Frumpy vs Farcical

I'm a huge fan of Imogene Lamport's blog, Inside Out Style. She compiles an enormous amount of information about colour, proportion, contrast, silhouette, etc. to help women look their best. I've bought some of her e-books and one of her courses and I can tell you they are excellent value for money. 

They talk about personal style, a separate issue from current fashion. She has explained to me why I love lace and ruffles but can't bear to think of wearing them (being fair, short and small boned, I'm already feminine enough); why highly textured fabrics make me look like an over-stuffed pillow (because I'm petite and texture is overwhelming); why I tend to avoid wearing prints and if I do, they must be small stripes, dots, paisley or the like (because my comfort zone is 'classic', not 'rebellious' or 'creative');  why some outfits feel like I'm wearing a costume (either because they are suited to a more 'dramatic' personality than mine).

She recently did a post titled "11 Ways to Style Cardigans" and as my old-lady cardi's are part of my British-winter (fall/spring) survival uniform, I read it with interest. Using my principle of 'wear the next thing in the closet', I pulled out a purple and brown print skirt I've had for 10-12 years, my brown knee-high flat boots, a long sleeved tee and a brown v-neck cardigan. 

I thought I'd give one of her tips a try:

As you can see, hers worked well and she looks great. My Edinburgh Woolen Mill cardi with gold buttons down one side and button holes down the other and the now-sideways pockets was a...different look to my usual (you should try this for yourself, you know you want to!).

I went downstairs to the dining room  to show Bill and to discuss. I'm writing to tell you I found a way to bring Bill to his knees. He laughed so hard he folded up and put his head on a dining room chair, helpless to speak. I had a really good laugh as well.

Aside from his reaction I'd already decided it wasn't going to work as it left my middle open to the cold. Besides, I'm a 'classic' woman, not a 'funky' type at all. 

But a good belly laugh is not to be dismissed. And I (seriously) can't recommend her blog highly enough. 

Another Weird Thing

I've never been a fan of those stick-on hook things, not trusting them much, but I bought a pack of them some time ago to hang a mirror in a window so I'd have a good light for putting on make-up. As another exercise in vanity I try to keep my fingernails fairly neat.  My Mom had beautiful hands but neat is the best I'll ever manage. My nails have never been strong enough to grow very long, but as I get older they are weaker than ever, plagued with ridges, chipping and splitting.  I keep them painted with as neutral a shade as I can find, usually ones meant for 'french polish', both as a means of 'neatening' but also to provide some protection.  

In addition to nail polish (they call it 'varnish' here in Britain), I try to remember to use gloves when I'm washing dishes.  Bill and I trade off kitchen duty for periods of time and I would sometimes forget, my gloves lost at the back of the cupboard under the sink.  Until I decided to hang them inside that cupboard door, with one of those stick on hooks, a rubber band and a clothes pin.  

This Year's Stack - Part II

Right, this is the slightly more light-hearted end of the books I got for Christmas.

Affordable Spendour, by Diana Phipps.  I've already read this cover to cover - I read the fluff first, you'll note.  It wasn't on my wishlist, Bill just found it on Amazon when shopping for others I did request, and I'm so glad he did!  It practically qualifies as another Harry Potter book, it's so completely fun and unexpected.  It is a detailed 'how to' decorate your house in very grand fashion but on a shoe-string, Amy Dacyczyn style.  What Phipps didn't have photographs of, she drew charming sketches to illustrate, just like Dacyczyn, a graphic artist.  I don't know if anyone these days would cover their walls in fabric, though Phipps says it's more economic in the long run than paint, particularly in older houses. Other tips include how to paint surfaces to make them look like various types of wood, how to make concrete blocks look like ceramic tiles and so on.  This woman has had an interesting life, born Countess Sternberg, living her 'formative years' in a castle in Czechoslovakia (now in the Czech Republic) to which she has returned thanks to the post-communist government's restoration programme. Her marriage into a wealthy American family in 1957 was short-lived. I'm reminded that, after all, if a life has only 'ups' and no 'downs', it can hardly be called 'interesting', can it? Makes me think all her hard work is all the more admirable.  It sounds as though her mother (also a Countess) was equally as artistic.  Thanks to a link at the Frugal Scholar (who also likes Phipps' books), you can see what her London living room looked like.  

Cute and Easy Crochet by Nicki Trench and Maria Clayton.  My friend Lucy owns this book, but I didn't figure I wanted to borrow it long enough to do any of the projects.  I'll probably regret this selection - the projects in this sort of book get dated quite soon - but at least I didn't pay for it!  If I actually make anything out of here, I'll be sure to let you know!

Material World:  the Modern Craft Bible,  by Perri Lewis.  I think I got the idea for this book when browsing a book shop in Cockermouth last year. Given that there are a couple of craft groups I attend and contribute to, anything else I can learn and share will be brilliant, a way to give back to all those lovely women who enrich my life. Looking at the Table of Contents on Amazon.com (because I did an 81 minute run this morning and I can't face another trip up the stairs just now) I can tell you what crafts are in it.  I already know quite a bit about: Embroidery - Cross-stitch - Macrame. I know a tiny bit about Patchwork and even less about Tailoring or Jewellery making. I've never gone near Decoupage - Printing - Encrusting (gluing stuff on, I think) - Quilling - Millinery - Embellishments - Paper cutting - Leatherwork - Applique.  

HINT:  The 'Look Inside' feature on Amazon can satisfy a lot of curiosity and sometimes save you buying a book (or make you want it more).  If you can't 'Look Inside' on Amazon.com, try Amazon.co.uk and vice versa.  It's just now occurred to me that Amazon.ca (Canada) might also work for this.

One Summer, by Bill Bryson.  This was given to us by Vivien and Steve.  I've only read the first few pages.  It's a double score in that Bill and I both love Bryson's books and it happens to be about the summer of 1927 - splat in those inter-war years. Thanks so much, Vivien!

Couture Sewing Techniques, by Claire Schaeffer.  This is rather a laugh, given that I'm not that conversant with regular home sewing techniques.  One thing (one of many..don't get me started) that has been disappointing about the sewing class Lucy and I are taking at Newcastle is that the teacher is very much from the 'short cuts' school. Lucy and I are both a bit suspicious of some of her means and would rather learn the 'long way' first.  I don't think I'll try too many of these ideas right away, though I'm dead keen to practice thread-sewing the stitch lines of my patterns.

The Power of Style, by Annette Tapert and Diana Edkins. This book is almost embarrassing to admit to but it isn't quite as daft as the title might suggest and if women's magazines are going to dumb themselves down into adverts, pablum and more adverts, a person has to feed this hunger somewhere. OK, the internet should be sufficient, but I still love books, and this one is read and bookmarked!  The reason I don't think this is a foolish book as that it gives short biographies of 14 women, some of the names were very well known, others completely unfamiliar:  Daisy Fellowes, Rita Lydig, Millicent Rogers, Pauline de Rothschild, Mona Bismark, Slim Keith, Babe Paley, Gloria Guiness, C.Z. Guest, Elsie de Wolfe, Diana Vreeland, the Duchess of Windsor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Coco Chanel.  These women led incredibly privileged and artful lives but there is much in their stories which is heart-breaking.  I was reminded that very rich men are often very not nice; several of these women weren't particularly nice either.  What else did they seem to have in common?  A decided preference for white flowers...

HINT:  If Amazon won't let you Look Inside, the reviewers' comments are often very revealing.  Also, if the book has been out a while, Google the title, and some nice blogger will tell you quite a bit (like the whole list of women included in this book).  Also, you may get more ideas for other books, ie The Power of Glamour about a whole host of screen stars from the 1930s...

The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter.  Or should that be 'Tails'?  I wrote about visiting Hill Top Farm, Potter's home in the Lake District, last  Gosh! Two years ago, I was sad to admit I'd never read any one of her stories.  Now I can read them all...

The Art of Manipulating Fabric, by Colette Wolff, Robbie Fanning and Rosalie Cooke.  I'm not sure if this counts as a sewing book, it might be more of a textile artist's book.  I've yet to try any of the techniques so I can't say as yet how well they are described.  I have already read large chunks concerning tucks, darts, quilting, smocking and cording...and that's not even the beginning of it.  An amazing book to grow into, hopefully.

So that's it, the book gifts.  I can't even remember all the books I've bought myself this year...

This Year's Stack - Part I

As usual, I had loads of books on my Amazon wishlist and family and friends all know reading is almost as necessary to me as breathing or eating. So here is the 'brain food' for the first few months of 2014:

In Search of England, by H. V. Morton. Morton's name was on my inter-war reading list (from The House at Riverton) and the local libraries were no help.  As I recall, Kate Morton, the author - any relation, I wonder? - didn't specify a particular book. This one came highly recommended on Amazon.co.uk, in fact they said he was such a good travel writer this book probably made Bill Bryson cry. It was first published, funny enough, in June 1927 - See Bryson's book below. Can't wait to start!

Castle, a History of Buildings that Shaped Medieval England, by Marc Morris.  I read this, back in 2008 and have always remembered it.  I wanted to read it again but the libraries here are shrinking and it's disappeared.  Now I can keep and enjoy referring to it.  

Abroad, by Paul Fussell.  I stumbled across Susan Partlan's old blog where she talks about many different things that interest me but somewhere in the posts about 'History of American Money Values' or perhaps in comments or links that derived from there, Paul Fussell's name came up and his books were recommended. I put a number of them on my wish list.  Abroad probably is about travel rather than class and finance, but I'll find out eventually and let you know.

Paris, 1919:  six months that changed the world, by Margaret MacMillan.  This is another from the inter-war reading list and though I gather MacMillan has written fun things about the shopping habits of Victorian ladies, this is probably not a fun book.  I think it is likely about the Treaty of Versailles, which I know had knock on effects resulting in WWII.  Her books have also disappeared from libraries, sadly.

So far the list sounds quite serious and intellectual, even. The order is actually from the least tall and increasingly tall, as the were stacked for the photograph...which I'll hopefully get to share when I remember what I did with that tiny little thing that links my camera chip with this computer .  {sigh}

Well, I did find it - almost where it should have been.  More about the Stack in another post.

What Santa Brought

My Christmas this year was mainly books, thanks to my Amazon wishlists.   I've yet to download the programme that allows me to list anything I find on the internet; books and films are dangerous enough to wish for!  I think wish lists are the way to go to reduce the risk of wasting money on an unloved present.  That said, if one does gather ideas over the year, it is best to have a review when birthday or Christmas approaches, to make sure the items are still desireable.  I'm always amazed at how many things I'm able to delete.

I've struggled to blog consistently over the holidays in part because of the usual last minute preparation for unexpected events:  we don't normally have company on Christmas Day, and Simon stayed over a couple of nights so my 'work room' had to remember that it is also the 'guest room'.   Also, because having been given practically a new library of delicious books, my nose has been practically glued to paper pages.  I've read, cover-to-cover, three non-fiction books since Boxing Day, and I have several more to investigate.

I somehow managed to alienate the Amazon thingy that lets one show pictures and links to books, but here's a photo of the book anyhow. 

This book was great fun to read, giving loads of insights into reading people's clothing choices.  For example, a man from the East who wears a turban with his Western suit says that although he does business in the West, his thinking is still that of his homeland.  The same might go for an Asian woman who wears an elaborate native hairstyle.  These people often look very dignified, whereas a person in Western clothing who wears the native head dress of the place they go on holiday only looks foolish.

In times of recession, styles in Britain come all over tartans, tweed and green in colour.  In the US, all things patchwork, quilted and crocheted become the rage.

I'd read elsewhere that the woman who wears a red blouse underneath her proper business suit is telling the world she has a passionate nature; but not that when all the tabs and button downs are neatly fastened, people are repressing their true feelings. 

I knew a lot about the psychology of colours, but having pretty much decided that my favourite neutral these days is grey, I can't tell whether the author believes grey to be mousey or mysterious.  Apparently grey and white are colours associated with nuns!  Perhaps I should re-think navy as a neutral!

The part I need to go back and study - I'll definitely read this book several times - is where she describes the cycles of women's fashions vs women's freedom.  I follow that once Victorian women were no longer captive in their homes, shoe fashions had to change to allow walking on the street, bags more practical to carry items, etc.  Skirts grew shorter, corsets were abandoned, clothing became lighter.   I never picked up the Annie Hall style ("Yes, I'm wearing men's clothing, but it's too big, so you know I'm only playing") which I think is sloppy, but neither have I worn tight skirts or stilettos or the towering platformed heels currently in vogue.  The author suggests that women periodically give up their freedom when they wear fashions that restrict their movement or cause pain and that these fashions come about in periods of conservative patriarchy.  Or something like that.  I've never understood why an otherwise intelligent woman would choose to walk like a toy poodle.

In any case, the author made many analogies between words and clothing, ie  having a large wardrobe is like having a large vocabulary (this was obviously published before minimalism came along).  Putting an outfit together is like forming a sentence.  One can make conflicting statements within an outfit, etc.   What we wear, whether we intend it to or not, gives messages about our status, our aspirations, our emotional state and sometimes even our politics.   One can easily say:  "I'm available."  "I can't be bothered."  "I'm very serious about work."  "I wish to be known as a rapper/ preppie/ country boy."  Most of us know much of this by instinct, of course. 

Then again, in this day of ever more casual dress, one wonders if we are all guilty of dumbing down our communications.  I think more about clothes than my sartorial choices would generally indicate.  Then again, that's me all over!  I've always been more of a thinker and less of a do-er.

Do your clothes make the statements you intend them to?

Clothing Analysis

You may or may not remember that I like data analysis.  I read not long ago that Pauline at the English Organiser keeps track of her wardrobe in a spreadsheet.  So do I.  I like to play with that data:

I worked out the simplest way to get dressed.  I looked out how many outfits I could put together by colour.  I considered which of my clothes I wear the most often.  Then I really got serious and made a database that could answer all my questions (except for what should I put on right now...)..  One could do all this without a spreadsheet, but I wouldn't want to try it:

I have 146 pieces in my wardrobe that I wear or have worn in the past year or two.   I bought 56% (84) of them new; 40% (58) I bought second hand; 3% (4) were home made.  Mom or I each made two of those pieces.

Just talking about the used pieces, I got 29% (43) in a charity or consignment shop.  Ten pieces (7%) I regularly wear belonged originally to my Aunt Rita; she either gave them to me when she was clearing out or they came to me after she died.  Other sources of one or two pieces each (5 total) came from other family members or friends. 

Of the new items, I bought
68% (57) in the UK
17% (14) in the US
  6% each (5) in France and Australia
  2% (2) in Portugal
  1% (1) in Greece.


My current wardrobe is comprised of:

44 tops
24 pairs of shoes
20 pairs of slacks
17 cardigans
13 jackets
11 skirts
  8  jumpers (what they call sweaters here)
  6 pairs of boots
  2 coats
  1 dress


There isn't enough time left in my life - or yours - to tell you about scarfs or jewellery.

I have classified my clothes as being suitable for
slobbing around  - 4% (6)
casual wear only - 42% (61)
smart occasions only - 18% (27)
dressy occasions - 4% (6)
could be casual or smart - 25% (36)
any occasion - probably coats and jumpers - 7% (10)

In looking at how long I keep my clothes, I just did 5-10 year groupings:

0-5 years old - 44% (64)
6-10 years old - 47% (69)
11-19 years old - 5% (7)
20+ years old - 4% (6)

I was curious to see if I'd bought much clothing since I retired about 4 years ago.  Also, a blogger I read said everything 7 years old or older will be OUT of STYLE (I don't necessarily agree, but I'm sure she's far more stylish than I; also richer). 


< 4 years old - 26% (38)
< 7 years old - 76% (111)
7+ years old - 24% (35)


So that wasn't too bad.  Then again, if I estimate that my used clothing was probably at least 2 years old before I got it, the picture worsens:


< 4 years old - 14% (21)
< 7 years old - 61% (89)
7+ years old - 39% (56)


Now, you might think 146 items of clothing is too much, and you are probably right, but of course we're talking about all seasons here.  I grouped my clothes by seasonal wear and came up with:

cool weather - 28% (41)
warm weather - 40% (59)
mid-season (useful for bridging the gap, but not for one or the other) - 8% (11)
all weather - 24% (35)

What colours will you find in my closet?
21% (30) - black
10% (14 or 15 pieces each) - brown, navy, French blue, grey, white or 'other'
  7% (10) - purple
  4% (6) - tan or orange
  3% (4 each) - green or burgundy
  2% (3) - taupe
  1% (1) - cream


83% of my clothes (96) are a solid colour.  If I do buy prints, I tend to stick to what I think are traditional prints (there are 30 items for which I deemed prints not applicable, shoes & boots, though I realise they could be print...but not in my closet...):

30 % - Stripes (6)
20% - Floral (4)
15% - Tweed/Herringbone  (3)
10% - Paisley, Animal or 'Modern' (2 each)


Then, I quickly categorised my clothing by how much I like it:

A - It fits, it's comfortable, I feel great wearing it, it gives confidence, I would pay good money to replace the exact same or very similar piece.  I love it.  18% (26)

B - I like it, it's comfortable, goes with loads of things and I'm happy wearing it.  I would replace many of the these pieces, but probably most from thrift stores.  35% (51)

C - It's useful but not more than that; either the fit, the colour or fabric is somehow lacking.  I'm not inspired in the least.  44% (64)

D - These are not things I enjoy wearing anymore.  They are probably only kept because of sentimental reasons and I make myself use them now and then to justify keeping them.  3% (5)

The good news is that I like or love better than half (53%), but it did tell me I don't shop as wisely as I thought.


I wondered if I like things just because they are newer.  It sort of looks that way:

< 4 years - 64% of 'good' clothes (A or B)
< 7 years - 56% of good clothes
7+ years - 44%


And did I really like new clothes better than used?  Guess so.

I classed 84% of my New clothes as 'good' (As and Bs), but only 58% of my Used clothes as good.

However, 22 items of the not 'good' clothes (Cs and Ds) (32%) had been formerly loved.  They were just too old: an average of 7.5 years (range 4-18 years; median 6).  Also, the handmade items weren't in my favourites.


So, what did I learn from all this?


- I still LOVE data analysis - but only descriptive.  I've forgotten most of what I knew about chi squares and p-values and I no longer have the software to compute it for me.  No great loss, really.

- I have more clothes than I really need, but we both knew that before we started.  I'm sure it's a safe bet that you do too.

- My clothes are more formal than my lifestyle, a hang over from my working life.  I don't want more slobbing out clothes, but I definitely don't need so many dressy things.  I could attend a wedding, a party, a funeral or a working function (heaven forbid!) in every season, so I'm pretty well covered, not that I do any of those very often at all.

- I hang on to my clothes for too long, even ones I don't love.  Mostly for sentimental reasons - something to do with Mom or Rita or when I was thin or young...silly, really.

- I have more clothes for warm than for cool weather, which is completely daft.  That is in part because I have visited the US in the summer and bought shoes that fit; summer styles are what are on offer then, you know?  Also, to be fair, a lot of Rita's clothes were for warm weather being as how she lived in Oklahoma.

- I get away with keeping my clothes for as long as I do because they are not trendy prints, which date very quickly.  I remember when I first started buying my own clothes feeling very annoyed that something was so out of date I was embarrassed to wear it, but not feeling I'd got my money's worth by a long shot.  I prefer classic styles for this reason, also because being petite they suit me better.

- Black became my go-to colour when I first came to the UK:  it survives travel on public transport better than anything else.  I never bought that much black when I lived in the US.  Dark colours seem to suit the mood here in the UK, I think; bright colours are for warm sunny places.  That said, the second group of colours were always my basics in Oklahoma and Utah...and I wore more red as a blonde.

- In spite of the fact that I do seem to love newer, newly acquired clothes, I wouldn't take this to mean I shouldn't buy second hand.  Only that I shouldn't buy something because it's a good price, something we all fall into at some point.  When I look at why I love the pieces I do, without fail they fit me to a T, which is easier said than done.  I need to hold out for the petite styled pieces that make me feel like I've come home instead of like a bag lady.  I clearly do still make shopping mistakes.  I'd far rather make a used mistake than a new one.

- I need to get rid of the clothes I really don't like (Ds and Cs are obvious candidates) and look carefully at why I'm hanging onto the really old pieces.  I have a trunk for sentimental clothes - the ones Mom knitted or sewed that no longer fit; they can go in there if need be.   Otherwise, why hang on to something that is over 7 years old if it's not an A or a B.

- If there are old or unloved items that I actually 'need' - I should go shopping and replace them.  I can afford to do that; it's the whole point of being frugal is to be comfortably confident that I can afford what I actually need.

- One thing I've been learning from my 'colour of the month' game is that it is in fact possible to wear taupe every day of the month in spite of only having 3 pieces (and, OK, a scarf).  I am certain I wouldn't want for what to wear if I got rid of everything old or unloved. 

- Having scrutinised the clothing inventory in so many ways, I  already know what I would replace them with!  But that's another post...

Year of Style – June

Romance is the theme for this month…probably something to do with weddings. Other than the very occasional Royal Wedding, I have to say that weddings are one of the least interesting subjects I can think of, so I don’t think about them much. I know I'm odd that way.

Frederic’s advice includes:


Shop for clothes after a pleasant lunch, when you feel relaxed. If you are tense, you will never be satisfied with what you find. (Also, I might add, you’ll choose clothes that include room for lunch, but I don’t think he intended that part).


Keep a sun hat in the back seat of your car. I hate wearing sunglasses and much prefer a hat.


Buy a pair of hoop earrings. They are so pretty with a summer dress and a tan.   I’d like to say that they are just pretty. Tish at A Femme d'Un Certain Age is always going on about these. They make you look French, she says. I think it works with or without the tan.  A word of caution:  creoles and studs around your ears along with hair scraped back into a ponytail, track suits and too much make-up (or none at all) is not a good look.  I think it's called chav.  I'm just sayin'... but then they probably haven't read Tish or Frederic, right?

Year of Style - May

The theme for May is ‘sensuality’.  Personally, I'd say it was still a bit too chilly around here to be entirely in touch with one's senses, but then again, it looks lovely outside - through the window, anyhow.

Some of Frederic’s ideas I liked best for May were


Take a week’s vacation from watching television. Listen to music or read instead. This pretty much describes our lifestyle 12 months of the year!


Resolve to foreswear black until September – except in the evening. Easier said that done, but one of the reasons I’ve tried to assign other colours to the months, to get out of the black habit (no pun intended…).


Refrain from fidgeting. Learn to keep your hands still when you aren’t not doing anything. Better advice for me would probably be: Refrain from not doing anything: learn to keep your hands busy.

Overcome your self consciousness once and for all. Think of others, and soon you’ll forget to think about yourself. Brilliant advice.  Very Eleanor Roosevelt-ish.


The most valuable of arts is the art of living. Cicero.  Don't know much about Cicero, but he had lots of insight; also a lot to say about old age.

Spring Navy

April's colour of choice will be navy blue.  There isn't much that doesn't go with navy, though personally I wouldn't pair it with brown (unless of course I found a brilliant print that incorporated the two).  I would only put navy with black if I had to, but that can't be necessary in April!   For spring I always think about yellows and greens, even though neither has a major role in my wardrobe; they make the serious dark blue seem so much more light-hearted.  

One of the best pieces of advice about clothes I've come across - and it works for men as well as women - is about contrast.  Believe it or not I've had to go away and do some research to figure out the right terms, and I'm still not positive, but I believe it's about value or brightness.  The advice is that if you have both fair hair and fair skin, or dark hair and dark skin, you will look best if your clothing is all of a similar brightness, ie all dark shades or all pastels, not a mix.  

Taking the other side, now that I have dark auburn hair and even fairer skin thanks to the English weather, I find that wearing dark clothes with light ones works better, eg a white tee under a dark sweater.  It's not earth-shattering stuff, it just look more right somehow.  For a while I thought the contrast would negate my aim to wear similar colours in order to appear taller and thinner, but then I found this advice on Inside Out Style, one of the most useful style blogs I've ever met. 

Best of all, I like the crispness of navy and white together.  This also reminds me of Vivien's and my trip to Corbridge last August when she knew I would be wearing white and aimed to coordinate.  

Who says you have to be serious after you retire?

Year of Style - April

This month's theme is Maintain.  (Do you remember a time when 'Just trying to maintain' was the 'in' phrase?  I think you had to say the last word with your teeth clinched.  Does anyone remember what that was all about?)

• Take a shawl
• If you can't get away, put on some Caribbean music, mix up a mai tai, sit by a sunny window and dream. 
• Hug loved ones every day.

Just Taupes

Taupe is my chosen colour for March, largely because I was running out of neutrals and I wanted to try for 12 different ones.  It is a weird colour, being half way between brown and grey.  Seems a suitable choice for a month that is neither winter nor quite spring, at least not here in Northern England.  March is always a bit iffy.

Taupe is also a wonderful colour if you happen to have cool colouring, which I do, or at least I do when I'm blond.  Auburn hair complicates it all but never mind.  Taupe still works.

But what works with taupe?  I was lucky enough to find this advice, meant for interior decorating, which I think is quite sound as clothing choices go:

Taupe Loves

- Pure white paint
- Dark stained wood
- Purple under toned natural linens
- Stones that contain grey or blue
- Metals such as silver, chrome and stainless steel
- The companionship of grey or brown
- Dramatic accents of green, purple or red
- Clear glass 

Taupe Hates
- Anything that contains yellow, such as buttery paint
- Golden woods, such as oak
- Yellow-hued linens
- Tan leathers
- Stones that contain beige
- Accessories that hint at yellow, such as dark cream porcelain

I've looked everywhere for similar advice for other colours, but haven't cracked that yet.  Do you know where this information might be found?

Year of Style - March

This month's theme is Clarify.  

• Give yourself a home facial.
• Perfect a signature dish by practicing it often; when that one is mastered, take on a new one.
• Combine a classic bottom with a more fashionable top (we're talking clothes here).  The other way around is more difficult to pull off.
• Even on casual days, iron your t-shirts and chinos for quiet elegance (AKA how not to look like a slob).
• (My very favourite in practically the whole book):     Talking on a cellphone does not make you look important.

Chocolate February

I don't know about you, but I'm pleased to see the end of January.  I always think it's a cold, dark month best used for hibernation and this year was no different.  February, on the other hand, is halfway to March, which is supposed to mean spring (but I know it will still be cold and more lion than lamb, but never mind).  I wore something black every day in January, but that also meant I wore loads of colours because so many things go with black.  I also bought myself some flat black boots (Hush Puppies!) and that allowed me to wear loads of skirts and dresses I wouldn't normally have found a use for.  Those boots and a long-sleeved white tee were my only clothing purchases in January, and I bought them new, for a change.

So, the brown clothes will get their turn this month.  I have flat brown boots I've long loved and enjoyed.  I've always liked brown but thought of it as a mouse colour, good to hide in.  Then one day I realised if I'd only call it 'chocolate' or 'cocoa' it would create a completely different vibe.  People and words are funny that way, aren't they?

Brown isn't quite as versatile as black, but half the fun in is the challenge, right?  Orange, cream, rose, purple and even some shades of blue can work with chocolate, especially with the help of a print that mixes brown and another colour.   Scarves, once again, come to the rescue; and, they keep one's neck warm.

Do you prefer to wear 'chocolate' instead of 'brown'?

Year of Style - February

You can see a trend coming on here, can't you?  After all, it only takes two point to draw a line.

Amongst Frederic's suggestions for February, I like:

• There is more to be gained by eliminating than by adding.
• According to Diana Vreeland, 'Unshined shoes are the end of civilisation.'
• Do something artistic today:  paint, sculpt, sketch, photograph, embroider (I can only manage the last two).

The theme for this month is 'Energize'.   Makes me tired to write it.  I must need a new haircut.

Black January

I never got around to mentioning that my preferred clothing colour in December was purple.  This worked especially well as I got to wear my 'new' purple velvet slacks from Munero, or are they from Coast?  Maybe they are 'by' Coast.  Never mind.  The important thing is that, judging from their website, the original owner paid between £80-85 for these lovely slacks.  She took them to Munero, a consignment shop (or dress agency as they call them here) and got £7.50 back, which is better than nothing.  I bought them for £15.  My math says that's 82% OFF, which constitutes a bargain in my book (actually, I figure it's probably about what it cost to manufacture them, if that much).  I wore my purple velvet to anything at all social and my cost per wear is already down to £3.75.

I've not done any 2011 resolutions, really.  I sort of fell apart on my 2010 goals towards the end of the year and haven't yet recovered my resolve.  Two ideas came to mind in the last few months, which I shall substitute for resolutions until something more noble comes to mind:

Bring more velvet into your life. 

Raise the game a bit:  buy from consignment shops rather than thrift stores; or, find the more upscale thrift stores.   

Save up for core pieces of clothing, the classic ones that go with everything and lifts your spirits because they really look good.

Sorry, what was the title of this post?  Oh yes, black.  Well, it's an easy one.  Every one has plenty of black (too much) in their closet.  It goes with most things (even brown if you find a print that has both colours in it).  It rather suits my outlook in this cold month.  It pushes me to use that vast collection of scarves that belonged to my Aunt Rita.  And yes, one of my favourite pieces of clothing is a pair of black velvet slacks from Monsoon (via a charity shop in Beverley).

Do you have any velvet in your life?

Year of Style - January

This is an 'old' book, published back in 2000.  Before you go 'Oh, that's just so Millennium', I'd like to state that I still enjoy this book.  It has pretty pictures and interesting ideas; it's sort of like a big, hard-backed magazine (and you know how I am about those).

For each month the author has a topic (this month is Simplify) and covers an area of advice: hair, make-up, clothing, beauty; but mostly hair - he's a hair stylist after all.  For each day of the month, he makes a sort of lifestyle suggestion.  Some of these are quite fun, but most don't feel like they apply to me:  I'm a tightwad, I'm not a chocoholic, I don't live in France or San Francisco, etc. Still, enough are sufficiently intriguing that I return to the lists again and again. 

I'm so in love with books generally that I have to be careful not to let them completely over run my house.  To help myself keep a rein on it all, I put a slip of paper into each and every one, titled 'Last Read'.  The list for Year of Style reads:  April 06, Jan 07, Jan 08, Oct 09, Jan 11.  That's sufficient evidence for that the book earns its space on our shelves.  

The ideas that I like for January include:

• Learn to sit properly
• If you wear a hat, it should match either your coat or your shoes (I would add bag or gloves, or maybe even hair, but what do I know?)
• Learn your geography.  It's embarrassing not to know where Tibet is located.

As to the verb 'simplify',  I'm not sure it's part of my functional vocabulary yet, but I'm working on it.

What do you match your hat with?

White August

One of the most salient lessons I learned about frugality from Amy Dacyczyn, in her Tightwad Gazette was to appreciate, and even enjoy, limitations.  I took this away from several of her articles and find I use the idea to make all sorts of strange entertainment for myself.

She pointed out that games are only fun because you have to obey the rules and still reach the goal. Another editorial talked about how, when framing a picture, matting is used to create the space that allows the eye to appreciate the art.  This was an analogy she used to remind us that the first piece of cherry pie is more enjoyed than the last, only for her it was that if her kids didn’t seem to enjoy their ice cream treats very much, she took that to mean they need to have less ice cream, not more.  Scarcity creates value and so a more occasional ice cream would be more thoroughly appreciated.


This of course goes completely against a lot of the thinking these days when we feel entitled to have all we want, whenever we want, no restrictions whatsoever.   I’m afraid that approach not only bores me rigid but also creates such a confusing level of greed that I begin to crave some sort of discipline. Children need boundaries to provide security and apparently I do too.

One of my games is to assign a colour for each month and to try to wear that colour every day if I can.  July’s colour was cream, but I needed to expand that a bit to include beige and taupe. I didn’t dress in beige from head to foot, not having things that coordinated that well, but wore a cream top and cardigan with brown slacks or a beige skirt and wedgies with an orange sweater, and so on. In August I will put the cream/beige/taupe items to one side and pull out everything I own that is white. I’m allowed to use the beige items in the unlikely event that I need them, but I will focus on wearing white. I anticipate teaming the white items with navy or other blues a lot, but I expect to find other combinations that work as well. 

For me, the way to not be dissatisfied with not buying many new clothes is not only to wear everything I already have, but to make myself think about wearing those items in new ways. This game helps me to do both. It’s also a game to pretend that August will be so warm here that white is the natural choice, but we might continue to be lucky with the weather. It has been quite warm, if not sunny, this last month.

I think this is a variation on the currently popular game “Shop Your Closet”. I sometimes think that is the grown up (I started to say adult, but sadly that word has been kidnapped by another connotation) version of “Playing Dress-Up”.  (And Polyvore is my 54-year-old version of paper dolls!  Talk about fun!  I just haven't figured out how to make it larger, not yet...  This is roughly what I wore into town yesterday).

Do you ever play these sorts of games with your clothes?