Fashion for Writers

Chris and I are getting ready for a day of wedding preparations, including that photoshoot that I mentioned earlier — and to be honest, I’m much more excited about his outfit than I am about mine – ha! (This is what happens when you “pack light” on a trip home, I suppose.) I’d bought a gray wool dress from the 40s to wear to the shoot, but wound up feeling not-so-pleased with the length for the purposes of this occasion, so I threw together some basic black pieces from the torn shopping bag I used to bring home some clothes in, as well as a skirt I rediscovered in my childhood bedroom. I’m also squeezing my feet into some bitsome white flats that I’m borrowing from my mom’s closet; my mom has size 6 feet (I wear a 7.5/8). But I am wearing my favorite necklace, and some nifty orange tights. You’ll undoubtedly get to see the fruits of the shoot later. I’m terribly excited.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Last night Armando, a hair-and-makeup stylist whom we might use for the wedding, came to my parents’ house to do a trial run. I am, admittedly, very self-styled when it comes to hair (learned to do pin curls via the Internet, don’t know how to use a curling iron or a straightener, invent lots of crazy updos but can’t do a French twist), and am a complete imbecile when it comes to makeup (don’t know how to use it at all, don’t wear foundation 97% of the time, never wear mascara, etc.). But having my hair and make-up done was, although nerve-wracking, quite fun. Armando and I chatted about reality TV while he did my hair into little finger waves and pin curls, and then he painted my face with all kinds of magical powders and paints. I didn’t want to wash my face afterwards! Plus he put on some false eyelashes, which I had always wanted to try but never had the nerve to do. 

Now Chris and I are watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade (and football) and drinking coffee in bed. May you have a restful holidays, if you are indeed having a holiday — or a restful weekend.

“Tell me things I won’t mind forgetting,” she said. “Make it useless stuff or skip it.”

I began. I told her insects fly through rain, missing every drop, never getting wet. I told her no one in America owned a tape recorder before Bing Crosby did. I told her the shape of the moon is a banana—you see it looking full, you’re seeing it end-on.

-”In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried,” Amy Hempel

Today I had the amazing good fortune of eating lunch (grilled cheese, fruit) with and doing a crit with Amy Hempel – she’s one of the visiting writers here this year and my name was pulled out of a coffeepot to meet with her. I was all nerve-wracked about the crit, but it went well; she’s a really sweet and smart lady, I learned a lot, and I had her sign a book for Hanna, too. The above photograph is an approximation of what I wore today in anticipation of these events. Let me say that cold-weather tights are still just tights in 20 degree weather!

I keep asking everyone if it’s winter yet. We’ve definitely had our first snow (see above), but it wasn’t thick and stuck maybe a few inches at most. But I did order two pairs of wool stockings and yesterday donned a puffy L.L. Bean coat that made me feel like I was waddling in a sleeping bag for the first time ever, so I think that for my own purposes, I shall call this winter. 

In preparation for the holidays, I made a list of people for whom I will be purchasing gifts this year. It’s not a small list — I’ve got my future in-laws, friends, and family to consider — and therefore am trying my hardest to keep my spending under control. Where are all of those bargain gift guides when you need them?

Thom (The Sunday Best) pointed out in his blog that the Criterion Collection is presently discounting 40% off all in-stock items until November 24th. Good deal. I purchased Yi Yi (one of my favorite films) and that seminal fashion darling, Grey Gardens. Thanks, Thom!

The trailer for Yi Yi has spoken-Mandarin/Taiwanese/English in it with French subtitles, but might still be worth watching even if you don’t understand Mandarin/Taiwanese/French. 

Also, can I mention that I only own one pair of pants now? And I live in a place where it was 12 degrees Fahrenheit a few days ago? I used to own two pairs of pants, but one of them was a pair of jeans and they shrunk to half their size in the wash; I can’t wear them no matter how hard I try. I think a PANTS POST is forthcoming, here.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Bloglovin is my method of choice for following all of the fantastic blogs I love.

Also, Effie from The Snail & the Cyclops has a gorgeous scoop-neck dress up on her Etsy store right now. I reaaaalllly wanted to snag it for myself (I hadn’t even realized that her Holy Land collection was up for sale yet; did I miss the announcement on her blog or did it just go up covertly?), but the waist is 24″ and therefore too bitty for me. If you are in possession of such a waist and are so inclined with some pocket money, do take a look — I tried to post an image, but WordPress is being problematic at the moment.

(image by my cousin Jackson)

For something a little different, today I’ve been tagged by Pretty Little World to write about six “unimportant” things that I love or am excited about or by. 

1.) “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF”: I am completely fascinated by this show. It is better than “The Hills.” It is better than Twinkies (okay, so I’ve never eaten a Twinkie, but I imagine it’s better). It is better than NOT watching Paris Hilton manipulate a bunch of young women into doing things like play 7 Minutes in Heaven with Dag Nasty so that they can be judged later on how they managed to walk the fine line between Fun and Dirty-Dirty-Dirty. I’m personally rooting for Shelly, the nice girl, even though I doubt Paris will choose her, and I can’t picture Shelly succeeding Nicky and Nicole Ritchie as Paris’s BFF.

2.) Photos of Taiwan: Documentary photos of street life in Taiwan are my new favorite thing to browse on flickr. They remind me of eating cheapo street meats and luxuriating in the heat, and also shopping at street stalls, which is mostly great but also at times depressing because I am so much larger than all of the clothes there (and have been asked if I am pregnant). But this is a list of happy things, so forget that.

3.) Salami. I wasn’t really eating meat for a while, not for vegetarian reasons but just because, and I found this salami at a local deli that I am obsessed with. 

4.) My giant white fake fur coat. It keeps me warm even when it’s 12 degrees outside, and I feel ridiculous and stylish all at once. Plus I get noticed, which I’m not sure is a good thing, especially when I garner strange comments on the street, but I guess that’s just a side effect I have to deal with.

5.) Skype. This is actually VERY important to my sanity, but the things that I talk about on Skype with my mom and Chris are usually sort of silly. 

6.) Certain wedding-related preparations. There are a lot of them in the upcoming week, but some of them seem more fun than chores; the hair-and-makeup guy, for example, is coming to my parents’ house to do a trial run and I’m going to have awesome hair (fingerwaves?) and makeup for a night for no reason (pictures perhaps forthcoming?). Also, the photographer wanted to use Chris and me as models for her advertising video, so she’s doing a free shoot with us in San Francisco in various fun locations. Which means free photos for us. So exciting!

I’m bad at this whole tagging thing, so if you would like to participate, please do, and say that I tagged you!

Deadlines are hitting me before I know it. It’s a crazy, crazy time. Tonight I’m supposed to be going to a reading, even though what I really ought to be doing is preparing for workshop tomorrow morning, and in the meantime I’m eating more grilled cheese sandwiches than any one person should really be eating.

The shirt I’m wearing in the above picture is silky and my latest thievery from Mom’s closet; the fake fur collar that I’m wearing on top of it is from Amelia, who was in town this past weekend. I’d been looking for that white hat for days and guess where I found it? On top of the MICROWAVE.

In other news, Le Train Bleu is having a sale with the coupon code “luckybreaks5.” 25% off is nothing to sneeze at.

When I talk about pretty autumn dresses, I’m not talking about the bodice-and-skirt kind. In fact, my Michigan town saw its first snow yesterday, and I feel as though I probably won’t be wearing much other than long johns, cableknit sweaters and silly pants for a while yet. But the trees are shedding the last of their pretty colors, and I though I’d share a picture from a roll of film I took at the arboretum on campus. In the last week alone a substantial amount of color has drained from the foliage. O, winter!

Hanna and I have assigned ourselves the job of memorizing poems this season. Our first was “Pied Beauty” (Gerard Manley Hopkins.) “Glory be to God for dappled things/for skies of couple-color as a brinded cow/for rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim,” etc. I’m not fluent at it yet. Yeats is next. 

Today I fried up some cubed potatoes, small chopped-up onions and broccoli for lunch.

I joined the YMCA this morning, and then I went swimming in their great big indoor pool. I really like indoor pools. Hopefully I’ll go swimming on a regular basis now. 

The skirt in this photo is relatively new, and I totally love it. It’s supposed to be hellishly cold tomorrow, though, so I probably won’t be able to wear it for much longer. & today I bought, of all things, a pink flowered early 50’s sundress, as if I’ll be able to wear that for another six months.