Ask not what you can do for your tops…

… but what your tops can do for you. (Or something).

Wende’s latest post has got me thinking in a jumbled kind of way.

It’s all about addressing fear. I have a fear of being thought to be frivolous, but at the same time I don’t want to be dowdy. I fear professional people dismissing me for frivolity, and potential friends dismissing me for frumpiness. So, when I go shopping with these conflicting fears tucked away in my pocket, I head for plain designs (i.e. not frivolous). Then, depending on how I’m feeling about myself on that day, I will either choose a ’serious’ colour suitable for a visit to the local Friends Meeting House or a bright colour to mitigate any dowdiness caused by the plainness of the cut. I rarely think how I will wear the item once I get it home or how it will fit into my wardrobe. Result = unsatisfactory compromise and boring clothes.

What I would like is for my tops (and other clothes) to reflect a bit more joie de vivre. I suspect the key here is to have different levels or expressions of joy for each ’sub-wardrobe’:

Work-at-home clothes

I think I’m on the right track here with my plans for a work wardrobe of loose knit tunic-like tops and yoga pants / leggings. The joy here is expressed in two ways: a) joyous colours in the tops and b) the feeling of freedom that comes from unconstricted clothing. Although I will make the effort to balance the proportions of each outfit (e.g. getting tunics that are a flattering length), the usual ‘rules’ of flattering fit do not apply here. The aim is to have clothes that create the right feelings for creative work.

Clothes for visiting clients

I think the joy here could come merely from wearing a well-fitting dress in a joyous colour. Dresses = joy for me, anyway. This ‘uniform’ would work very well for clients all year round. I don’t need to do any power dressing (can I say that my reputation precedes me without sounding arrogant?), but I do want to look well turned out. Extra little bits of joy can be expressed in the details of the dress - discreet top-stitching, pocket linings, classy buttons, etc.

Weekend and going-out clothes

This is where I can really go to town, although I don’t know exactly how far into town I want to go, yet. I suspect happy, fun prints will feature somehow.

More knitting

This is the other knitting project I have finished recently. It’s a shrug made out of some wool I found in Oxfam. The pattern was made collaboratively by a group over at Craftster and can be downloaded as a pdf from Peony Knits (it’s in the sidebar).

Very snuggly.

Better late than never…

This is a jumper that I first dreamt up in the last round of Wardrobe Therapy to replace a horrible Velveteen Rabbit that I never liked in the first place (a ‘Torture Rabbit’?).

I made it using the general instructions for a seamless yoke sweater in Elizabeth Zimmerman’s excellent book Knitting Without Tears. It’s the first jumper I have made that fits me perfectly and the yarn is thick but soft. I’m very happy with it.

Wardrobe Therapy - Tops Part 2

Here we go with the rest of my tops. I’m afraid they are all quite boring and also very crumpled, having just been taken out of their winter storage bag.

Torture Devices

A dark green textured t-shirt which is great in all respects apart from the fact that the sleeves are really tight. I bought it knowing this and hoping I could stretch/ease them a little. I couldn’t. It’s not integral to any outfit, so it’s going straight to charity.

Velveteen Rabbits

Three sleeveless, scoop-neck t-shirts - a white one which has gone a bit yellow and shapeless; a turqoise one which is fading at the seams and a navy blue one which has deodorant marks. These are very useful for layering and need replacing (although maybe in other colours).

Stalwart Staples

a) Short sleeved t-shirts

Here we have a good selection of colourful, but ever-so-slightly-boring t-shirts. The red and and blue fit right now, the others are a tad too small. If I buy more t-shirts, I’m going to get ones with a bit more interest.

b) Work-at-home tops

I love the raspberry one - it’s extremely comfortable, a happy colour and should go well with yoga pants. The grey one is on probation - it’s one of those tops that were everywhere last year that make one look pregnant, but it is comfortable. Actually, I’ve changed my mind because, although it is physically comfortable, it is not mentally comfortable (due to the pregnancy thing). It’s probation is officially over. It’s going down.

c) Long sleeved t-shirts

Again, boring. The green and blue are joyous colours (and have been yanked out of the laundry basket for the photo shoot), but the others are just… yawn… useful.

Superstars

None

Mysteries of the Lost Shopping Trip

A green knit sleeveless top. Not a colour I like. Can’t wear it on top of things. Wouldn’t want to wear it on its own. What is it doing in my wardrobe?

I’m so underwhelmed by all these tops that I don’t know how to start evaluating their value. I think I just need to plow on with WT and hopefully that some of them will come into their own when paired with other garments.

Wardrobe Therapy - Tops Part 1

I’m going to split piling my tops into two parts - 1) shirts/blouses and 2) t-shirts/things-without-buttons. Today, it’s shirts and blouses. I was pleasantly surprised when trying these on that some still fitted - I’ve gained more weight than usual this winter and wasn’t expecting anything to fit. However, as winter weight gain is the norm for me, I am going to have additional piles of things that are too small but that I know will fit at some point in the summer. In fact, I am awaiting the delivery of a set of garment organisers for my wardrobe that include labels for ‘too big’ and ‘too small’, which I intend to use (against all the usual advice) because history has taught me that I do shrink and grow throughout the year.

Torture Devices

Just the one here:

(Not ironed. No point). This has some major plus points - I love the fabric and it fits nicely around the waist - but the deal breaker is the sleeves. Sleeveless tops aren’t the most flattering on me at the best of times, but this one also has slits and little ties which conspire to make my upper arms look chunkier than they actually are. It’s heading straight for charity.

Stalwart Staples

Well fitting, cotton, happy-patterned shirts. Say no more.

Actually, I will say more. These shirts could make it into the Superstars category if I knew how to wear them to their full advantage. It’s partly the old ‘trousers don’t look good on me’ problem. I like wearing shirts like this with tank tops (a bit of geek chic), but don’t have any of them at the moment, either. I’m going to do a bit of research on this one to see if I can elevate their status.

Too Small Stalwart Staples

The cotton shirt on the left would belong with the two above if it wasn’t a bit on the small side right now. The one on the right is made of viscose and has served me well over the years as a layer over a little vest top on very hot days when I need to look smartish for clients without sweltering. It’s also a little small right now.

The Can’t Decide Pile

OK, so it’s not an official WT pile, but I really don’t know what to think about this shirt:

Black is very hard to photograph, so let me describe it for you. It is made of a stretchy, firm fabric and has hook and eye fasteners running all the way down the front from about bust level. The sleeves are 3/4 length and the collar is perfectly proportioned. It’s a bit small right now, but when I am a little less rotund, it fits beautifully (in fact, I can do it up right now, it’s just bordering on tarty). But… I have never worn it and I can’t work out why. Is it because it is black and I’m not a barrista? Is it because I feel uncomfortable in such a close fitting garment? I honestly don’t know, but my gut feeling is to hold on to it because I will probably mourn it’s passing when I discover that I really need a black shirt. So it will go in the ‘too small’ section of my wardrobe and await review at a later date.

I will do analysis and priorities once I have piled the rest of my tops.

Taming the Cable Monster - for Alana

This one’s for Alana. For anyone else interested, it is in relation to this problem with cables.

Alana - I hope you don’t mind if I dispense with all the “if I were you” or “perhaps you could” and just dive straight in with instructions. I know it will sound bossy but it will keep the writing clear. My intention is not to boss, just to offer a possible solution.

OK… So there are two objectives here:
1. To stop cables bonking you on the head as move around your basement
2. To make all the cables look a little bit neater and less chaotic

You will need:
1. A roll of Velcro (not self-adhesive)
2. Scissors
3. A stapler
4. Some short nails with flat, smooth heads (maybe upholstery tacks or drawing pins?)
5. A hammer

Step One
If possible, remove any cables that are not in use (that bedroom phone cable?) and store them away.

Step Two
If they are not already there, relocate things like the fax machine, etc so that they are next to a vertical upright or wall. The aim of this is to eliminate these cables dropping “out of nowhere” and get them in position to be neatly secured.

Step Three
Label all the plugs for fax machine, lights, etc, so you can see what they are at a glance.

Step Four
Make some cable ties. Take your roll of Velcro and cut two pieces: one that will be big enough to wrap around groups of cables and another a couple of inch or so in length. Separate the Velcro so you have two sets of pieces. Match the long piece of ‘fluffy’ Velcro with the short piece of ‘grabby’ Velcro and vice versa:

Step 5
Look upwards. Identify your first cable, or group of cables, to be secured. Take one of the longer bits of Velcro and attach it to a rafter with a nail (I’ve done it in miniature, here). The ‘working’ side of the Velcro (i.e. fluffy or grabby) should be against the rafter:

Step Six
At this point you may want to trim the velcro a bit if it looks like it is too long to hug the cable(s) satisfactorily. Take your stapler and attach the corresponding smaller length of Velcro to one end of the longer length, so the smooth sides are together. Make sure the sharp ends of the staples are not on the side which will have contact with the cables:

Step Seven
Wrap the Velcro cable tie around the cable(s) and stick the ends together.

Repeat until you have secured as many cables as possible - both horizontally and vertically. If you make longer Velcro ties, these are also good for securing loops of longer cables to keep them out of the way - you wouldn’t need to attach the ties for these ones to a rafter or wall. I made some of these yesterday to manage all the cables in my study and I think they’re great - really strong, but still easy to remove if you need to work with the cables.

So, that’s my idea. I hope it a) makes sense and b) is helpful. Let me know what you think!

Dreaming of a paper free future

I’ve been making good progress on clearing out and reorganising my study this past week. Four bin bags have been filled and I’m halfway through my fifth, and that doesn’t include the stuff going to charity or freecycle. I am currently at that awkward phase where, although there is less of everything, what remains is all higgledy-piggledy and I can’t start organising it all until I’ve finished clearing out the junk.

A lot of what I have thrown out is shredded paper (too much to go in the compost bin, unfortunately). Now I’ve got a computer I trust (my last Macbook was a dud and went through three logic boards and a hard drive under warranty before Apple relented and gave me a new one) and have bought a great external hard drive for back-ups, I feel more confident storing important documents in digital form instead of on paper. Of course, there are some that need to stay in paper form (mortgage deeds, tax records, ancient manuscripts, etc), but I have been scanning an awful lot.

I’ve been using a flatbed scanner which, although painfully slow, is getting the job done. But as it creaks through each page (and gets stuck and requires system reboots), I find myself dreaming of this:

It’s a Fujitsu Scansnap and one day it will be mine. It can scan 15 pages a minute, automatically converts files to pdfs, can scan directly into my database program of choice (Devonthink Pro Office) and even copes with double-sided documents. There are two versions - one for Mac and the other for W*****s. The downside is that it costs somewhere between £350 and £400.

I don’t know when I’m going to have that kind of money spare, but as soon as I do it’s going on one of these. It’s not absolute-top-priority, because I can cope with my flatbed scanner. I don’t need one, but it would make maintaining the paperless (or less-paper) system so much easier. As it is, I have set up a ‘for scanning’ file, which I will deal with in one big chunk each week to stop the paper mountain building up again.

On PJs

(From maxine.com via a poster on the Clutter Diet)

So. I’m still living most of the time in my PJs and this is something I want to tackle during this round of Wardrobe Therapy. Deciding that I’m going to completely change my habits and get dressed each day in full Susie Regalia just hasn’t worked. Instead, I think I need to work with the whole PJ thing and come up with a “work wardrobe” that has the qualities of a pair of pyjamas but is a bit more stylish. I almost need a standard wardrobe in reverse. I like to be comfortable (and, OK, a bit slobby) during the working day, but at weekends and days off I’d like to have a bit more fun dressing up. Oh, and I also need a few things for visiting clients (which I already have - honestly, I don’t wear PJs all the time).

Bad things about wearing PJs all day:

• It’s embarrassing if people come round
• It doesn’t put me in the right frame of mind for keeping things organised in other areas of our home
• I can’t just nip out to the shops for a pint of milk
• I feel like a complete slob

But what are the qualities of PJs that I can replicate in my new work wardrobe?

• They are comfortable and unconstraining
• They are light
• They have trouser bottoms with elasticated waists
• They are colourful
• They are easy to layer with jumpers, robes, socks, slippers, etc
• They don’t require getting dressed (OK - I’ll have to ignore this last one, unless I plan to sleep in my new work wardrobe, which kind of defeats the whole point).

It’s all about comfort, which is fine. I think I can come up with some good stuff involving elasticated waists and tunics in nice colours. I’ll try to make them as flattering as possible. But I must remember that this wardrobe is just for the days when I am working at my desk writing all day. My other wardrobe is just as important.

Wardrobe Therapy Week 1

This is all boding very well. It’s only Monday and I’m already nearly finished with all the Wardrobe Therapy Week 1 tasks:

BONES: Catch up on laundry and dry-cleaning.
Just need to do a bit of ironing, other than that I’m pretty up to date.

BREATH: Choose one garment, accessory, or beauty product that you know is a Torture Device and ruthlessly de-accession it.
I chucked out a pair of knackered old boots. They were calf length (bad), scuffed (bad) and the zips didn’t do up all the way (really bad). Now I’ve discovered you can get boots to fit chunky legs, I have no need to compromise. Yay!

HEAD: Complete the WT Interview. After you finish it, find a source of clothing pictures that you enjoy looking at.
Done. I’ve found two sources of pictures:

Boden - I do like so many of the clothes at Boden and have owned a couple of pieces in the past. What I don’t like is the price tag and the “Yummy Mummy” associations. But the site is great inspiration for using prints and colours in your wardrobe.

Anthropologie - if I had a bottomless pot of money, I would dress head to toe in Anthropologie. In fact, I would buy this dress today, despite the price, if they had my size in stock. I want it, I want it, I want it. Now.
Edited to add picture of the dress:

HEART: Do something pampering for yourself.
I’ve made an appointment to see a chiropodist on Friday. I’m spare you the details, as feets can be icky, but suffice to say that I have a couple of minor problems I’d like sorted out before sandal weather arrives. I’ve never been to a chiropodist before and I’m curiously excited. Is that normal?

AND… I threw away three bin bags full of rubbish from my study yesterday. It’s all happening round here, I tell you.

The WT Interview Revisited

I have just answered the questions where there is a change from my previous answers. Here goes:

Current favorite garment. Any knee length a-line skirts worn with my new Duo boots. It’s a revelation for me  that it’s OK to wear skirts that don’t reach down to my ankles, and I do feel very happy and all a-skippy in a shorter skirt. A challenge for the spring/summer is how to continue this without the safety of the boots. Bare legs? Really, do I have to?

If there were a uniform for the place where you spend most of your time, what would it be? Still pyjamas, I’m afraid, although I do have a new fan for my sartorial slobbiness. Our new post-lady is about my age and she’s quite enamoured with some of the PJs I wear when opening the door to receive parcels. She has even asked where I got them and says wistfully that she would be in PJs at midday, too, if she wasn’t at work. But, still. I should get dressed in the mornings, being grown-up and all.

What is the problem with your wardrobe? Spring has it’s own special problems. It’s too cold to go bare-legged, but too warm for woolly tights. Trousers are the answer, but I have yet to discover a style that suits me. This should be a priority.

If your wardrobe could speak, what would it say is the problem? That it’s owner is a lazy slob who pays no attention to it and it wants a divorce and custody of the cat.

What do you want people to say about your wardrobe? I don’t want anyone to actually say anything, but if they could seethe quietly with jealousy at my innate sense of style and the fact that my clothes always fit perfectly, that would be good.