April 30, 2003
Sunshine Fashion
The reindeer are singing "I Ain't Got No Body", but they do begin to have bellies. I seem to be progressing so slowly now as compared to the main body; I am only halfway through the patterned area.
Doubtless, the eagle eyes among you have noticed that I added a link on my sidebar to Madame Glitchbane's Contraptions, which is a central index to the two calculators provided so far (I made the stash ascertainment formula into a calculator for ease of use).
Ginger teaches Sherlock how to Play With Yarn:
I stole a look at my itinerary for Friday's voyage to the Other Coast. With visions of warmth and sunshine, a scarce commodity here in the PNW, I prepare my bags. This morning I receive The News from Baltimore: it's going to rain on Saturday. Can I cry now? Can I just sit here in the middle of the rug and bawl helplessly, completely devoid of any hope of experiencing warm dry sunshine on my skin ever again?
I plan to devour The Fiery Cross on the way, hoarded ever since its purchase that fateful day of the Mormor Art discovery. A book! Real words in ink on real pages for my escape pleasure!!
While shopping yesterday on my lunch hour I was surprised to note that an entire new Nordstrom's department store had sprung up at the mall without my knowledge in the months it has been since I felt I needed new store-bought clothing.
Looking through the newest offerings in women's sportswear, I notice that the colors of 1979 are back-- bright blue, bright pink, bright red; all colors I have missed for a long time.
Have you ever noticed that many older women seem to have chosen one point in time in which to freeze their hairstyle, clothing style, makeup style and/or decorating preferences? I have observed this phenomena for many years, but perhaps misattributed it to a fashion-agnostic state of mind attained by these women for one reason or another.
Mostly I theorized that at the time particular fashions were popular, these women suddenly stopped caring about keeping up with fashion in general, deciding they would no longer update their wardrobe or hairstyle, but stick with what they had. This nicely explained why one might still see a beehive or Big Hair or Earth shoes anachronistically displayed during one's daily ambles. (Is that a proper use of the word "anachronistic"? Probably not.)
Based on my own experience, I have recently come to a different conclusion. That is, these women have lived through at least one complete fashion cycle, and maybe two. Every time they look at tube tops or hip huggers or gauchos or the like, they groan and realize that fashion will continue to cycle-- all the fashions they dislike will come back into popularity no matter how distasteful they are and were.
So these newly enlightened women, having healthy egos that support their choice not to be part of the fashionably chic, choose the styles that appeal to them or that flatter them best, adhering to these rather than subjecting themselves to the unflattering hemlines, waistlines, hairlines and colors approved by the currently ruling czars of fashion.
This is one reason why knitting the classics is so important to me. The Jean Frost Jackets book (I highly recommend this one!) highlights classic shapes for jackets that will never be out of style, for example. The traditional shapes and patterns of fisherman ganseys, Arans, Fair Isle and Norwegian knitting are also items that will never be passe. Certain colors, too, are classic: navy, black, white, gray, red, camel.
So what did I buy in my rare spree? Why, the color that represents the sunshine I cannot have: Bright, gorgeous, in-your-face yellow!!
That's exactly it ! I know which colours I love and also know that my droopy ,hippychick clothes will ,from time to time,be in some way fashionable.I feel comfortable. Wouldn't claim to look good ! Trini and Suzanna would have a field day with me [ you know ... What Not to Wear ] ,but I wouldn't let them anywhere near me .
Who wants to follow the croed anyway ? ;-]
Apologies. That should have been 'crowd' !
Posted by: Emma on April 30, 2003 09:38 AMSpeaking as an 'older' woman I think you are quite right. I would add a rule that a friend of mine, who just turned 50, applies to such things, and I use it often as I see the clothes of my high school days on today's teenagers - bell bottom hip huggers, platform shoes, Peter Max dayglo colors! "If I'm old enough to have worn it last time it was in style, I'm too old to wear it now."
Posted by: CarolineF on April 30, 2003 10:06 AMAm I the only one who hated those fashions the first time around? Do girls realize that without a certain type of figure the hip huggers make them look like beached whales? I wish I thought I could carry off a sari, they seem like just the thing for comfort! The French have a saying "you must suffer for beauty". Maybe that's why my ancestors left France :-)
Posted by: sheila on April 30, 2003 10:16 AMDon't cry yet! Just in the past 4 hours weather.com has changed the chance of rain on Saturday from 60% to 30%...
Yes hiphuggers do accentuate those little rolls of fat don't they. I wonder what gawdawful thing will be (back) in fashion in 10 years when Emily is in junior high.
Posted by: CarolineF on April 30, 2003 11:30 AMWow, a blog so asetically pleasing and so user friendly too! Love the reindeer sweater - going to google to see if I can find the pattern. Maybe if I'd painted the walls of my Kirkland, WA home in such daring colors, I'd still be living there instead of in early retirement in sunny Prescott, AZ. Is the Rasberry wall in honor of Erica in Jerome? Many of your 100 remind me of my dear friend still working up there (unlike me who retired from engineering early) as a DBA - no degree, but makes mucho bucks contracting for MSFT. My adult daughter teases me about dressing Eddie Bauer all the time, and its great to finally be an age of not needing to look any way that is not comfortable and/or pleasing to me.
I'd love to be a spider in your parlor:)
Posted by: Roi on April 30, 2003 01:41 PMHi Roi! Yes, it is the Erica Raspberry (of Jerome) wall, and isn't it sweet how it turned out to be a dark raspberry color, too (which just happen to be one of the great products of Washington)?! Lucky you to be in the sunshine and out of the work force; stop by the Parlor if you're ever back up Kirkland way!
Posted by: sheila on April 30, 2003 03:47 PMSunny skies, sunny clothes, it's amazing what a little bit of sun can do! Maybe spring is finally making its way to the North West.
Janet
(who actually managed to get a few minutes out in the Vitamin D generator today...)
sheila, you can not sit and cry about saturday's rain, just think of all of us actually meeting for the first time! coming from perpetually sunny florida, a little rain is a good thing ;-)
my 14 (looks 20) year old daughter looks fabulous in all the new fashions, esp. hiphuggers, and i get to live my semi-hippy life all over again through her clothes!