Clothes Make the Woman

I promise I'll stop blogging about clothes soon - it's my most shallow interest and I spend way too much of my time and energy on it, but with all of this cleaning, moving and storage upheaval, it's in the forefront right now. I am about ready to move on, though - I streamlined in order to simplify so I would have more time for greater things like my books as opposed to clothing maintenance. I cleared some mental space by removing physical underbrush from my environment. I wish I could be like Catherine Deneuve - she looks amazing no matter what and she looks like she makes some effort, but not all that much, because honestly, she doesn't need to. I am not that lucky in the glamour department, but I do have my own thing and I am content with it. I mostly sit at the lunch table with the goth kids, but I'm not extremely so. I just like black and vintage or plain stuff like Donna Karan, Japanese clothes and military styling, and I don't veer much from that aesthetic blueprint. When I was in NYC lately, I was also reminded that I still dress a lot more East Coast than West - I bought most of my clothes while I lived there, and it shows. You'll look at the subway or a Manhattan street in winter time and it's just a sea of black wool, which describes a lot of my closet. I've got a little bit of UK in my wardrobe, too, including a Pringle of Scotland bag that I love and a wool capelet that I bought in London in 2003. I think I am sometimes at least slightly frumpy, but if that is the price of comfort, so be it. I never wear heels, I am too tall for them, and I am partial to boots and long skirts and black t-shirts of all kinds. I might as well be wearing jammies today - I've got on Uggs and an American Apparel t-shirt with a kangaroo pocket and a hoodie, and I am as happy as a clam. I am a little bit frumpy and a little bit rock and roll - I also have some awesome music t-shirts including Pink Floyd and the London mod scene. Hopefully that balances any dowdiness I may carry from some of the more old lady clothes I sometimes wear (although I will blog about little old ladies as style inspirations in a separate post - seriously, there is some generational matriarchal wisdom to be gleaned from older women's clothing choices). It really all just reflects my personal interests and experiences, especially with the places I have lived and travelled. For a good example of that, I recently had to replace my backpack (I take public transit a lot and I carry my huge book manuscript around with me so I can edit it) and I bought a black corduroy one at Target and sewed a small embroidered patch from the gift shop at Mont St. Michel onto the flap. In another recent instance of a souvenir purchase, I also bought a gorgeous probably-1980's black floral print skirt in Paris for about five euro, and it fits like it was made for me. Because of little things like those sentimental items, my mother's old costume jewelry, my auntie's perfect black leather clutch bag, my cowboy boots that remind me of a pair my daddy wore when I was little, and my own long-standing thrift habit, I can guarantee you that no one is dressed exactly like me, and that is just the way I like it. I think that is what clothes are meant to be - style rather than fashion, and an entirely personal expression that becomes elevated to art by living it.