Wardrobe Architect: Proportions and Silhouettes

I hated this exercise.  It involved spending a ton of time clicking through images and not finding what I wanted.  It’s everything I hate about shopping, but with no actual clothing to wear in the end.  Plus, my pictures are very large and I want them to be smaller.  Alas.  Onward we must go.

Let’s start with the names I gave to each picture.  They were something like Winter 1, Fall/Winter 2 etc. But really, when you get right down to it, in Portland for about 51 weeks of the year I can wear the exact same thing.  I don’t wear shorts, so the dresses and skirts and short sleeves get augmented by tights and cardigans and the sandals switch out for shoes with socks or boots and there you have it, a 51 week wardrobe.  There are four days in the summer where you wear the super strappy dress and there are three days in the winter when you have no clothing for the incredibly cold temperatures, but other than that, it’s the same thing year round.  So ignore the Winter/Fall/Summer designations I gave.

Here’s my first combo.  Bright dress, (and why the back view, I have no idea) tights (though not in summer,) black shoes I can walk in.  I like bright colors, or fun prints in dresses.  Dresses need to be at least knee-length, should be fitted through the bodice and flared through the skirt.

This is the usual weekend thing.  Jeans (or pants,) fitted shirt, black shoes I can walk in.  The shirt can have most any neckline, the sleeves need to be long for winter, but shorter for summer.  I like stripes a lot, but solid, bright colors are good too.

Here was something I remembered while doing this.  I like FUN clothes.  I particularly like plaid pants.  So this outfit is the “oh yeah, I like fun things” reminder.  The shirt has fun detail, the pants are a fun print.  Again the shoes are black and I can walk in them.

Here’s the dress in the summer variety.  Fun print, good color, black shoes I can walk in.

Here’s my last one.  Black skirt (but with fun detail) bright shirt, which gets tights and a cardigan in the winter, black shoes I  can walk in.

So that’s it.  I know I like fitted uppers, with flaring skirts, that I can do straight pants with fitted tops.  That I like fun clothing and black shoes I can walk in.  There’s probably more, but I’m tapped out.

Today’s snow walk theme: signs.

I hearkened on the theme as I passed by the DMV.  I was pretty sure what all those orange sign said, but decided to take a closer look. Then, as I passed by the businesses in the neighborhood, I made note of their signs.

DMV. Rather apocalyptic in its repetitiveness and color.

Pizza Fino.  We Portlanders have to be reminded of proper etiquette concerning snow.

Liquor Store.  The Liquor Store in Kenton reminded us of the snow etiquette too.  But then they just gave up and closed due to snow.

“Glass” shop.  You can guess by the quotes and the bars on the window what kind of glass they sell.  The sign says:  Noon to 6pm Snow Hours

Po’Shines.  Notice the change from 3:30 to 3:00.  It was really coming down yesterday afternoon.

Lambeth Tag.  A prophylactic sign.

Panda Express.

Perfect Look Hair Salon.  I love the hand written sign, the parenthetical asides (snow) and the incorrect date.

US Bank (located inside the open Fred Meyer store)

Revived Cellular.  I like how they just shut it all down on the first day of the snow.

Sweet Science Boxing Lab. They are open, but you have to be careful.

Bike Shop.  I can’t find evidence of their name on the Internet.  Regardless, I like the instructions to “Go Play.”

Early morning walk

The meditation and the 8:00 a.m. gym class were cancelled so I headed out for another walk through the snow.
It seems the neighbor cat peeked around the corner before retreating back to her side of the building.

The library was yarn bombed in the summer and the bombs still remain, now capped with snow.

Snow on this yarn bomb bike staple.

I need to go back and check to see what is usually under this cone of snow.

I’m guessing it is decorative grass.  It’s so very conical.
Here’s some sewer work that was interrupted by the snow.

At the Interstate/Lombard intersection there was trouble with this truck.  Other cars had to back up and a passerby directed traffic, so he could make his turn.

His chains were not quite affixed.

Birds were out and about.

More drifting snow.

Walking in the snow.

I got up early for a walk in the snow.  Here’s the view from just down the road.  As you can see, there have been few cars, a few people and one bike out and about before me.

Walk sign covered with snow.

Partial obscuring of street sign by snow.

I think that no one will want this couch.

A rare sight in Portland!  A shoveled walk!

Portlenders are very good at hunkering down in the snow.  We’re stalwart through the worst driving rain, but everyone just gives up at the first sight of a flake.  Example:  it’s 7:15 in the morning and I was the first person to walk on this stretch of sidewalk.

It was a blowing snow, so there were some fun shapes.

I shoveled my walk, though.  When shoveling happens only every few years, it’s quite fun.

I set out later for another walk.  Here I cut through a pristine alley.  But you notice a bike has been here before me.

A van, but what’s this?

A bit of snow graffiti.  This was sweet graffiti.  My friend captured a picture of a car where someone had written “PENIS” and another passerby had amended the word to “DENTIST”
More drifts of snow.

Icicle.

Early release due to SNOW!!!!

It’s been very cold (for here) all week, with the temperature hovering in the 20s during the day.  Usually when it is this cold, it’s sunny and too cold for snow.  But not today! Today we got snow.  Here’s the view at work at about 12:15 pm.  The school district called an early release of 1:00 by 10:30 in the morning, so for the first time, I got to experience the process of getting all the children to leave in the middle of the school day.  It went smoothly and everyone was gone by 1:30

I was home by 2:15, stomping the snow of my Doc Matins on the way in.

The kitties were very interested in the snow.

Willy Vlautin author reading at Powell’s

Aside from being the lead singer and songwriter of Richmond Fontaine Willy Vlautin is also an author.  He was reading at Powell’s to promote his new book the Free.  Did I mention he lives in Portland, Oregon?

Mr. Vlautin is a happy-go-lucky sort of fellow, which made for a pleasant evening.  He told us he was a painter (the house kind) for twelve years and the happiest day of his life was the day he didn’t have to be a painter anymore.  “Of course, a couple of years later,” he added, “I had to go back to being a painter, but that wasn’t such a great day.”
My favorite gem I’m taking away from this reading?  Someone asked how he knew when he was done revising.  “I stop feeling sick to my stomach and start thinking about a new book.”

Wardrobe Architect: Exploring Shapes

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This week we are figuring out what shapes we feel comfortable in.  This week came with a worksheet that had us rate different ease, length, fullness and waistline of various wardrobe basics.  On our worksheet a zero meant “I hate wearing this” a five was “I am neutral about wearing this” and a ten represented “I am happiest wearing this.  I’m not sure how this will easily sum up, as there are a ton of factors, but I’ll do my best.

Skirts
Length
I rated very long/maxi and knee length as 10s. I’ve read multiple times that people as short as myself should not wear very long skirts, but I love them.
Everything else got zeros.  I’m looking at you, midi-length that hits my calf in just the place to make me look like a box.
Fullness
Very full, somewhat full, A-line all got 10s.
Straight got an 8 and Pencil got a 5.  I’ve had bad luck with pencil, because my stride tends to rip them open, but I might give them another chance.
Waistline
Pretty much natural waistline is my favorite, though dropped got an 8
High and No Waistline?  Not for me.

Dresses
Ease
Somewhat fitted got a 10, with somewhat loose getting a 5
Length
Very long and Knee length got 10s, just as with skirts
Strangely, midi-length in the dress category got an 8, because I realized I had two dresses that were that length.  Maybe because it’s a longer line, it’s not as jarring as on a skirt?  Or maybe because the skirts on those dresses are somewhat full?  Maybe that’s the secret to a happy midi-length:  long line, full skirt.
Fullness
I was once again happy with Very full, Somewhat full, A-Line, Straight.
I once again gave pencil a five.
Waistline
High got an 8, Natural got a 10
No Waistline got a five.

Tops and Blouses
Ease
I like somewhat fitted and somewhat loose giving them a 10 and an 8 respectively
Length
Tunic length got a 10 (this will be the case for the rest of the categories.  It may be partially due to the fact my work uniform tops currently are too small and I’m constantly pulling them down)
Above hip length received five.  I don’t like my mid-section being exposed, and so this length is not currently my favorite

Jackets and Blazers
Ease
Somewhat Fitted and Somewhat Loose both got a 10
Length
Tunic 10, Above hip length 8

Cardigans
Ease
I like somewhat fitted and somewhat loose giving them a 10 and an 8 respectively
Very fitted received a 5
Length
Tunic 10, Above hip length 8

There’s an outerwear category, but I’m having enough trouble with normal wardrobe and mostly find outerwear easy, so I’m skipping it.

On to page two!
Necklines
V-Neck, U-Neck, Boatneck, Square, Sweetheart, Jewel, Scoop all got 10s.  I think my best feature is the acreage between my collarbone and my breasts.  I don’t have cleavage, but the area above where the cleavage isn’t tends to be a nice display space.
Cowel got a 7 (I like that neckline a lot in winter) with Halter bringing in a six.
Turtleneck got a one.  I feel like they make me look jowly.
Things that got a whole bunch of zeros have more to do with arms/shoulders than anything:  Strapless (football player shoulders, which I like overall, but this style is a “just say no” for me) Spaghetti Strap (draws attention to my ripply upper arms) Off Shoulder (too 80s)

Sleeves:
Short Sleeve and Long sleeve both got 10s  There’s a sweet spot where a short sleeve hits that is just right.  I managed to find it when I made my Laurel Uniform Shirt.
Three-Quarter Length: 8, Above-Elbow: 6 (although now that I think about it, probably this IS my sweet spot)
Spaghetti Strap, Sleeveless and Cap Sleeve I like a lot, but right now there are upper arm ripples that I prefer to cover up.  I have good muscle in my arm, it just comes with some ripples on top.

So what have we learned?  Whew.  A lot, I guess.  I think we are going to get back to this information next week.