Floral on Floral (And a Note on Standing Out and Calming Down)

Sometimes I really feel like a walking talking contradiction of myself. I don't want this post to get all philosophical and self reflective , nor do I particularly feel like taking a stroll down that confusing line of thought at the moment, instead let's just state the obvious: I'm not afraid of color or pattern. Actually, I'm not just unafraid of those things, I leap at them as though magnetically pulled. If you're thinking "so what?", that's a fair response but here's the thing...most of the time I feel pretty self-conscious about my own styling choices. (Really!) I get really excited about mixing patters, colors, textures and styles but playing with all those options in my apartment is entirely different than taking them for a test drive out in the real world. Sometimes I actually forget what I'm wearing because I've managed to grow accustomed to a particular look or outfit styling; other times, when the style mash-up feels a  little unfamiliar to me or I'm in a slightly different context than usual I am fully aware that I stand out. Hello feelings of awkwardness. At this point a million things might go through my head such as 'Where is a damn invisibility cloak when you actually need one."  

I had this kind of moment at WantedDesign this weekend. Imagine a whole bunch of design-y people who all seem to know each other...they seem to talk the same, walk the same....and dress the same. Black clothes everywhere. Everyone is in black. Head to toe...black. And I'm in....floral....lots and lots of floral. And pastel floral to top it off. Combine this with a few other minor annoyances enroute to the fair and upon entry and you might understand why that at this point I actually thought about fleeing down the road. (Maybe a field of wildflowers to hide out for awhile...I mean I'd blend in there). The whole time the woman left to get change from my ticket purchase all I could think was "What am I doing here? Clearly I don't belong here."  

So what did I do? First I allowed them to tie the neon yellow wristband around my wrist (goes great with pastel florals!) and didn't react when the person doing so commented about the size of my wrists (so glad they make tying the wristband on me easy for you!). I asked directions to the restroom, allowed myself a couple minutes of panic and then made the decision that I was going to enjoy this experience (Hey Jackie, you can breathe now!). The truth is I liked what I had on and I wanted to be at WantedDesign. (The designs were all pretty colorful). Big deal that I "didn't fit in"....in fact, when I thought about it I kind of liked that I didn't fit in.  Which makes me wonder...by not fitting in did I actually fit in? Or does this mean I'm actually okay with standing out? Maybe I just like floral prints. Maybe I should just stop over-thinking everything...or think more? Hhhmmm....

Funny side anecdote: About ready to exit WantedDesign I was pulled over by some invisible rope to the See Concept sunglasses....color! I swear at first I only noticed the pink and yellow pairs and then realized there were also black, tortoise shell and navy blue pairs. The vendor was talking about the color preferences of different buyers and said that New York buyers tended to only like the black or tortoise shell ones. The two store owners from Brooklyn commented "Well, New York is a little afraid of color" and then looked at me as if I was going to back them up. I looked myself up and down and said, "Not everyone in New York is afraid of color."

Moral of the story? I don't know but I'm sure it's in here somewhere.

P.S. WantedDesign was awesome! 

Color and Ellsworth Kelly

"getting color off the wall and having it walk around the room"

Ellsworth Kelly referring to a dress he collaborated on with Francisco Costa, Creative Director at Calvin Klein



Image source

Image source

Left: 1952 design Kelly created for Christian Dior

Right:  Ellsworth Kelly and Calvin Klein collaboration

"Zip Me Up": The Challenges of Getting Dressed

There a lot of great things about living on one’s own but one thing not so great is not having anyone around to say “Can you please do me up?” My rabbit just stares at me some mornings as I helplessly try to get the zipper done up on the back of my dress. If I flail my arms around too much or begin grumbling, sadly not such an infrequent occurrence when the clock is ticking away, the rabbit usually thumps me…a warning for me to give up and wear something else.

Just as difficult/impossible some dresses are to do up on one’s own, some dresses go on pretty easy but require contortionist moves to get out of. Of course, then the question is not who’ll help zip it up but who’ll cut me out of the dress should it come to that. A prime example of such a dress is the Ihrin shirtdress. While I love the eggplant color and the boxy pleats, the snaps under the arms are ridiculous. Shouldn’t those just be on  a baby’s onesie?

Before I go any further with this, Let me clarify too that I am not talking about tight dresses nor one’s that are too small….apparently designers just forget that we all don’t have a team of people to get us dressed.

A lot of the issues also have to do with design and material choices. The problem I think lies with a combination of the back zip, extra material and/or lining and where the zipper nips in at the waist. Ganni’s Embossed Basket Dress, for example, is made of very heavy fabric and it’s always difficult to get the zipper up past the seam where the material seems to be the bulkiest.

Little hooks only make more of a mockery of the situation. Worse yet are covered buttons and loops half way up the zipper that get in the way while zipping up. Maeve’s Lepidoptera Dress, one of my very favorite dresses, has this exact problem. Getting these dresses on requires someone to hold back the fabric and carefully pinch along the zip so that none of the material catches. And since I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, hooks and buttons are a little tedious. Fear of tearing particularly delicate material (I’m looking at you Kate Spade Striped Kerrigan Dress!) also makes me hesitate to roughly tug on a zipper.

Some dresses just require extra nimble fingers, like Maeve’s Otta Dress http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/clothes-dresses/24066433.jsp. It takes a little extra time to get into this dress thanks to a side zip plus covered buttons with loops. Thankfully, over time the buttons and loops have loosened up so it doesn’t take quite so much dexterity (something I often don’t have first thing in the morning). Also, I’ve discovered that doing the zipper up and then the first and last button makes it easier to get all the other buttons through their loops. Dress strategy.

Q. Should I probably avoid purchasing dresses that require Cirque du Soleil-like moves to put on?

A. Probably. But while that seems like the logical course of action often the dresses I think are the cutest end up being the ones that require a bit more effort to get on. The cute quotient typically wins out.

Fact: I have actually “used” a trip to the hair salon to get a dress done up all the way. No, I didn’t book a hair appointment to get my dress done up but I did put on a dress that I always struggle to zip up in the hopes that my stylist would notice and zip it up the rest of the way. It worked. Sad, I know.

Truth: Whenever my family comes to visit I always wear the dresses that are a pain to fasten….then back into the closet they go until their next visit.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the culprits, shall we?

Buttons, hooks, loops, a zipper and a whole lot of material…oh my!

Delicate fabric, fitted waistline and a heavy zipper = nervous dresser

Thick fabric + flimsy zipper….help!

Caution: To be worn only when you have a bit of extra time to spare getting dressed

Thank goodness for side zips, wrap dresses, button up shirt dresses, pull on styling and other easy to wear dresses….they help give you a rest between all the other days when you struggle.

Who knows, maybe one day I’ll try this little tip or this device (check out the video)…I’m not getting my hopes up that either will work under all circumstances.

Photo source

Well, better start doing some stretching exercise….you know, just in case I decide to do battle with a back zip.