Comics and Housekeeping

First the housekeeping....
* check out the comments on my "Fashion" post from a few days ago.  I have well-educated readers.  Lorraine pointed out that there are more "women's clothing for men" being featured, but I've seen this before and it's never caught on.  I agree with Dani that more casual office attire is the norm in some fields (mine, for instance) but jeans are over a century old western wear, and polo or golf shirts are cotton versions of linen shirts from colonial times ~ buttons instead of ties, but basically the same.  And I don't have any specific comments, but HI! Pat and thanks for the insights!

* I may be light on posting for the next week or so.  I will be moving and shopping to set up my apartment.  My computer may sit idle while I'm moving.  I don't think the pain of moving is going to be of interest to my readers so I'll stick to t-topics (and I have some and I expect to be getting out a bit this fall).  If I'm wrong and you gals want to hear about moving topics, I'll blab about that too.

* Hi Lauren!  Lauren is a new reader and just a couple of days ago, she went from being "Anonymous" and not having a femme name to Lauren.  I think she chose a name because I threatened to call her "Ann" for short. :)

And now....  A little more Loose Parts!

Fa Fa Fa Fa Fashion

A couple of things that have been on my mind....

Why do men's dress shoes have distinct heels?  Look at women's flats.  There are shoes with distinct heels, with heels that sort of just join the soles, with no heel at all, with any sort of transition betwen heel and sole.  But men's dress shoes always have a sole that goes the length of the shoe and a heel tacked on.

Why?  Frankly, a little more variety would make it easier for me to buy "passable" women's shoes.  So there is a bit of self-interest here.

What happened in the early 1800s?
Look at a painting of a group of men  from colonial America.  (Or this reproduction from a performance of 1776).  Men are wearing wigs or powdered wigs, the stockings over the pants, long coats, vests....  Now look at a photograph of men, just being men, not wearing costumes or period clothing.  Long coats took a while to go out of style, but I don't recall seeing any photographs from the Civil War of men in powdered wigs.  And it seems to be an all-or-nothing thing.  It's like someone decreed long pants, no wigs, clothes more like you'd see in an old western movie must be worn starting now.  I don't recall ever seeing a photograph of men standing in a group where half are wearing neckties and the other half are wearing....  What do you call that thing around their necks?

So what happened?  Was it a technological breakthrough that obviated their need, or did people one day just say "no, not gonna do that" or was it gradual ("hey look at George!  Still wearing a powdered wig!  That's so 1790s!")?

And why have men's fashions barely changed since photography was invented?  Al Capone could walk into a law office today and barely get a second look.  Women's fashions change with every season.  I know men aren't going to buy new styles every year.  Some guys want their three-piece suit or fat (or skinny or string) ties, and that's that.  But come on.  No long term changes?  It just doesn't make much sense.

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Business Opportunity

Women, according to the article, change their shoes more often than they change their minds.

I can understand ~ matching the right shoes to the right outfit is important.

Yet, the same woman who wouldn't be caught dead wearing the same shoes every day wears the same glasses every day.

Covers for the frames in different colours/styles?  Maybe transparent frames and covers just on the back side.  Easily replaceable frames?  Mostly invisible frames, close to the face that you wear under the frames of your choice?  There has to be a solution.  I'm betting there will be a market.

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Meg {heart} NY

After school ended, my new high school graduate drove us up to New York.  I brought a backpack with a toothbrush and a couple of changes of clothing; he brought everything he'd need for the summer.  We spent all of our time in the city, and most of that in Manhattan.  For the unfamiliar, New York City ("the city" ~ we all know what that means) consists of five boroughs.  I grew up in Queens, home of Simon, Garfunkel, Archie Bunker, and George Costanza's parents.  I grew up not far from Shea stadium where we used to go and watch the Mets lose regularly.  Manhattan, ten blocks wide and a hundred and fifty (or so) high is what most people think of when they think of "the city."  South Manhattan is the lower east side, Little Italy, Chinatown, Wall Street, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Tribeca and more.  Midtown is business, segregated by type (somewhat).  If you're looking for electronics, go to 6th avenue.  If you want cameras, go to 34th street.  Fashion?  Seventh avenue is the place.  If you have lots of money to spend, try 5th avenue.  Theatres are still crowded around Broadway, north of Times Square.  Click on the map for a feel for Central Park and south.

Because it was me and my boy (and we were staying at my mother's apartment) I was as drab as I could be.  That means I had male t-shirts, since my sneakers, jeans, undies, socks, and pjs are all women's.

But Meg was nowhere to be seen.  That sucks, because I have some readers I'd like to meet in the New York City area, FemmeFever is on the island (that's Long Island, just to the east of the city), and New York is a great place to be Meg.

Saturday we were in midtown, walking from 34th street up to 59th street, going back and forth between 7th and Lexington avenue.  Yes, we walked a lot.

Sunday we got a taste of downtown, starting at Canal Street, walking down Church to City Hall and further to Wall Street and beyond, across to the east river and back up to South Street Seaport, up the east side past both bridges until we got back to Canal and a late lunch in Chinatown.  No maps, no GPS.  We just walked until we found what we wanted.  I've been there before.  My son has not.  Yes, we walked a lot.

Monday, he showed me he knew how to get to his new job and I wandered around the Madison Square Garden area for about 90 minutes.  In a perfect world, I would have had a much bigger bag, and found a place to change before taking a bus back to Northern Virginia.  Yes, I walked a lot.

But if you want a place to fit in, New York City is IT, and Manhattan is paradise.

I didn't see a lot of women in suits.  Especially on the weekend, I saw pants of every length: full, capri, knee-high, bermuda shorts, short-shorts, extremely short-shorts, and everything in between.  I sincerely believe that women don't care if their pants are too short or too long.  They wear them anyway and call them "the new style."

But on the weekend, longer skirts and dresses were everywhere.  On Monday, shorter dresses ruled.  I saw more dresses than skirts on Monday, always a pleasure.

For shoes, anything worked.  The weekend showcased more casual flip-flops and tennies and flats.  Monday, heels ruled.

It was a non-stop fashion show.  I loved every minute of it.

Except, it hurt that I couldn't join them.  Or at least say "that's beautiful.  Where'd you get that?"

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Agonising Over Clothes

I want to wear the right outfit for this outing.

I have too much clothes, at least on the girl side of my closet. I'm starting to cull items that I can't wear outdoors ~ I used to only dress indoors, so if a pretty skirt was too big, I'd pin it and wear it. Or if it was too short, I'd enjoy it. And if I had a top that went with nothing I'd find something to wear with it, even though I'd be barred from ever being called a fashionista (as if that would ever happen anyway).

I decided against a dress. That eliminates a lot of items. Even my casual dresses are too dressy. I will stand out, because I overdress. I don't need to overdo the overdressing. I did consider a wedding gown, just because I can wear a veil (kidding).

I decided against pants. That eliminates, um, nothing. I know. You're all shocked.

I picked out three possible tops, although I may change my mind and add more (or buy more). One is a print top, one is a pink knit, and one is a light blue casual top. All have long sleeves, although I will be shaving my entire arm so that's not a requirement. All of the sleeves can be bunched up, and I probably will do that.

Then I went through my skirts and put away all the "too's". That's the ones that are too short, too tight, too loose, too heavy for summer, and show too much of what women aren't supposed to show under a skirt. Yes, I know about tucking, but it seems I have a choice between tucking and comfortably crossing my legs.

Because of my shortened time alone, I only had time to try on clothes, not do a "full Meg". I tried on the different tops, with different skirts (it's down to 7), and different shoes.

I took pictures of each combination but the camera was hand-held in lowish light, into a mirror. It would have taken too long to set up the tripod and timer and everything. I haven't seen them yet; if they're at all decent I'll find a way to post. I'd really love some feedback!

I've changed my picture again. Any comments? Better? Worse? Stay home? Stay away from my boyfriend? :)