moving..

FYI! I'm posting much more often these days here.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’" - Fred Rogers

Fanfare

As some of you may know, I'm generally engaged to somebody or other. And as you may also know, this means I have a wedding dress in reserve. (I'm being flippant because it's all very fraught and serious and full of heartbreak and happiness, really.) Anyway, the dress is a stunner and was made by Mary Adams. I'm ashamed to admit that I totally missed the book she did with Amy Sedaris (whose whimsical frocks she makes) last fall, The Party Dress. I have ordered it. I doubt I can sew anything as gorgeous as all that, but even if it's just to learn more about this fascinating, indomitable lady and her story it'll be money well spent.

Dolls and Men at Yale

Growing up, Rumer Godden's sad, sinister, wonderfully detailed doll stories were some of my favorite children's books. What luck to find this (peculiar) 1980s TV adaptation on YouTube!

The Petite Sophisticate Gets Dressed

So a friend of mine just suggested I share a few of my work-clothes resources. While I am by no means an expert, I have worked out a system that -- so far! -- has served me well.

First things first: I identified a basic silhouette/aesthetic to which I'd adhere, and ruthlessly threw away everything in my closet that didn't. Well, I didn't throw it away -- I gave it to friends. Working with my age/figure/hair, it seemed pretty clear I'd want to go retro -- but more minimalist and less Mad Men, if that makes sense. I decided to stick to a limited palette and keep lines simple and unadorned. Here's where I've gotten most things:




Shoes:
I splurged on a few pair of good, basic pumps, but I still got them on sale -- I made Google alerts for the styles I wanted and the word "Sale" and struck when they became available (I'd already tried them on for size in person.) I have one rosy nude pair from Rupert Sanderson and a taupe pair from Barneys Co-Op. I have my eye on a gray set from Common Projects, but it needs to come way down. I don't care for black shoes in summer.

Bag:
I am not a bag person -- I usually just carry my TPR tote nowadays -- but I invested in a neutral clutch I can slip into my briefcase or tote and take out when I run to lunch or am doing something after work. (Again: Google alerts are your friend!)



Dresses Etc.:

My uniform is a linen pencil dress -- or pencil skirt and blouse. I got lucky on Etsy with a few vintage scores (which I then had altered at either Nelson Tailors or Seoul Tailor) but as we all know that's a crap-shoot, and I'm much more inclined to go for vintage-style, without the retro seaming or fabrication.

ASOS.com has been a lifesaver: specifically their linen pencil dress. I got these in a few colors, reinforced the hems, and am good to go.

Heartmycloset.com is an amazing Etsy site on which the seller works from vintage patterns to make custom dresses. Reasonable, beautiful quality, and unique!




J.Crew -- hey, if it's not broke. Their No.2 pencil skirt is flattering, basic, and comes in petite sizes. I also swear by their white blouses.

Dressy:
When I need to go a bit dressier, I tend to go for Stop Staring, Trashy Diva, or my beloved Betsey Johnson rose-printed seersucker, a birthday splurge I have not regretted once! For cocktail affairs, I get a lot of wear out of this BB Dakota number, which I got for a song at the late, lamented Inven.Tory.





(I am still on the lookout for the perfect belted jacket in my price range...)



Fall will of course be a whole 'nother ballgame, but I do have my eye on this:

Just sayin

My sofa is really ready to be put out to pasture. I'd say we got out $75 worth, but still melancholy. Especially since I'm apparently at the point in my life where I'm drawn to furniture from Anthropologie.

Happy Returns

Wonderful, lovely birthday. Slim, being the consummate good sport, allowed himself to be dragged to not only the McQueen show at the Costume Institute, but to Beautiful Darling at IFC. (Look, it was raining.) Add to this cake with friends and steak with the family and you have the recipe for a great 30th.

But unquestionably, this was the highlight.

We had emerged at West 4th Street (for breakfast at Joseph Leonard) and unfurled our umbrellas when a middle-aged Indian man approached us and asked us wheedlingly, in turn, if we'd give him our umbrellas -- never mind that he looked perfectly capable of obtaining his own. We said no.

"But I'm the baby!" he said, oddly. "You have to take care of the baby!"


Happy birthday to me.