a little sartorialost

Friday, may. 2, 2008   |   0 comments

At what age, do you think, should a person start dressing her age? And if that age is so close to 38 it might as well be 40, what kind of clothing, exactly, should that age-appropriate dressing entail?

I’m a huge fan of the clothes I own now. The rainbow of pinks and turquoises and spring greens of my closet really does make me very happy! But—and maybe it’s the recent move toward the East and West, and also South, that my ass is taking, thanks to my slowing metabolism and/or my ever-growing love of hamburgers—not all of it is fitting quite as awesomely as it once did? This recent expansion has prompted many a gleeful shopping spree at Forever 21, and H&M, and Nordsrom Rack, and, and, and…from which I return lugging bags full of more of the turquoise and orange and red and green things I love, only in slightly larger sizes.

But late at night, when I’m watching through the DVR backlog of What Not to Wear, sometimes a small peep of hmm starts to chirp at the back of my brain, wondering what point do the whimsical tops and the theme dresses and the zany necklaces stop being cute and quirky and instead become weird and even a little bit sad?

The way I see it, this could all end in one (or all!) of three unpleasant ways:

The Docent Crazy
Easily recognized by her conversation-starter of a brooch or necklace or poncho or whatever, the Docent Crazy is always eager to tell you all about this “wonderful” piece of wearable art she found in some out-of-the-way store or Etsy shop.

The Big Top Nightmare
Worshiping comfort and convenience above all, the Big Top Nightmare can start with something as innocent as one pretty, loose-fitting blouse. So accommodating and requiring so little thought, it becomes uniform. Soon, tenty tops are all the Big Top Nightmare ever buys. And once that uniform-wearing headspace sets in, it isn’t long before the BTN finds herself wearing pajamas to work, and also diapers.

The Aging “That Girl”
About five years ago, I asked my friend Sophia how long I had before I became “That Girl with All the Hair Who Drives Around the Crazy Vintage Car?” And without hesitating (meaning she’d been thinking on it), she said, “About a year.” I’ve since sold the car, but all the other “That Girl” traits—the technicolor tights and the horn-rimmed glasses and the wacky purses—are all still well in play. So really I’m teetering on the edge of this one. All I need is the Manic Panic hair (with mental patient bangs) and I’ll fall all the way in.

And then there’s my makeup! The same standby 30-second routine of sunblock with a haphazard dusting of bare essentuality that I’ve been using for the past years also somehow isn’t working as well as it once did? What with my new not-so-fine lines and droopy dog jowls for all the powder to collect in? And my hair! With the encroaching grays making things all sprongy and strange? Plus I continue to suspect that the long, long, long is no longer doing me any favors. Maybe it’s time for bangs? A tight perm? Hats, lots of hats?

Which all goes to say, I’ve been thinking for awhile now that it could really be time for a makeover. Maybe? Sometime within the next month or five, ten years?

But before Trinny and Susannah come bum-rushing in on me and my age-inappropriate togs as we innocently sit at our special booth in our favorite restaurant (the Red Robin in Concord), we’ve actually been enjoying each other quite a bit. Inspired by my new favorite internet, the Wardrobe Remix pool on Flickr, these past weeks I’ve been having deep fun shaking up my office-attire rut and taking some of my favorite old and new dresses and skirts out for an airing. You know, while they still fit?

Nine Days of Faves
1. Thursday’s “a tree grows in oakland” outfit
2. Wednesday’s “hooray for pockets!” outfit
3. Tuesday’s “crabby van crampthoven” outfit
4. Monday’s “making their 2008 debut: MY TOES!” outfit
5. Sunday’s “to the art opening! and then also a wine bar! in a heatwave!” outfit
6. Saturday’s “in search of toast” outfit
7. Friday’s “PTA meeting circa 1973” outfit
8. Thursday’s zany “please don’t pick me for jury duty” outfit
9. Wednesday’s “to work then to dinner then to rock show” outfit