185. a rose is a rose is a rose is a rose, and hi everyone
October 22nd, 2009 § 15 Comments
This is a little bit out of the blue, but I (Meggy) have an announcement to make, hence the BIG/AWESOME NEWS signage at the top of this post, and hence the bit of hushery around here as we get things figured out.
Here is the BIG/AWESOME NEWS: my smart/beautiful/fantastically stylish friend, Jenny Z., is joining Fashion for Writers. That’s right. This is now a Joint Venture. She might live in Iowa City, and I might live in Ann Arbor, but we’re both writers and clotheshorses with something to say.
What to expect of this news? More posts, hopefully, and more variety. We’re cooking up schemes like you wouldn’t believe. For one, the 200th post is coming up, which demands a Major Giveaway, don’t you think? And what about fashion challenges? I never felt like doing a fashion challenge on my own, but with Jenny breathing down my neck, you might just find me wearing all white for a month, etc.
Since Jenny wrote a lengthy (and altogether too flattering) post below about how she met me, I will share a sartorial Jenny story that will always stick with me. We were in San Francisco. She was wearing lace leggings at a time when lace leggings were not being worn by everyone and their grandma. And I must have spent an unnatural amount of time staring at her lace leggings, trying to figure out if I could get myself a pair and if that would be weird or not, when our mutual friend grabbed my arm and shouted, “ARE YOU STARING AT JENNY’S ASS?”
So that’s Jenny, and that’s all I have to say about her for now. She’s one of my favorite writers (I certainly like her more than Lorrie Moore), and her style is killer. And I hope you enjoy hearing from us as we post in the future.
xo, mw
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I have a little story about Meggy and pants and perfect bows and magnificent hair and the sound of gold sandals across a cafe floor like the tapping of tiny spoons on a wooden table.
I first met Meggy sometime during my junior year of college. She came into the cafe, where we were meeting, wearing a ridiculously complicated and beautiful updo (our friend Karan called it, “sixties air hostess hair,”) a pair of heeled gold sandals, and the most extraordinary pants I’ve ever seen. I think they were black or blue velvet with delicate bows in the back. I can’t properly describe it, and I fear I might be participating in some sort of myth-making (set me straight Meggy if I am!) But I will say this: up until the moment when Meggy walked into the room in her bow pants, I was a pants-hating fiend. The last time I wore pants was probably in fifth grade, when I was severely underweight and wore a pair of skintight 80′s jeans that my mom had picked up from a garage sale, and during outdoor recess, one of my friends (or was she really a foe?) came up to me and said, “Wow! Are those tights or jeans?” and my other friend: “Your legs look like two black straws!”
Then there was Meggy and her pants, which turned the dull, slow marbles in my head into glowing, racing orbs! Thank you Meggy for showing me how beautiful pants can be.
Anyway, this is all to say that I have loved Meggy, clothing, fashion, Meggy’s clothing, and Meggy’s fashion blog for a long, long time, and I’m really excited to be part of Fashion for Writers. I’ll try to tell you more about me in future entries, but to start:
I live in Iowa City, and right now I’m liking mary janes, straps in general, the color white despite my 80% success rate of spilling food on myself, floral prints especially ones that are danger of tipping over into overly cutesy, overly-dainty, overly-gaudy, overly-old lady like territory, lace collars, button-up dresses, and over-the-knee socks that fall down after crossing the street.
A few days ago in Iowa City, it was cold and there were yellow-brown leaves everywhere. I took this photo while the church bells across the street from me were chiming and I was reminded that it was already five in the afternoon and I hadn’t accomplished anything yet. (But that didn’t stop me from posing for blog photos…)
Sailor dress (Persephone Vintage on etsy); belt (taken from an awful h&m dress); kneepad socks (Hansel from Basel); woven slip-on loafers (Lisazain on etsy)
With love,
Jenny
184. new glasses
October 11th, 2009 § 5 Comments
Glasses from SEE, Ann Arbor
I got new glasses, finally; my old ones were horribly scratched and I felt like I couldn’t wear mascara or eyeliner without the frames obscuring my make-up. I like these because they’re bigger and you can see my eyes better. Also, my Kickstarter project (see left) is coming to a close. If you haven’t taken a look at it yet, please do, and if you can’t contribute, I’d love it if you could share the link with other people.
183. the gold mine (hyuk, hyuk, hyuk)
October 7th, 2009 § 7 Comments
After a week and a half of mysterious, full-body pain, I’m finally back in the saddle — so thank you to everyone for your good thoughts and well-wishes. Thank heavens for good doctors.
Every fashion blogger has their special something that they keep their eye out for at all times, whether it be the perfect stacked and studded boot, vintage teddy bears with drooping eyes, or princess coats with rhinestone buttons. For me, that thing is the 1930s day dress. I have a hard time finding them; the last time I went to Retro Active in New Orleans (which is my final destination for vintage, and rumor has it that Joe is closing the place down this year to pursue millinery), I asked him if he had any 30s day dresses, and in all of those stacks and stacks of gorgeous Chanel blouses, mermaidy sequinned dresses, etc. there was not a 30s dress to be found.
But the other day, while idly browsing the casual-dress section at The Get Up, I found this gorgeous mustard-yellow 30s dress among the 80s polyester and 70s maxi-dresses. I looked at the price tag: totally within budget. And it was in great condition — one of the snaps is missing, but I can fix that myself without too much trouble, or maybe I’ll have it taken in to a tailor and replace the snaps with a zipper (does anyone have thoughts about that?).
My days are long, long, long and busy these days, and there are always so very many things to do. But Fall is one of the nicest times of year for me. I’m plotting to have my favorite coat mended (the lining is a mess, and one of the pockets is no longer a pocket) and I think it’s time to get a new umbrella.
For a future post, I thought I’d do one of those question-and-answer posts that so many other people do. I’ve always found them informative and fun. So: is there anything that you want to ask me?
