Frequent Citations

Flaunting The Bag

The Emerald City definitely has a Bag Culture. I was chatting with a friend at work about it, and we agreed that it has something to do with not having a car.  Back in the day, I could keep a spare sweater, some snacks, a change of shoes, some groceries, and a small child in the car.  Now, sans car, everything goes in The Bag, which is now considerably larger than my formerly famously small bags.

And, perhaps because it's a fairly important piece of gear, perhaps because it's a rather prominent accoutrement, perhaps just because, bags tend to be, well, Bags.  Flashy name, to-die-for leather, high fashion or total classic or all of the above, a Bag is an Investment.  Or something.

Anyway, as implied above, I've been an abnormally-small bag woman most of my life, and also Cheap.  I'd maybe bought a total of what, 10? 8? purses in my life before moving here.  In other words, really not at all equipped or trained for buying Bags.  I bought a very basic, not very expensive, predictably black bag when we first arrived and have carried it nearly daily since, but it's beginning to show some wear and tear, and not showing them well.  I've also discovered that I'm not a bucket-bag person--I want dividers, I want pockets, and I'm not taking no for an answer.  The Beginners Black bag (not quite deserving of the Bag label) has an interior pocket, but no real dividers, and I've spent hours and hours fishing around in the bottom of my bag, shoving shoes and scarves and snacks out of the way, searching for whatever smallish item I need that's lurking in the bottom, hiding with its friends.

So I bought a Bag.  Or TFL gave me a Bag for Valentine's Day.  Not sure which, but anyway, the Bag arrived via Zappos. It has dividers, and to-die-for leather, and just barely qualifies as a Bag if we're going to be honest about it.  (Oh, let's be honest.)  Weirdly, the word that comes to mind when you see this Bag isn't elegant or professional or luxurious or even fun--it's "edgy."  Which is not actually what I was going for, but I think it works.  When in doubt, I'll just pet the oh-so-soft leather.

The Bag. It is vast.  I think I'll call it Buckles.  Good grief, I can't believe I just named my bag.

Jarring Fashion

Sometimes people exhibit a shocking lack of fashion sense, not to mention respect for fine design or other people's sensibilities.

This young woman was wearing carrying a lovely quilted Chanel bag in a camel color that picked up some of the tones in her short fur jacket -- so far, so good.  She was wearing rather forgettable black slacks with it, which could have been forgivable.  But. 

She was wearing sneakers.  Sneakers!  Not even black ones!  (Which, make no mistake, still would have been utterly unacceptable.)

You don't carry that bag while wearing sneakers.  It just doesn't work, and I'm not even really a true bag fan. 

And all she would have needed was a decent pair of sleek pumps to make the whole outfit sing.

Dandy

I was walking down the hall at work today and one of the secretaries remarked, as she passed me, "You have a lovely wardrobe."

Well.  That certainly made my (incredibly hectic, 17-hour) day.  And to think I've just been grousing that almost none of my jackets fit me anymore.  (Which is still true, a lot of them now hang and look frumpy, but a few still fit -- or fit well again, as the case may be.)

This week I have:  client interview (look nice), day of argument prep (try to survive), day of deposition training (formal, but may be abruptly transformed into another day of argument prep), day of client interview plus going to fed court (formal!  full suit!), and day of two client interviews (one interview with official government types, so formal suit, but one interview that doesn't start until dinner and will go until late, so ... maybe the knit skirt?).  So to translate:  cute jacket and slacks, maybe sweater set instead of jacket, jacket over something comfy (pleated dress maybe), skirt suit, skirt suit.

But no new shoes.  Have I mentioned the kids are going abroad?  Owwwwww.  Travel does bad things to the shoe budget.

Never Say Die

Here's a great theme for a party:  tuxes and party frocks.  TFL and I went to such a party this past weekend, and it was just as delightful as you might imagine.  Everyone looked charming and elegant (except for the Irish soldier whose dress uniform was a tux draped with gold braid and medals -- upgraded from charming to pure deliciousness).  Ok, this being the Emerald City, one or two outfits were just downright scandalous, but delightful still in their own way.

TFL wore his tux and looked quite James Bond-ish in his own blonde way.  I guess with the latest Bond, Bond is blonde anyway (harrumph).  I wore a skinny little black satin party frock and my 4" burgundy patent pumps.  We spent the evening/early morning drinking champagne, chatting with interesting people, dancing, and generally enjoying ourselves.  It seemed like something we should do more often, especially now that I have the aforementioned party frock. 

Outfits

I love fall.  The weather is neither too hot nor too cold, there's plenty of football to watch, the holidays are near but not so close it's time to stress about getting ready for them.

The other day I saw two perfect and completely different fall outfits as I was walking to work. The first one I saw was the rocker/schoolgirl look, but somehow tastefully done.  First of all, the woman was the perfect age to pull it off, and had wild corkscrew curls without a hint of frizz, so that was pretty amazing right there.  Her outfit was thigh-high cuffed black leather boots, short plaid skirt, short black leather jacket over a black top.  With very simple, elegant makeup she looked great. 

The other outfit was the antithesis of rocker/schoolgirl, more of a Grace Kelly look with a winter-white jacket with a little peplum, a straight black skirt ending in a ruffle that precisely matched the lines of the peplum, and ivory peep-toed pumps.  She topped it all off with a clean updo for her hair.

One of the many things I enjoy about people-watching in this town is seeing outfits like those, precisely right from head to toe.

I tried on, fell in love with, and resisted buying another pair of shoes.  Black oxfords, with a 3.5" stacked wood heel and wing-tip detailing -- they were adorable and looked great with jeans.  Oh well.  They also cost half a plane ticket.

Spiffy in S.ho

One of my brothers runs a little garden system upstate.  The system was designed by the same minor deity who designed the Park I can once again see from my office. 

He blows into town from time to time (the brother, not the minor deity) for various events and meetings and, tonight, a fundraiser.  It's a cocktail party at a loft.  Said loft is owned by some Famous Person (of whom I'd never heard but I barely watch tv) and is therefore in a Highly Fashionable part of town.

Obviously, outfit and shoes were going to be critical issues.  Happily, they were dealt with long ago.  I'll be sporting a very closely fitted black suit (with a shocking pink lining in the jacket) and deep burgundy 4+" heels, and TFL will still be taller (even when he slouches). 

I'm thinking we may have to do dinner after.

Shorn

I finally got around to getting my hair cut.  It was quite the little adventure, for various reasons.  And there was drama at the counter as someone fussed about the (outrageously cheap for the quality of cut) cost.  But my guy threw in a free deluxe conditioner for me because I'm just that fabulous, and then at one point I had not one but two hairdressers blow-drying my hair.  That was pretty entertaining.

Anyway, I'm pleased.  TFL lavised praise.  Now I'm going to spend three days with a motorcycle helmet on, so we all know that effort was well-placed.

The Good And The Bad Of New Shoes

I've been on a mission for months-- a mission to find nude pumps.  I even went all the way to the Capital in my search (visiting great friends may have been part of that plan too), only to find that the Ultimate Shoestore with the Darlingest Shoes Ever was closed.  Permanently.  Gone for ever.  The tragedy!  The pain and angst!  The frustrated longings for sweet pumps embellished with absurd bows and rhinestones!

Oh.  Right.  Those weren't on my list.  Just a pair of plain, elegant, nude pumps that will go with everything.  So I went to Zappos (while still visiting my friend who was also now in deepest mourning for the Ultimate Shoestore) and found The Pumps.

They might be the most ridiculous pair of absolutely uber-plain nude pumps ever.  A 4"+ stiletto will do that (the picture doesn't quite do them justice). I had to check with 3 different people who each confirmed that they were work-appropriate.  They came about 2 seconds after I ordered them, waiting for me when I got home, so of course I wore them at work immediately where they perfectly suited an outfit comprised of a fawn-colored jacket, pink blouse, and black skirt.  I got oodles of compliments too.

Obviously, so far it's been all about the good of new shoes.  So the bad, you ask?  I promised this would be my last shoe purchase for A While.  As in, possibly months.  And in all honesty, I probably do have all the shoes I actually need at the moment.  But it does rather take the shine off the new shoes, to think they'll be the last until some undetermined but far away point in the future.

In other news:  some people need to be smacked upside the head.  They probably have a sneaking suspicion of who they are but will die before admitting it.  TFL is rocking the new firm, where they've been about as quick as people usually are to realize that he basically walks on water.  But his profession being what it is, we cross our fingers everyday that he keeps his job.  Friends of ours from waaaaay back might be coming to town next month, about which I am so excited I might forget about the whole shoe thing for minutes at a time.  And I'm way behind in knowing what's happening in Boy's oh-so-full-of-drama love life. 

I Like:

Madison by Dolce Vita

Giant Peach Controversy

Okay, "giant" might be hyperbole.  And "controversy" might be overstating things.  But really, peach?  I never expected the color itself to stir up the commentators (I say, as though I had hordes of them (commentators, that is)).  I mean, what have they got against peach?  Is it a general dislike of it, or is this a judgment on how I myself would look in the color? 

Eh, you know I wouldn't go so far as to wear peach anyway.  Probably.

In other news:  we started watching Firefly.  Fun!  When it isn't beyond gory and scary as all get-out, anyway.

Adventures In Color

I was down to zero pairs of presentable jeans (some people would say I've been at that point for some time) so TFL and I packed up the Orange Bag and headed downtown.  The first store was an insane asylum, but on a light day.  I tried on half a dozen pairs of jeans and none fit.  I sent TFL down to the shoe department and wandered by the scarf aisles on my way to something else--no really, I swear! I wasn't just there to buy a scarf!  But I did, and get this:  (Mother, you may want to brace yourself) it was brown.  A rich, chocolaty brown with a vaguely purple undertone, sure, in a satiny silk-cashmere blend and marked down about 90%, but still--it is a distinctly brown scarf and is now folded up and sitting on my shelf.

But that is not all! We went to Macy's in the continued quest for Jeans That Fit.  On the way we stopped at Jackie Gleason's favorite bar for a pint and a few rounds of pool.  I won a game, too!  Sure, I won because TFL dropped the 8-ball, but he dropped it because I had cleverly bunched all the balls up in one corner of the table so I think I still get credit for the win.  We were then tortured serenaded on the subway by a pair of fellows who sounded like a pair of angry cats with pitch problems sang an alledgedly gospel tune.  I far preferred the amazing cellist we heard playing Bach, by memory and well, on New Years Day. 

Anyway,  we made our way to Macy's where they had no suitable jackets for TFL, who continues to cling to his disreputable leather jacket.  I tried on a dozen pairs of jeans and found two that fit acceptably well.  And then--again, Mother, brace yourself--I found a completely adorable and ridiculously flattering brown jacket.  It buttons up the front and has a little mandarin collar and when TFL saw it he actually said "Wow."  And I don't think it was just the shock of seeing me in brown.  It was also about 75 or 80% off.  There are some ridiculous sales out there right now.

So it was an exciting day for me, branching out in my color selection.  Maybe I'll get really crazy and pick up a peach-colored sweater or something.