Looking Like a Jackson Pollack Painting; And a Conundrum

 I received the high compliment of our post's title while wearing this look for day of shopping and tromping through San Francisco. Oddly enough, it didn't feel like i had a lot going on......but looking back on it i can see where a person might get that impression.

The close fitting aspects of the Sheila skirt and the Rococo swirly cotton jacket seemed to 'hold things together', thus i enjoyed the free floating scarves, ties, and peplum. When i'm wearing a look completely composed of floaty, drapey, dangling ponchos, capes, and various doo-dads i feel spacey, even mentally askew. I like the grounding effect of fitted, structured pieces, giving a contrasting background to a few free-range embellishments.

The following ensemble, which i wore the very next day, has a similar vibe - structured, close fitting jacket and sleek leggings provide grounding in this case. Both outfits reflect a bit of a turning point which i've reached along my 'style journey'. A couple of years ago, i decided to concentrate on achieving my 'dream wardrobe'. I've always loved clothes and had a flair for putting them on. As a wee child in hand me downs, i dreamed of the wardrobe i'd have when i grew up. But, you know how life goes....in my case, chronic illness prevented me from experiencing many of the things i'd wanted to: career, hobbies, travel, children....heehee, and of course the clothes!

It struck me that i wasn't that far off from my wardrobe dreams. Between my love of the small wardrobe, compulsion to remix, casual lifestyle, and sewing abilities i saw that pulling off the closet of my fantasies was a realistic goal. Since i had spent a few years neglecting my wardrobe, i began my quest by experimenting with new looks in the most economically parsimonious way possible. That's also when i began this blog. I made skirts from draping out an old sheet, buying cheap material on deep discount, then using buttons i'd gleaned from the husband's old shirts. I won't lie - i'm cheap by nature, but i also didn't want to spend money on ideas i wasn't sure i'd be that enthralled with in a few months. I had no experience dressing who i am now - older, married, more experienced, living in a different body, climate, daily routine.

By this past spring i felt it - i'd arrived at the next stage, the stage where i had a good handle on my likes and dislikes, my needs and wants and what i actually end up wearing.  I had the confidence to commit money, time, and effort to some new duds. As it happens, my aspirational style (there's a useful term for ya!) is more minimalist, and more luxe, than the boho-tatterdemalion style with which i started this blog.  These two looks reflect that. From Emily Cho's perspective, you could say that i'm going for a look that is more mature, authoritative, 'settled'. Notice i said 'more', not 'completely'! Maybe 'more grown up'?  But not 'old'.

Anyways, this bring me to my conundrum. I've been working on the next of the Emily Cho posts, on the Arty Offbeat and Exotic Dramatic personas. These two interrelate much as Sporty Casual and Classic Elegant do - Exotic Dramatic is seen as more managerial, 'the boss', authoritative, mature, in charge, in a leadership position, more experienced, more educated, more organized and so on while Arty Offbeat comes across as more of a student, more of a 'worker bee', less experienced,  follows their own drummer, non-hierarchical, spontaneous, and so on. Both are seen as very creative in their work and social lives. Exotic Dramatic could be thought of as Arty Offbeat all grown up, and in the last few months i've been traveling down the road from Arty Offbeat, getting closer to Exotic Dramatic.

i wore feet, too!

I have asked Judith of The Style Crone to be my icon of the pure Exotic Dramatic image type. (Although she has yet to answer my e-mail, so i'm using this as a naughty pressure tactic!)  Clean lines, every outfit meticulously put together regarding line, color, detail, accessories.....describing her style as 'curated' would not be far fetched, and Exotic Dramatic is the default image type when visualizing a gallery owner, museum director, etc.

However.  I am stuck when it comes to examples for Arty Offbeat. My problem is an embarrassment of riches!! I would say 98% of all style bloggers fall into the Arty Offbeat image type. Those who aren't pure AO show suspiciously strong tendencies in that direction. Pattern mixing, playing with proportions, thrifting, re-purposing clothing pieces (ie.,dress as skirt), heavy attraction to outlandish footwear - all these are classic AO traits and they run rampant in the style blogging world.

So i throw myself upon your mercy, dear readers! Can you nominate bloggers or particular outfits that you feel embody Arty Offbeat for me to use as examples? It's just too much for me! The only lady  i put off limits is Sheila of Ephemera. While a proud Arty Offbeat, Sheila is that rare bird who can take any image type and make it her own. She is a proud graduate of the Emily Cho Persona Academy, and i'm saving her for the finale.

Nominate in the comments, or send me an e-mail if you prefer. Either way, help an old lady out!