The Blogger and Compromise

So most of the day i ran around in barefeet and no hat. (I did wear the jewelry shown.) As preparation for my evening constitutional, i put on this hat and shoes.

This blog is presented as a daily outfit blog. 'Fantasy' outfits are labelled as such. As i set up to take my daily photos, i realized i'd wandered into an ethical quandry - should i show hat and shoes, or bareheaded and unshod?

As you can see, i split the difference. Yes hat, no shoes.

What ethical dilemmas do you wrestle with, inside or outdoors of your blogging life?

Tunic: Converse One Star at Target
Tank: Jockey
Skirt: own design, inspired by The Hidden Seed
Scrap Petti: own design, inspired by Alisa Burke

If You Can't Stand The Heat

Snuggle up to your chiminea. Obviously! I woke up the day i wore this outfit with an awful headache from getting overheated the day before. In case you haven't noticed, i'm overly sensitive to heat and thus obsessed with high temperatures. Living where i do, there's plenty for me to obsess about. As long as i take certain precautions i do okay, but i blew it and paid the price. So i decided to try to cheer myself up by dressing fun. It worked (along with some time in bed with ice on my head).

Generally i wear this skirt as a petticoat, for extra warmth, or coverage with a sheer skirt, or when i want a row of buttons peeking out the hem of my dress. Somewhere, sometime, i saw a skirt with mixed buttons equally spaced along it's hem and decided to try a similar idea on this skirt. I thought it would look so cute with the stripes and the eyelet trim. The buttons are just random ones leftover from other projects or ripped off Mr. E's worn out shirts. They make a wonderful 'snick, snick' sound when they hit against each other as i walk.


Tank: Jockey
Skirt: own design
Scarf: gift
Rose pin: own design

Does This Chiminea Make Me Look Fat?

When i set up this photo, i planned to crop out the black chiminea - it was a 'strictly outfit' pic. But when i looked at the snaps, the way the pot bellied stove echoed my own little pot belly tickled my fancy, so i left it in.

But 'that's not flattering' many would say. And it doesn't make me look skinny, which sadly seems to be mostly what 'flattering' means these days. But outfits can flatter in so many other ways. They can bring out a glowing complexion, sparkling eyes, slender hands, a swaying walk. An outfit can reflect a person's take on color, shape, texture, or their interest in a certain historical era or life passion.

For me, this outfit was more about curving lines, in the roses, the collar, the lace, my hair, the hem of the skirt. also having pockets for my grocery list, keys, and bank card for grocery shopping.

i realize many would find this outfit more appealing if i looked slimmer. And i don't rule out wearing these clothes with that end in mind at some future time. But this day, to me, the sweating, pain, and limping caused by the addition of Spanx and high heels would detract from the flattery of this ensemble.

Jacket: Donna Karan for Vogue Patterns 2862, made by me
Earrings: gift
Necklace: gift
Belt: thrifted
Tank: Jockey
Skirt: own design
Shoes: old Borns

That Deadwood Vibe...

here's what i used to clothe my nakedness Sunday while hiding out in the house from the 97 degree heat and resting my leg.technically, i suppose it would be categorized as 'loungewear'. frankly, i thought it was too boring to document, but i did as part of the 'outfit DIARY' project.

but when i laid them out, i saw how much even these little clothes look so 'me'. the lace trim and eyelet,the light neutral color, 'victorian' type details grounded by a utilitarian piece (a men's undershirt). it got me thinking about how our personal style is, or is not, reflected in different areas of our lives. i've know women who dress extremely appropriately for their high-powered careers, then spend all weekend in faded sweats. other women look sexy and up-to-the-minute while clubbing, but don't feel they are taken seriously when they wear similar clothing in an office environment. but they've never put any thought into what else to wear.

when i married i moved to a new climate, after living in the same place for most of my life. this resulted in a lot of new situations for which i needed to dress. when i lived in a very mild, foggy climate i relied on layering disparate pieces to create an eclectic look. i was able to style my hair different ways without it being ruined from sweating under the huge hats i suddenly needed for sun protection. when you're doing housework in 85 degrees, the last thing you need is layers of contrasting colors and textures. now i was challenged to project an eclectic style through wearing just a few pieces at any one time.

the difficulty i had in making this transition helped me see the wisdom in getting to know your own personal style in depth. if you have a color palette, library of style details, fabric preferences, and clothing shapes that fit your personal style and physical preferences you are way ahead in filling 'holes' in your wardrobe which turn up. when you move to a new climate, become a parent, retire, or face other big lifestyle changes you will have a much narrower focus when shopping for clothes to fit your new situation. you won't have to start from scratch and will have the knowledge to be able to recognize things that will work quickly, as well as sorting out the 'no-gos'.

spending some time and thought on developing your own personal style 'lookbook', in a journal, scrapbook, or online, is viewed by many as pretty frivolous. but new situations arise in life regularly and unpredictably. doing your homework ahead of changes can help save time and aggravation during times which are likely to be hectic enough as it is. i believe there are many other advantages to developing your knowledge of your own personal style, but this one is the most down right practical.

Tank: jockey
Bloomers: gift

and now, by Reader Request (hi mom!) - the crochet socks from previous post: