Fran Lebowitz sometimes yells, “Pretend it’s a city!” to slow walkers on Manhattan sidewalks. I sometimes think, “Pretend it’s a scarf!” when pulling out blouses and sweaters from my closet during the creative and sometimes exhausting and sometimes emotional process of composing a new outfit. (This doesn’t apply to old standby outfits, but the times when you want to branch out and experiment with underutilized pieces.)
I love the puzzle of putting together an outfit that I hope will feel fresh and original with clothes that I’ve already worn in other ways. And it is a puzzle. You solve it by adding a little something here and switching a little something there and trying this like that and then finally locking it in to see if it all works by walking over to the mirror. It often doesn’t, and my floor is always a mess with its failed combinations, but there’s a lot of satisfaction to be felt when it works if the key was to think of an existing piece in a new light.
Pretend it’s a scarf:
Pretend it’s a shawl:
Pretend it’s a skirt…
Other outfits of the week (featuring clothes worn as they were intended, boring!)
Vaguely topical content I consumed recently and would recommend: Alexa Chung’s 40 pearls of wisdom in honor of her 40th birthday. What’s there not to love about Alexa Chung? She’s always been great and continues to be great. (Some nougats: “Life is relentlessly messy and fun and mortifying and hopeful – so be kind, be honest.” And “Only play ‘Hey Jude’ at a party if you want it to end because there’s nowhere left to go after that.” And my favorite: “When we were younger my friends and I had a mantra we would repeat in case of a run-in with an ex: ‘Happy, pretty, busy.’” Happy, pretty, busy! It’s catchy. Her mantra has been repeating in a singsong voice in my head ever since I read it. // Alright I know it isn’t exactly the holidays yet but I’ve dusted off my holiday party playlist from last year and added some more songs and have been listening to it the last few days (it’s a short season I’m starting early!) so if you’re interested, here it is (and yes, it does have “Hey Jude” which I guess will act like a cooler version of “Closing Time?”) Is this topical? Not really, but no one misses an opportunity to plug a playlist. // This reel by Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, of Henry VIII getting dressed (just trust me on this one).
Ahh thank you! ♥️
Will be hearing “pretend it’s a scarf!” in Fran’s grumpy voice when getting dressed all winter. Such funny, but practical advice!