Mix and Match

I thought I'd do something a little different this time since my last few blogs have had more words than pictures and been more broadly about style. This time I thought I'd be a little more specific and a bit more personal.

I've mentioned before that wearing something that I like really does affect my mood and can cheer me up as I'm getting dressed for work. (I may also have mentioned before that I get dressed for work at the ungodly hour between 5-6am, so cheering myself up is no mean feat!) I get a kick out of mixing things up like you'd think they weren't supposed to be (such as wearing two different tweed patterns together), or repeating a pattern (like the green circle pendant with the jacket that has green circles on it, or the iguana maryjanes with fishnet hose), or really layering it on (multiple necklaces and brooches) to offset a men's style suit. (I took the jacket off in the photo.)

Now here's the other thing I'm doing differently this time... I know that all of you reading this are very stylish - I'd love to hear your thoughts! Is there anything you like as your personal style? Or, maybe something that you like on someone else, or like from magazines and want to wear? Other things I like to wear - or are looking forward to wearing are big belts, jumpuits, and really high heels, and I'm trying to figure out how I'll approach the return of the shoulder.. What about you? Love them? Hate them? I'll post your photos if you want to send them to me :)

Dress me!

My apartment is looking like a hurricane hit it. The last two bags of winter clothes headed to the dry cleaner for the season are by the door, sweaters are in piles waiting to be cleaned or put away, and there's an explosion of summer clothes that I've moved from the back of my closet but can't fit into the front since warmer clothes are still there. With temperatures ranging from the 40s to upper 80s this week, I'm confused: What season is this??

When I look through it all and try, unsuccessfully, to shove a few more hangers' worth into my closet, I get so frustrated I give up, and look instead for some new place to start a pile. This chaos has shut down my wardrobe creativity. I've forgotten how to dress for this season, so just go for the easy and obvious (and boringly safe). It happens each time the weather changes - suddenly the clothes I'd become so comfortable and familiar with and could mix up in a way I liked without even really thinking about it are gone and here are all these new guys that I need to get to know again. I have purged my closet pretty aggressively (I wrote about that in Closet Bulimia a few months ago), so this is all stuff I want. But I'm overwhelmed. I need a weekend to get reacquainted and see what works now. Some pieces I will probably wear the same way I wore them last year, but some looks won't work anymore since new styles and trends have affected my eye.

I know this could seem like a trivial point of discussion, but if you view your wardrobe as a personal form of design and as an expression of your mood and personality (as I do and as I know a lot of my friends do), it matters. A bad outfit might not ruin my day, but it can certainly get me started off on the wrong foot (or shoe).

I'll work it all out - these are all items that I've picked out and spent money on, after all. But my inclination to play it safe when overwhelmed makes me realize how helpful it is to have the help of an objective eye. I am really lucky to have friends who are fashionable - and some, like Jane, who work in fashion - and who can push me to be more adventurous and try new shapes or pick one piece that will bring new life to a 5 year old suit (which Jane did!). I do almost all my shopping with friends now and they have helped me define my own style much more than I could have on my own, as contradictory as that sounds.

I was interested to see that a lot of the hooplah around the introduction of Top Shop into New York focused on the staff, who are meant to function as stylists. I haven't been to the New York Top Shop, but if it's anything like the London one, I'll probably want to run out screaming. Maybe one function of the stylists is to prevent customers from doing that! Even if it's not to retain customers physically, I think it's smart strategy. At the higher end, shops offer edited collections and personal service. But, to me, stores in the middle just have racks and racks of stuff. It's too much. No wonder people end up buying what everyone else does. Will chain store stylists encourage more people to explore their personal style? I hope so! I love seeing people break out of "safe". I saw a woman yesterday who I'd guess was in her 60's, dressed in understated khaki, but with bright lilac tights. The surprise of it made me smile and point her out to my friend, Aarti, who said "that'll be you when you're 60." Something like that, I hope.

I Like Bike

I was working on a style post, but am putting it aside for now, since biking is more on my brain. Bike commuting to be specific.

As I mentioned last time, I've resolved to ride my bike to work - and I did! Twice this week, avoiding the day it was forecast to rain. I admit I'm a fair weather biker (though not a fair weather friend!).

The ride to work is great - there's not much traffic, and there's a beautiful diffused light as it's still early. But the ride back is .. hmm.. how should I put this? ...invigorating? enervating? massively aggro(-vating)? Let's just say, I come home fairly jazzed and aggressive. That's not really the goal.

To put it poetically, I haven't found my way home.

I looked up an on-line bike map and was pleased to see a bike lane going down 5th Avenue. However, when I tried it, I realized that when they said "Bike Lane" they might have meant "Bus Lane". You're smart and you've probably worked this out already: bus lanes aren't really good bike lanes, given the size difference and all.. Not to mention the fumes and the frequent stops. I chose to ride near the pedicab guys since there were a lot of them and they're pretty colorful and noisy, so hard to miss (well, since I'm hopefully assuming the target is not to hit them, I guess I really mean EASY to miss!!)

Today I rode home a bit earlier, though as every New Yorker knows, on a sunny, warm Friday, rush hour starts early, too, so it didn't really mean less traffic. I tried 2nd Avenue this time. No better than 5th, but uglier for sure. I also got a couple "watch it"s and "watch out, baby"s from cab drivers. I wanted to say "Thanks guys, but what exactly am I to watch out for? You? Blaming me for your driving is a bit rich, don't you think?" But there's no winning against a cab if you're on a bike and that would have been way too many syllables for that audience. I'm a bit of a Type A car driver, but you can't cop that attitude on a bike. Well, you could, but I don't want to do a bug on a windshield impression.

A couple quick style comments before I go... First and most importantly, I've read a couple articles about bike style where the author says you don't need a helmet. Seriously, this is not about style, please wear a helmet!!! At least if you're riding around midtown.(ok, mini rant. done now...) Second, flats and sneakers work equally well, and you won't get sweaty if your commute is as short as mine (ca 2.5 miles), so your change of clothes can just be pair of heels in your backpack, unless you're wearing a skinny pencil skirt, in which case ride in shorts or pants. Guys, forgive me for ignoring you here, but you probably don't have heel and tight skirt issues... :)

One thing I've learned through my very brief bike commuting experience, is that people who bike in New York tend to be viewed as suicidal, cool and independent, or quirky, or some combination of the 4. I've been surprised at people's strong reactions, but so far, it seems to me, that you are making a style statement just by riding your bike in the streets of Manhattan. People notice you and I even had my photo taken this week. So no Uggs or tracksuits... please!

By the way, just to prove that EVERYTHING is on the internet... The picture on this blog is of a poster that hung in my brother's room when we were kids. He liked bike riding (even then - he now owns a bike shop and does crazy downhill mountain bike races) and my mom has always been into design, which is why it was a cool poster.

Vacation Resolutions

I just got back to my apartment after a longer-than-expected vacation (thanks to the swine flu scare). My time away was fairly uneventful fashion-wise (though it must be notable that I didn't wear heels AT ALL for almost two and a half weeks!!!), but, as always, in between lying around reading and researching the local beverages and bars, I came up with a list of goals for my non-vacation life. It's not really fashion, but how much can I say about bathing suits? (hmmm, actually Miami may have provided me with something there.) Not for this time though - it's resolutions. So...

Resolution #1. Post a new blog: Check

Resolution #2. Buy less stuff: Actually, on vacation, I was pretty good on that one, relative to past trips. I picked up a couple of Mexican blouses in a Frida Kahlo inspired moment, though even in a peasant blouse I won't resemble her in the least given that my blonde eyebrows tend to disappear rather than combine forces as a unibrow. I'm very happy with my Mexican blouses - they're colorful, cheap, comfortable, and, given the extended nature of my travels, were the only clean tops I had for a while!

Resolution #3. Read more: Check. This goal setting is going really well, actually. I like making a list of resolutions that I've already met, so I can check them off and feel productive. I may start setting my New Year's resolutions on December 31 from now on! :) To be honest, though, reading more did require buying more stuff, including a kindle, which is absolutely fantastic - slim, light, and doesn't have pages that blow in the wind on the beach. It's almost perfect except for a few things that I'll mention in their feedback request and the fact that it requires the owner of the kindle to remember to bring the power cord. Ummmm...yeah.. Well, I managed to finish three books before it died. Fully charged, I think the kindle will be great for my work commute, though that does conflict with resolution #4.

Resolution #4: Ride my bike to work. I had so much fun on bikes this vacation that I'm inspired to change my New York commute from cab to bike. I biked to work when I lived in Frankfurt and felt so much more awake and refreshed (though starting work at 7:30am rather than 6am might have had something to do with it...) There's a lot written about biking fashion, but really, I plan just to wear flats and if my skirt is tricky, change into shorts or capri pants. Mine's a citified mountain bike, so no basket, but a backpack works. I do have my eye on my mom's old Gazelle bike from Holland (if she chooses to sell it). Maybe I could put a basket where the baby seat used to be (my seat) and put my clothes and shoes in that.. Easy! Where will I store it? Well, that and other issues answered with resolution #5.

Resolution #5: Work on my million dollar business idea. Interested investors welcome to contact me. :)