beautifully replaced the Lancome Vibration shade I bought on sale at a makeup emporium that was going out of business. That was a magnificent red and the Mat10 looks exactly the same on the cheap: $12 before tax.
Well: I counted: I have 16 tubes of lipstick. The temptation when you nix department store lipstick is that you can spend the money easily on drug store offerings. So you're in the hole either way. It just seems virtuous to spend $10 a pop on 10 tubes than to spend $25 each on 4 tubes. Kind of a recession-proof logic.
The names of the shades are interesting:
Rose Lustre
Sensual Rose
Teak Rose
Vinyasa
In the Red
Pink Chocolate
Micro Mocha
Micro L'Amore
One tube I bought turned out too Goth for my liking. It was Wine Not-one of the Revlon matte selections. In the 1990s, I wore shades like MAC's Dubonnet and Taupe that were brown or warm. I almost bought two more tubes because there was a sale: "buy one get one half off" and I thought it was buy one get one free until I realized it actually said "half off." That would be ridiculous: to have going on 20 tubes of lipsticks and lip glosses! Even I know when to say when.
Will write for just a little more and then go wind down.
The How to Have Style book is missing in action. Amazon.com shipped it and I've yet to receive it in the mail. Today I would like to go to the hardware store for the two red paint swatches so I can finish covering the inspiration board. I want to buy pink satin cloth to cover the cork. I toyed with using a deep rose tee shirt to cover it however that would look too funky if you ask me. It's a tee shirt I rarely wore though that I bought in San Diego from a vendor cart at the Fashion Valley Mall. I loved that mall. There was a lovely shop called Something Silver where I bought a pendant with wooden-and-silver circles. I wear it with a thin black turtleneck or tee shirts. The tee shirt has the names of towns like La Jolla written in black letters. I would like to take driving lessons and travel to San Diego and drive to La Jolla. I hear it's a beautiful beach area.
Don't get me started on how women flash their lower back routinely. I was waiting on a train tonight and this young woman wore a short jacket that exposed her back because she had on low rise jeans. Do you know what I did? Placed my "modern fit" Ann Taylor jeans in the donation bag because I did not want to keep them. I haven't gotten around to calling 1 (800) DIAL-ANN to suggest it is plain wrong to offer only low rise jeans. It's not worth it when I can buy jeans elsewhere.
I've decided the Ann Taylor pants are another story because they're hopefully not low rise. I have four pairs of Ann Taylor and Loft pants that I wear to work now instead of jeans. Tonight I will pick up the skinny jeans from the tailor and wear them to work on Saturday with a red sweater and the In the Red lipstick.
Tomorrow I can wear the plaid pants and black turtleneck and black Limited jacket that I've had for 10 years. It is still in good condition and I had the tailor replace the lining five years ago.
How to have style? Study other women. See what outfits resonate with you. Try to recreate them to see what works. Read fashion magazines and read Allure and Lucky to discover new possibilities. It will be easier for you I'm sure to make a fashion mistake than it is for me. That is how you learn: by repetition. Keep trying on items and trying on even more items to find the clothes that fit you well. A woman shouldn't have to settle for less than wonderful clothing choices. Poorly constructed or ill-fitting items or ones made from cheap material and strange colors do none of us justice when we want to present ourselves in the world.
I will perhaps link to the Closet Couture website from here.
Right now I'm going to wind down as the day is ending and I'm ready to go outside to the tailor.
I've spun this record around and around for too long in one groove.
Enjoy your day.
Chris
La Jolla: I would love to go there sometime.
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