Stuff. Last night I got rid of lots and lots of stuff.



Actually, it was all stuff I really liked. Clothes I was given as gifts for birthdays, the first piece of clothing my husband ever bought me, clothes from long travels abroad, clothes I wore hiking in North Carolina, clothes made by my fashion designing best friend forever, or my favorite dresses from college. Clothes I wore at major moments in my life like Justin's concert in Myrtle Beach at the House of Blues [an outfit bought on the side of the road on the drive up there], clothes I wore to my friend's bachelorette party, to my first day of work. Clothes I loved loved loved, but that never looked good on me, yet I still kept in case one day, miraculously, I woke up with a new body that looked right in that long green tweed pea coat.

It was kind of emotional getting rid of these things. There are so many memories attached to the things we wear. I have already cleaned out my closet a few times in the past year and was only left with the clothes I really loved or that had sentimental value. A lot of sentimental value. Who knew I was so damn sentimental?

Last night I cleaned out half of the "stuff" in my closet.



Wuzzup Ma? Can I helpz?

Notice the large box [covered in the cool sun and star print sarong] in the bedroom that is filled with stuff from the last round of cleansing. Just double that and it's about what I have sitting in my guest bedroom right now, ready to be swapped or sold or donated. I feel like I am saying goodbye to my past, in a way. The old me. Or a me I used to wish I could be. Or a me I was, but I don't need to keep the clothes as a reminder.



Today I wore green cargo pants, cream tank, this delicious hand painted floral print vest, suede jacket and tan lace up booties. It's hard to see the outfit here, but it was the end of the day. I was lazy. You CAN see my awesome cats though. They are so cute.

 

 

So, since Hilary and I are losing creativity and motivation to keep up this blog and our fashion outfits, we decided to experiment with clothes we are desperately avoiding for multiple reasons. My main reason is comfort and also in the morning my feet are always swollen and the last thing I want to do is wear heels or dresses. I also have the desire to cover up in the morning, avoiding any skirts, tank top or dresses. However, today I did the opposite of my desires, by wearing a flower print vintage dress I bought in Paris. I paired it with suede mustard boots, a pink pashmina and a jacket I bought in Chicago. Shawn was so surprised he asked me why I was wearing a spring/summery dress in the Fall. Well it’s 85 here so it made sense to me.  34 days have passed and I worn only maybe 1/3 of what I own. I already filled a garbage plastic bag with ‘no more’ items, but still feel I need to let go of more….. I want to end up having items that I love, that I can wear everyday and still feel good and stylish. I also want few evening items for special rare occasions. Want, want, want…What it’s most likely going to happen is that I will have nothing in my closet. Ahah.



Inspiration from Vogue Paris. Flower-prints.

My interpretation based on what I already own:





You can see the dress here a little bit better. Sorry for the bad quality pictures.

My clothes are getting boring.

Not shopping has had an odd affect on my sense of fashion. Instead of feeling more creative, I have started a fashion hibernation of sorts. I am surviving on the reserves of a few favorite pieces. Everything else in my closet feels confusing and like an enemy. [Been giving some mad side-eye to my closet these days.]

I have a good excuse today. I had to get up at 4:30am for work purposes [a rare, but scary thing] and I came THIS CLOSE to putting on a new outfit. Then, in the confines of my dark closet [husband was sleeping, like a sane human being] my thoughts started whispering to me, "What are you thinking? New? Exciting? No no no, you want comfort. You want eassssssse." [Said like the snake in the Garden of Eden - tempting me away from creativity and self-expression... or was that snake tempting us towards creativity and self-expression... hmm.] I gave in faster than if you had presented me with an Arlington Donut Shoppe glazed donut.



Hence, my comfort clothes. Sweater? Check. Jeans? Check. White tank top? Check. Scarf? Check. Cowgirl boots? Check.



My coworker/friend/professional photographer [by now] told me I could sit on this bench if I thought of a nice memory. I told her I remembered these jeans, because I wear them every other day.

I thought part of the point of this journey was to try out new outfits, discover old clothes that had become lost and long forgotten?



[A rare shot of my from behind.]



[We found some new and exciting trees to stand by. And a Forest Gump bench is not far off in my future.]

I feel slightly re-inspired. Tomorrow I will be debuting the outfit I refused to wear this morning. I am also going to go through and get rid of all the things that are clogging up my fashion brainwaves.

Yes, I have been absent. I did not post for two days. I just did not feel like it and did not have time. I have spent the past days working on a paper to submit to a conference. I am not even satisfied with the results. Actually, I feel it's a shitty paper, but at the same time I wanted to submit it trying to get some feedback. I am also struggling to work on two presentations due tomorrow and lesson plans plus exams. I am a mess and consumed by academic work. So the blog is secondary. I also feel I don't want to wear what I own. let me explain. I want to wear few items I have and repeat outfits I like. My closet is full of dresses, but dresses can be uncomfortable to wear and they need to be paired with cute high heel shoes. I just don't care. I don't care about shopping anymore. I went to Marshall's this weekend to find some kind of storage containers. While passing through the clothes all I saw was expensive cheap crap. I have become extremely conscious when shopping. One of the main reason is that you spend money for crap that will break in five seconds. So what's the point? I don't see the point of buying, unless it's an art piece or well done item. Maybe this is the result of a recession that pushed me to save money or distribute the money in other sectors less materialistic such as traveling and food and art. Sorry for venting.





Wearing black leggings, brown silk top from Banana Republic; custom-made suede boots from Italy; black sweater from Benetton.



Happy Halloween. Vogue Magazine.

Yesterday was a day off for Gin and I... inadvertently. Not planned, but blogging every. single. day. is hard work. Even if it is just taking pictures and loading them up.

And then today I was so busy I could barely think straight and forgot to take a picture. Since I did take pictures yesterday, I'm doing a sort of combo deal. Yesterday's pictures, today's blog. C'est la vie.

I am definitely experiencing some fatigue on the inspiration front. And I am yearning for some retail therapy. Like, if only I could just buy something, clothes could be fun again! Although, with this look, I found a new way to wear this tunic. It seems obvious to me now, that I have done it, but sometimes a shirt seems like just a shirt until you make it something else. [This isn't even really a shirt, being super long, but it has major slits on the side.]





Wearing black tank dress, maroon knit tunic dress, brown Nine West cowgirl boots, turq rings, silver Chicos cuff [saw the same one featured on Topshop... go Chicos!], and silver fringe earrings.

Happy Halloween folks.