They say you never forget your first poncho. This is mine, and it was love at first sight. I spotted it from across a crowded field on a hot, muggy day of the most recent Brimfield Antique Market. As it was August, the last thing I wanted to touch was a heavy wool item, but I couldn’t resist the beautiful colors, and I knew my future self would thank me come winter. Man was I right! Wearing this is like hanging out inside a hug. And I always get smiles and winks from the people I pass. Based on this blog post title, which was suggested by my Studiomates, I gather my poncho makes me look like a Technicolor version of Clint Eastwood. Hey, I’m cool with that.
folk-artsy hat - $20 Carousel Antiques, Hudson NY
rainbow poncho - $20* Brimfield Antiques Market, Brimfield MA
color wheel pendant necklace** - gift from Maria
printed canvas vest - $7 East Village Buffalo Exchange
striped shirt - $8 East Village Buffalo Exchange
teal britches*** - $3 St Matthews Goodwill, Louisville KY
bright green belt - $2 Fulton Mall Goodwill, Brooklyn NY
red roper boots - $12 Repeat Street Revolution, Starkville MS
I had so much fun in this outfit when I wore it to the AIGA/NY Winter Bash that I decided to wear it again to celebrate New Year’s Eve!
I believe I was officially the sparkliest person in my hometown of Starkville, Mississippi on this particular evening, and while my outfit may have temporarily blinded some unsuspecting party-goers, it was really my insides that felt like they’d been coated with glitter. Surrounded by my mom, stepdad, sister, brother-in-law, three of my best friends since childhood and their fellas (one all the way from where he’s currently stationed in South Korea), I spent the evening beaming. It was a pretty decent way to start 2012, which I predict will go down in the books as “The Year of The Sparkle.”
green sequin shirt - $55 (+$9 shipping) Etsy: BambieJonesVintage
pink tule skirt - $18 East Village Buffalo Exchange
embellishments - $12 Guvnor’s and Downtown Brooklyn Goodwill
red tights and silver Rockette shoes - in my closet 5+ years
LOOK OUT! Cat wearing giant plaid pants alert! (Giant as in the size of the plaid, not the size of the pants, although by cat standards, I guess these pants would be kinda large.)
Of course I love mixing super bright colors, but lately I’m deriving great satisfaction from mixing textures and patterns as well. Finding things that seem like they shouldn’t go together and putting them together anyway is oddly thrilling.
There’s geometry to it: the angular embroidery of this top next to the stripes of the sweater and plaid of the pants. I think it works, and the best part is, that’s all that really matters! Yeehaw.
cat hat - gift from friends at MailChimp
striped cardigan - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
embroidered button-down shirt - $18 Side Show in Hudson, NY
plaid pants - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
two-tone cowboy boots - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
As I work my way toward this Winter’s wardrobe, I’m finding myself drawn to chunky textures, like the embroidery on this felted vest. Also in this category, I’ve picked up a pair of multi-colored woven trousers (dubbed “serious pants” by my Studiomate Rob), some thick wooly sweaters, and a truly MAGICAL poncho that I have not been able to stop wearing (it’s like walking around inside a hug).
I like this textural look because A.) it suits the chilly weather and B.) something about the irregularities of these handmade textures has me resembling a high school art teacher from the 70s, which of course I REALLY dig.
embroidered vest - $20, Olive’s Very Vintage, Brooklyn NY
ruffled dress with shell - $9, Downtown Brooklyn Goodwill
You know what they say… It’s all fun and games until somebody tackles a major social issue.
Let me start by saying I’m in love with Yoxi. Yoxi (pronounced YO-see as in “YO, you gotta SEE this!”) is an organization creating competitions where teams get formed, solutions get found, fun gets had and change gets made. Check out how it works. Their last competition was based on the idea of reinventing fast food, and now, MUCH to my utter delight, they’ve turned their attention to trimming the waste of fashion. This is SO up my ally that when they asked me to speak at a Lower East Side party designed to promote this competition, I felt morally, ethically and nothing-new-wearingly obligated to get involved.
Maybe you’ve already seen this, but for the official Lucky So And So record, here’s my Talk about buying nothing new and the life lessons it’s provided me (in exactly 5 minutes and 25 seconds). I gave this on March 3, 2011 at TEDActive as a part of TEDYou, which is where conference attendees get to submit an idea for their own short Talk, and if selected, present on stage. I learned over 100 attendees submitted their ideas, and I seem to remember about 30 presentations. Being selected was accomplishment enough for me, and I NEVER expected my Talk to actually make it onto TED.com!
How does one learn their Talk is going live on the homepage of TED.com, a site visited by something like three-quarters of a million people daily? Well, I can only tell you my story…
It’s officially summer! So I decided to wear this outfit comprised of some of summer’s best: sandals, stripes and sun hats.
Everything I’m wearing today came from a single trip to one my favorite second-hand shops: Side Show in Hudson, New York. Ya gotta love one-stop shopping! (I got several other great things on this trip I can’t wait to wear.)
We can call these items one, two, three and four of my 100 items for summer.
straw hat - $22 Side Show in Hudson, NY
striped sleeveless shirt - $15 Side Show in Hudson, NY
striped drawstring pants (with pockets!) - $15 Side Show in Hudson, NY
black sandals - $18 Side Show in Hudson, NY
rainbow pendant necklace - birthday gift from Creighton (via Etsy)
Here’s the look I chose for giving my TEDYou Talk. Holy moly was I nervous. Telling my Week’s Worth of Undies story plus showing the outfits plus sharing my Nothing-New Insights in only 3 minutes? Yikes! I really had my work cut out for me. Here’s my little story about how it all went down…
Before your talk, the awesome TED team will tell you, “When you get up on stage, take a deep breath, center yourself and then start.” So at approximately 8:45 a.m. on Thursday morning, I took the TEDActive stage, took my breath, opened my eyes and noticed the giant red numbers on the timer already glaring 0:22 seconds at me. What? In that spilt second, I made the decision to just go for it in a way that felt right, and not look at the timer again. Adrenaline kicked in, somehow I hit all my points, I kept myself from being startled when the audience laughed or cheered, and then, it was done. Standing ovation! I can’t even explain the feeling of relief and joy. I was incredulous. I was frozen in space and time. I nearly teared up, and then like a spirit guide, Ricki Lake jumped on stage (um, yeah, didn’t I mention she was moderating the session?) and announced, “For the record, that was about a minute and a half over, but she was so darn cute I couldn’t stop her!” I shook her hand with true gratitude, resisted the overwhelming urge to squeal, “I LOVE you, Ricki!” and exited stage left.
Nothing-New Insight #5
Confidence is the key. If you think you look good in something, you probably do. If you don’t think you look good, you’re also probably right. I was lucky enough to grow up with a mom who taught me this, but it took me until I was 30 to internalize its meaning: if you truly believe you’re a beautiful person inside and out, there’s really no look you can’t pull off.
While at TEDActive, wearing only what I found in Palm Springs thrift stores, a fellow attendee asked…
Is this your style or is this what you happened to find here?
Kinda both. We all know no matter where I am I’d dress colorfully, so I’d say 70% of what I ended up wearing could have been the same if I’d been home in Brooklyn. But it was the other 30% that really got me excited: pastel hues and floral prints I might not normally wear, tons of “leisure wear” (hello elastic waistbands and oversized casual blazers), and the mother load of tennis skirts! While I decided to forego anything short and pleated, I did work hard to integrate what I decided to call mature-lady-in-a-western-oasis authenticity into my outfits.
Nothing-New Insight #4
Embrace your inner child! Sometimes people tell me I look like I’m playing dress up, or that I remind them of their seven-year-old. I smile and say thank you. There’s lots of evidence to support the position that maintaing a childlike perspective is a key to creative thinking.
red cowboy hat - $3 Palm Desert As Good As New
floral blouse - $6 Moreno Valley Goodwill
iridescent sequin tank - $5 Palm Desert Revivals
magenta blazer - $6 Palm Desert Revivals
green jeans - $8 Rancho Mirage Collector’s Corner
brown riding boots - $10 Rancho Mirage Collector’s Corner
