doin' it

Okay, today we really get going. You may have noticed that yesterday's post had no mention of progress. That's because there was none, but before you get out your pitchfork: I have done something to my back. And before you say "that's convenient", let me assure you there has been nothing convenient about it. I can't lift anything heavier than a dinner-plate (okay, being able to hold a dinner-plate is kind of convenient), and the room where the clothes live - mine and the shop's - has a bed in it that isn't so easy to negotiate your way around, and we can't return it until I can lift again. You see my dilemma. However, I can make lists, plans, and sketches. (I don't know why I added sketches; lord knows what I would sketch. But Liz Lemon says list always need three things, so.) I kind of forgot that I could do that yesterday; feeling sorry for yourself takes a lot of energy and concentration (at least the way I do it).

Two hours sounded so manageable. It's been fifteen minutes, and ten was spent trying to remember the name of this song... but the best way to spur yourself to action is with an action soundtrack. So here is a Getting Things Done Montage song. And now off I go to Get Things Done. (Feel free to do your own montage - leg-warmers optional, high ponytail mandatory.)

her

Women like this make me think of songs like this. They are the ones who make you think it's a good idea to wear your undies as pants because when they do it, they look cool, and you think it's the undies and not that they are just one of those people who make everything look cool.

Her name is Lily, and she was photographed by Garance. In my dreams, everyone in certain parts of New York looks like her, and I'm drawn there like a moth to a flame but then I want to hide in the shadows because I don't want to be seen.

It's really no help when people say stuff like "style is an attitude" or "style comes from within". But with people like Lily, the gist of those unhelpful messages kind of makes sense. They have the Midas touch when it comes to style. I guess all the rest of us can do is enjoy the glow.

know thy enemy

I don't want it to seem like I wasn't serious about my last post. I was. Deadly serious, actually. But I also don't want this blog to turn into the tutorials I missed because I hadn't done the readings. This is a group project, which we are in together; you and me. I want to be honest with you.

So, since writing the last post, I have done almost nothing. Granted, I had my family staying with me until Wednesday evening, and then went to Aerosmith that night (was it awesome? yes, it was), from which I spent most of yesterday recovering. But I still found moments in the evenings, and several hours this morning, in which to indulge my newest procrastinating passion: computer games. Not even fancy ones; I'm talking Solitaire (all variants), Mah Jong, and a bit of Minesweeper.

These things are the enemy. They are even worse than the sort-of research I've been doing, because at least that was reading, and, with a few exceptions, reading is always good. Solitaire is not.

I did do some buying for the shop, but in the spirit of honesty, I have to confess I bought a coat and a (gorgeous) cardigan for the shop, and a skirt, two dresses and an old school blazer for myself. Jimmy might not appreciate this fact, but it seems clear to me that the only way to stock the shop is to overstock my wardrobe. I'll let you know how that goes.

I'm not saying I'm going to give up the Mah Jong. But I am hereby committing to two hours every day next week to Dogtown business, with you as my witness. Watch this space, friends!

And now, some inspiration, in the form of wonderfully stylish women from the excellent Advanced Style.

a song for tuesday

I really, really like this song. It makes me feel alone in a good way; it's an embarrassing word to use, but it's kind of empowering. Maybe that's because I can imagine a montage of myself getting up and doing lots of things when it's playing; above all, just being brave.

I think I've been hiding behind this blog a bit; pretending it's progress, when it isn't, really. It's one part of a much bigger project, and it's been relatively easy because it's the bit that comes most naturally to me, and doesn't require me to get dressed, much less do things that take any energy.

It has to end. I have to begin.

a voice of money

When I saw these photos of Carey Mulligan/Daisy Buchanan shot by Mario Testino for Vogue, I immediately wanted to share them here because I think they're breathtakingly beautiful. But I wish I didn't. Vogue is an unapologetically racist institution. If you need convincing, may I cast your memory back to Anna Dello Russo's Japan editorial when she used white models and taped their eyes, the ratio of white to non-white models featured across all Vogues, and most recently, this Vogue Netherlands blackface editorial (courtesy of Jezebel). It plays a significant role in perpetuating racism in fashion, and is making very, very slow progress in changing. I know all of this, and yet still find myself looking longingly at Vogues in magazine stores, and eagerly wolfing their contents when someone has one. It's difficult when you like to look at pretty things, but know you're making something more powerful by doing so. It's like the voice I've silenced when I eat McDonalds. 

See more from the shoot here. The film comes out in June; I'm not sold on any of the casting (I always pictured Nick's face as being less rounded than Tobey Maguire's, and Carey's slightly mournful face isn't quite how I imagine Daisy's...) but we'll see. Happy Friday!

1.&2. Chanel Haute Couture 3. Alexander McQueen (and the shoes, the shoes!) 4. (my favourite) Oscar de la Renta

closet visit

I don't remember where I first came across Closet Visit but I'll credit Miss Moss (if it wasn't through her, enough things have been that she deserves it). Every month or so, Jeana Sohn, a very talented artist from LA, stops in to see (yes, I had written "visits" and then realised that was repetitive and a bit redundant) a stylish woman, taking photos of the woman and/in her wardrobe, and asking her a few questions about her style and her life. I love it. In spite of the fact Jeana had a baby last year and hasn't updated Closet Visit since a few months before the birth, I still find myself going back and re-visiting, to the point where I feel as if I kind of know some of the women (stalker party, table for one); Allison Miller is on Go On at the moment, and she might as well be my friend for how happy I was when I saw her. Like the best places, the visits inspire me all over again each time I go there, and rather than making me want to go shopping, they make me want to go and see what's already in my wardrobe. (Which probably isn't what I want to encourage when I'm opening a shop... I see that business is going to interfere with my values, and that I'm going to have to get better at this.) Some photos from my favourites follow (my absolute favourite is Sunny Walker's); find yours here at Closet Visit.

well-heeled

I didn't get into the slipper thing. The main reason was that it seemed like such a trend, and the kind where I just didn't get it; it wasn't funny, and it was just one component of a bigger trend that worked really well together, but out of context looked a bit weird (to me). Also, it reminded me of Hugh Hefner, and the only time I want to be reminded of him is if it's the alternative to being reminded of Donald Trump (vomit, curse and vomit). But then I saw these woven leather slip-ons with a copper toe, and I changed my mind. Strictly speaking, they're not slippers; they're woven! Yes, they include another very obvious trend with the contrasting toe. So what. They're called Rima, and they're by Dolce Vita, whom I thought only did boots (which would be enough - I have lost sleep over some of them), but happily, I was mistaken.

thank you, please

I really like this look from J.Crew via This Time Tomorrow. I've been spending way to much time looking at Krystal's photos... so much time that there wasn't enough left for me to get dressed today. For someone who wants to sell clothes, I spend a lot of time in my nothings. Anyway, I've been on the lookout for a letterman jacket since I missed out (ie just didn't buy) the one Bethany designed for urban outfitters last year (maybe the model's hair frightened me?), and it kind of depresses me seeing how perfect this one is, because I'm highly unlikely to be able to afford it, and a cheap one is just going to look so, in comparison. You guys are going to have to buy lots and lots of stuff from my shop so that once in a while I can afford to buy something like this. Is it okay to say that? Probably not. But look at it this way; the last things I bought were a cotton jumper ($8), woollen cardy ($8), angora tshirt ($6) and polka dot blouse and skirt ($6 for set). If I can afford to buy a new J.Crew letterman jacket, I'm still not going up a tax-bracket. You're probably just going to enable me to pay my phonebill on time. Please (said in voice of Murray, negotiating with "Sony").

a song for friday

which I think sounds more like a wednesday afternoon in its bittersweetness. I rediscovered it a couple of days ago and have had it playing while I've been ostensibly researching and planning... I wish there was a way to prove when I got certain ideas once everything starts properly (naptime 4th April - dreamt about plants), but never mind. I believe wholeheartedly in osmosis, so maybe even if I'm not really doing things that will make a shop, I'm still absorbing things to the same end. The week's gone incredibly fast because of Easter and our friends visiting, and today we bought my birthday present (my birthday isn't for three and a half months) - a fur coat (lady thought perhaps deer - don't hate me, it's vintage! and so pretty!) which is so beautiful I think maybe we should just strike fur off my list of things to sell in the shop, because for every one that makes it onto the racks, two will make their way into my already beyond capacity wardrobe. Gah. Happy weekend, future shoppers. (Thinking positive.)

never happy

I love autumn dressing; coats with only a shirt underneath, big jumpers with short skirts, boots with no stockings. Canvas shoes, light jackets, polyester. I get up, excited by the prospect of a cool sunny day, and the possibility of wearing gloves as well as sunglasses.

Then I see a picture like this, and I just wish it was summer again.

Photo by  The Sartorialist