Easy livin'

First day of summer up here in the northern hemisphere. The only sad thing about that is the days will all become shorter now. But I digress. What did my longest day of the year bring (besides the longest day at work)?

In fact, a surprise!

While packing for yet another business trip, I realized that my summer dresses were in the back of the rack in my lovely new closet. (I had the closet done in the autumn of last year and naturally put my autumn/winter dresses up front when it was finished.) As I moved the summer dresses front and center, I noticed several about which I'd forgotten completely (one NWT that I bought at the end of the season on sale!).

How nice to say hello to a cute little Nicole Miller cap sleeve in brown/beige patterns! And how good to see a short Vivienne Westwood green striped dress shirt! What a pleasure to greet the brand new Nougat of London brown silk sleeveless number!

Now folks, I bought the new dress pre-even-thinking-about-hiatus, so my conscience is clean. And the other dresses were purchased early last year in anticipation of a new position at work (that I ended up not getting, but got another one instead), so they are practically new.

And Martha would agree that that's a good thing!

Must-haves

The 2008 summer clothing 'must-haves' are out in the blogosphere.

Of course these 'must-haves' are only for women. And of course, there are many versions. It's anyone's guess as to whether these lists exist to increase women's guilt for not being in style or to provide a means for some narcissist to opine on what every woman must have in her summer wardrobe.

I won't indulge either by repeating the items on the various lists. I will simply say that any item of clothing that helps keep you cool on these hot, humid summer days is a 'must-have' in my book, especially if you're not only cool, but look cool as well. Somehow, I don't see scarves - however light - making that list. (Whoops! That's one of those 'must-haves' this summer, ladies! Reinvent it as a long headband and you might be onto something worthwhile.)

I have a simple little black dress that is a mainstay during the summer. It works on many levels: color - since black never left for me, it matches simple flip flops or more elegant sandals; size - this is where the clothes that are a size or two too large come in handy as they hang loose enough to not stick to your body while fitting well enough to not resemble a large trash bag; and material - cotton washes over and over and over and has other natural fiber benefits for summer wear.

Maybe we should stick to our tried and true summer essentials rather than listen to the latest from SATC maniacs wearing sheer neon blouses and ankle boots.

(Whoops again! A few more from the lists! Can you believe NEONS made the lists???)

More on deprivation

There's a group in and out of the blogosphere called the "the compact" whose members agree not to buy anything new other than food or absolute essentials for a year.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecompact/
They call it "mindful consumerism" and don't think of it as deprivation.

Well of course they don't.

Apparently all these people did in the past was shop. Apparently by signing up with the compact they're experiencing more time in their lives! Apparently, all those trips to big box stores like Costco and the mall are now spent in a garden or school or (and this is where it gets interesting) eating out with friends or treating themselves to a special bottle of wine.

So a nice bottle of wine and eating out constitute "absolute essentials" and food, right? Where do I sign up?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/24/business/24instincts.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

I'm probably just jealous that I didn't apply the non-deprivation rule when I began this hiatus. Although earlier this year I did explore whether the purchase of ski gear would constitute clothes or equipment, unlike my compact brethren, I stuck with the plan and sewed up those glove liners for another season. Rules are rules, and if deprivation comes about because of the rules, then bring it on, right? Right?

Well who's the monkey now?

Back to black

Bill Cunningham's recent voice blog in the New York Times highlights women in NYC highlights who wear black all year round.

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/fashion/20080531_STREET_FEATURE/index.html

Good to know that for people like me, black never left. Especially when examining those feelings of deprivation. For the rest of you, give black a warm welcome back.

And note that Cate Blanchett's character in the new Indiana Jones movie wears a onesy! Yes, the one-piece flight suit (in grey, with a wide black belt that cinches at the waist and black boots) also is back!

Now if I could only find it in black come the end of November.