Size queens

I often complain that I don't buy clothes that fit. I think part of the reason is the difficulty in knowing what size I am. That may sound crazy to men, but I think you women know exactly what I'm saying - we don't know our size because sizes for womens clothing change constantly.

As a vintage clothes lover, I believe that I'm either a US size 4 or 6 in women's clothes from the 1950s and 1940s. These days, I think that's a US size 0 to 2! I weigh the same and have the same measurements (unfortunately for my cup size, or lack thereof), so how could that be? And how come men's sizes haven't changed like this?

I think this is one of those mysteries we never really understand. My own theory, based upon the understanding that there are two kinds of people in the world - size queens and liars, is that somewhere between the 1970s and today, women with money wanted to stop lying and designers and manufacturers accomodated them. I'd be happy to hear other theories on this.

And as someone who finds the concept of imaginary and negative numbers difficult to grasp, I wonder how I'll feel when I have to ask for a negative size 2 or an imaginery size 3.

Judgment day

My friend S is good - she's an avid greenie, recyling anything and everything (including bath water - she doesn't even live in drought-ridden Australia), reusing what can be reused, shopping locally and organically. She's a nutritionist and holistic health counselor who presents wellness seminars and deeply cares about people and the Earth. You may remember that S stopped shopping for clothes for a year as an anti-consumerism protest. She's good.

(See her website and sign up for a session - www.stiggly.com.)

Another friend sent me a link to a blogger who wore the same brown dress (which she handmade) every day for a year. She wrote about most people not noticing what she was wearing, but some did and commented. Was she afraid of reactions? Probably. Was she afraid of not completing her quest? Yes, and she even had an occasion where she wore something else. But she didn't begin the year of wearing the same dress to explore emotions; she wanted an experiment about consumerism.

http://www.littlebrowndress.com

There's another blogger who spent a year not spending at all. I guess she had to buy food at some point, since she wasn't a farmer, but she cut out most everything else. She too wanted to examine her consumerism and save money, both good things to examine. While she wote about I the reaction of her friends and family and I thought that to be more interesting than her experiment, however, especially when she went and bought a house at the end of the year.

Seems like this is all the rage - even actress Thandie Newton speaks to USA Today to discuss her vintage shopping "the way forward in recycling;" another newspaper stating that Australia has become a "nation of hoarders" with clothing being the biggest cause of clutter. (I noted that both papers advertised clothing sales.)

Me? I'm not so good. Sure I recycle and reuse to the best of my ability, but I take long, hot showers, longer and hotter baths (and don't save the water), and I run through paper towels like no one I know (at least they are Seventh Generation). And my hiatus is not about non-consumerism, it's about becoming a BETTER shopper. I'm exploring my own shopping emotions and trying to improve my consumerism by making better choices about what I buy, but in relation to fit, color, style, etc. All these non-consumerism folks seem to be doing things for the greater good while I just want a better wardrobe. Have I discovered yet another reason for therapy?

I'm sure I'll be judged accordingly, but at least I'll be better dressed and emotionally able to handle it.

Hiatus hangs on!

Fear not, blog readers! Bluestraveler did not break from hiatus and purchase any clothes or accessories whilst down under. Perhaps the weak US$ quashed my desire to get that funky-yet-classic Hermes hat, but I attribute it to fear. After reading in a local newspaper about the “hair-raising fashion flop” between the cousin of Prince William (yes, he’s the Aussie’s prince too, in a way) and his girlfriend arriving at the same festival wearing “almost identical” black trilbys, how could I risk being seen in an off-the-rack hat that someone else most likely would be wearing?

What is it about wearing the same outfit – or even the same color scheme – that freaks women (and fashion magazine photographers) out so much? I mean, the entire male population of corporate America consistently wear the khaki pants with blue shirts on casual Fridays and don’t even notice that they look eerily the same, never mind care about it. So why do women care? And how did this become news?

I admit that I fear this every time I buy a non-vintage piece of clothing, especially one from a chain store that will have hundreds of these items in every size. It's a risk you take when you shop at those types of stores. If I know that a woman in my office has an outfit even similar to mine, I’ll do what every other woman does and either get rid of my outfit or try to time the wearing of mine so that it doesn’t overlap with the other woman wearing hers. (This means that if she wears it one day during a particular week, I can wear mine early the next week, thus giving everyone time to forget the other woman’s outfit while not risking that she’s going to wear it. I know I’m not alone in this.) Sometimes it's easier to just get rid of it, especially if she looks better in it than I do.

Travails while traveling

Carry on luggage for extended trips to different climates can be intimidating, although I’ve managed going from snow to surf recently with one bag. Of course, I forgot to pack beige underclothes with my light colored slacks for the surf weather. As if that wasn’t humiliating enough (flying free as they say), I also chose the wrong belt for those slacks. Horrors!

Fear not – rather than rush to buy a new brown belt that rides on the hips rather than the waist (even though my old CK belt needs replacing) and rather than hunt for that pair of new black Chanel heels (mentioned in a previous entry and also desperately needed), I suffered my days at the office with wearing the black belt (which also appears to be a bit worn) with my beautiful brown Bottega Veneta heels (which I will be buried in, they are so comfortable) and hoped no one would notice. On top of all this, I’m in another city where I simply love the styles and the exchange rate isn’t as bad (Sydney)!

I must say, if I see a good sale I may have to take a hiatus from this hiatus and suffer the shame and ridicule of blog readers as opposed to that of my co-workers. Then I also can stop trying to figure out whether ski gear constitutes equipment as opposed to clothing and whether sheepskin slippers qualify as accessories or shoes.