Lazy Monday Poll
Good morning my sweet corn niblets, how was your weekend? Mine was eh, it rained and rained and rainedandrainedandrained which is good for my hair but no so great for my backyard which now has weeds that are literally –and I mean literally– higher than my privacy fence. I emailed my lawn people a week ago saying the grounds of stately Château Gâteau were looking a little more Meth Lab than I personally find ideal, but it’s raining so whaddya gonna do?
I’ll tell you what I miss: the teenager who spoke like three words of English and would cater to my every lawn maintenance whim for five dollars and a lemonade Popsicle. Good times.
***
Last Lazy Monday Janey was pondering buying some new delicates, Frances and I had a chat about how to wear a short-brimmed vintage hat without it looking costumey, Marya wrote a lovely comment on her springtime bud watch, Genvieve touted the wisdom of knowing a very good cobbler, a bunch of us helped Tropical Chrome find a sandal for a baseball game, our soon-to-be-wed Sara A. had a pre-wedding existential crisis and there was much moaning and gnashing of teeth re: nothing-to-wear from the delightfully-named Petunia Chowder.
This week we’re going to feature Five Great Finishing School Lessons plus some other bits of loveliness here and there.
So what’s been going on with you? On the hunt for anything in particular? Do anything fun this weekend, or do you have something glammy going on this week? Let me know!
I’ll start. I’m really in need of shoes for job interviews. I can’t find anything inexpensive and appropriate with a bit of flair. I need black, closed toe (altho slingback is fine), heel no higher than 2.5 inches and under $75. It has to be a wide width too. Anyone got any ideas?
I like the Bandalino Berry pump, they come in some fun treatments for the price, including croc and snakeskin
http://www.zappos.com/bandolino-berry-black-patent-croc
Here’s a good starting place. Good luck!
I’m somewhat passively looking to replace one of my swim suits, and am really frustrated that the vast majority of plus sized swim suits are black, or black-based. I know black is supposedly slimming, but…it’s a swimsuit, there’s only so much slimming that can go on. And who wants to sit in a black suit and BAKE all day on the beach? More swimsuits in light, sun-reflective colors, please! (I know Lands End has a few, but it’s not a wide selection)
I am not-so-patiently awaiting the delivery of a hefty package from Torrid while taking care of my brother who dislocated his kneecap playing co-ed softball of all things. I haven’t even gotten to wear out my new Avenue bike short thingies that Plumcake suggested last week, but I think they will be perfect under my go-to dresses. I’m also thinking of getting these babies, but mama has to wait until the coffers are full again sometime next month. It is so wonderful sharing with you fabulous people!
Orora–Shoebuy.com also has nice shoes in your price range.
I am looking to replace a dress due to wear and tear. I saw some cute sheaths on the Talbots website. How is Talbots for quality? I wanted to try them because lately I have been striking out at Lane Bryant, Dress Barn and Macy’s.
If anyone is looking for a new handbag, try Brighton Collectibles. I bought a cherry red “Cher” tote. The overall quality was nice, there was a wide range of styles and the prices are coomparable to Coach. It’s a thought.
Have a nice day, ladies!
Testing. Is anyone else having issues posting?
@DC Surfer. I don’t know. I only have one dress from Talbot’s and it’s held up okay, but not great. The finishing wasn’t so hot so I’m forever cutting a loose thread or mending a fallen bit of hem. Anybody want to weigh in?
@Miranda: How embarrassing for your brother. It is your duty as a sister to help him come up with a better story on how he injured himself. I HATE waiting for packages. I’ve got one coming from YOOX that’s not supposed to be here until Wednesday. Does that stop me from checking UPS ever 45 seconds? No, no it does not.
@Jen: I know! It’s crazy making. I don’t want to wear a black swimsuit! What do you think of the aqua blue Lane Bryant one I posted the other day? I really like it. Also you might try checking Swimsuits for All. There’s an ad on the sidebar.
Waaahhhh, my post got eaten. And I ALWAYS tend to copy just in case that happens. Of course the one time I don’t, my post gets lots in cyberspace. ANYWAY. I was just saying to Jen that Lands End has vastly improved their selection lately. I especially like that they do separates that can be mixed.
I live in the middle of nowhere Armyville and a Starbucks is opening on post this week. This is MOMENTOUS as the closest GROCERY store Starbucks is an hour away and the closest real store is 2-2.5 hours away.
Love you all, darlings.
Ok, so apparently the site didn’t like me talking about sparkles and old navy? I was trying to describe a shirt that makes me irrationally giddy, but no matter how I tried to word it it wouldn’t let it through. Odd….but let’s try posting this pic of me in said ridiculous but IDONTCARE shirt: http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4534899599_91054f6a12.jpg
SPARKLY OCTOPUS!
@teteatete – Oh, MAN…where did you get that shirt? That is awesome and completely, justifiably giddy making.
I am not-so-patiently awaiting the delivery of a hefty package from Torrid while taking care of my brother who dislocated his kneecap playing co-ed softball of all things. I haven’t even gotten to wear out my new Avenue bike short thingies that Plumcake suggested last week, but I think they will be perfect under my go-to dresses. I’m also thinking of getting these babies, but mama has to wait until the coffers are full again sometime next month. It is so wonderful sharing with you fabulous people!
I don’t know if you ever got my email amongst your many thousands, but I’m the girl who was going to Paris, and had decided to amp up my perfume sophistication level, and was stressing about my first visit to the Serge Lutens boutique at the Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido.
I just wanted to let you know that the visit was a resounding success! It was the first outing I made on the most delicious day I spent in Paris. Let me tell you that the boutique was everything posh and luxe that I had imagined it to be. It was hushed and lovely, several tones of purple with black cabinetry and little tiny gold stars everywhere (but not in a tacky way), and I was attended to by a smartly dressed, adorable, expert gay man who kindly listened to me natter on in my decent, if textbook, French about how everything in America smells like vanilla to me, and how I wanted something more complex and interesting, something that could be my signature scent, and how I wanted to continue speaking French with him, but I might not know the words for particular notes, yadda yadda yadda. He smoothly offered me some tea, and we got down to business.
I spent probably close to an hour in the store, delightedly sniffing this and that and expanding a collection of delicately scented, needle-shaped cards hand-labeled with the names of various fragrances, and then gradually narrowing and narrowing (I did love Fille en Aiguilles – you were right about the pine bomb!) until I chose Chergui. Which I am totally in love with.
I’m telling you, I could not stop smiling the rest of the day. The whole experience was perfect, and I feel so much more knowledgeable about scents now.
The impetus for this lovely scent quest was your post about them, and so I thought I’d let you know the outcome of my taking your inspiration and running with it. Bliss!
I LOVE THE OCTOPUS SHIRT. Yay.
What is on my mind, is that JC Penney has some really really cute spring dresses right now! I might have, um, bought 3. One is black and white with a sort of large leafy-viney pattern, one has pink flowers (I would never usually wear pink flowers but it looked amazing on!) and the third one is a really pretty strawberry pink with a neckline that is a BIT SCANDALOUS. I plan to wear them with little cardigans and mary-jane shoes and look deceptively sweet.
They all have a fitted waist and full-ish skirt, which make my apple-ness into a little more va-voom.
Also, I heartily second the recommendation of Swimsuits for All–if you wait for a sale they have AMAZING deals (I got mine for $17 and it’s not black and gets compliments all the time)
@teteatete I am absolutely COVETING that tank! I’m with LL – need to know where you got it!
@Plumcake Yes, I have been tracking it obsessively, but Tuesday isn’t getting here any faster. A package arrived today for my brother and I sprang off the couch with superhuman speed on the slim hope that the UPS website was just teasing.
I went to Lane Bryant to exchange a top and most of the new stuff they have in the store just doesn’t excite me. I did find two long short sleeve tops in very light cotton, one green with a black brooch-like thing attached to it, and another in solid black, because you really can’t have enough short-sleeved black tops.
@Beth, no I didn’t get it! You probably sent it while I was on vacation and lost all my emails. I’m so, so happy you found something you liked and you had a positive experience! Chergui is luscious, but be warned: do NOT wear it around Moroccan men…they’ll follow you to the ends of the earth just to sniff you!
@Teteatete, How adorable are you?! The discopus is not something I’d want for my personal collection but it’s adorable on you!
@Jenne, sounds cute but beware, if you’re wearing the same thing a four year-old would wear (no matter how adorable) you might want to rethink and add something modern/edgy to keep it from looking precious or twee.
@Plumcake I did very much like that aqua suit you posted, but am not interested for 2 reasons: 1) it would give me a very strange tan line. 2) the one suit I have that is not black (ie the only one I wear, hence wanting to get another one), is that very same color, with white poka dots – from Lands End 2 years ago.
I too really like the sparkly octopus!
Old Navy! That is the provenance of the, bless you Plummy for your wonderful WORDS: discopus! That will henceforth be its name.
My aesthetic is normally more along the lines of yours, Plumcake. I know not how this works, but I’m going with it :D
@Beth: Jealousy. That’s really all I have to say about that…and a curmudgeonly congratulations. ;)
Speaking of Moroccan men following you, did that happen to you, in Paris? I had several. One was an elderly man on the Champs-Élysées who asked if I would be his “particular sweetheart.” I must remember to avoid that perfume on my next visit or I might impede traffic.
I celebrated my first post-maternity-leave paycheque by buying myself a proper bottle of fragrance. Prada Infusion d’Iris EDP, to be exact. So now I wait…(rubbing hands together in anticipation.)
Plus this weekend, I’m going to visit my sister, and we’re going to have a nice, long girl-gab session over coffee and browsing.
The only thing for which I am on the hunt is the perfect white short-sleeved blouse. It’s so difficult to find one that is delicate and ladylike in style, but isn’t thin and cheap-looking.
Oh and the waiting is for the shipment of my perfume, in case any of you were wondering for what it was, exactly, that I was waiting. (The men to fall at my feet when they discover how divine I smell?)
Beth and La Petite Acadienne – your stories have made me really happy and envious. I love perfume, both on myself and on other people. Sad for me – I work in a fragrance-free environment (big sigh) and no one is allowed to wear scent or lotion or anything. I understand the reasoning behind it, and would be super appreciative if I had allergies or sensitivities, but I miss walking next to someone in the hall and getting just the littlest hint of their cologne.
I work with people who are sensitive to scents. Fortunately, we all have our own offices, so we’re not always in close contact. I forgo perfume during work, but will take a shower when I get home from work and then apply my perfume. That way, I get to enjoy it all evening. And the next morning, I just do a quick wake-up rinse in the shower and there is just the teeniest, tiniest hint of scent left on my wrists — completely undetectable unless the nose is virtually touching the skin, but it’s nice to just be able to take a deep whiff and catch the faintest ghost of the scent.
I traded the DH a pan of lasagne and a pineapple upside-down cake for a magnificent piece of art nouveau jewelry (http://cathouse-blues.livejournal.com/1234312.html) and it’s been worth it.
The other tradeoff is that now it’s racing season (and DH is an artist specializing in motorsports) and we’ve begun living at the local dirt tracks of a Saturday night. I tend to bit more fabulous than my fellow fans, usually to be found in what I like to refer to as the “Oh, honey, no(s).” Just because it comes in your size, my fellow redneck racing dear, does NOT mean you should wear it. And for that matter, perhaps you should consider wearing that fan t-shirt and jean capris actually IN your size?
Please?
“Fortunately, we all have our own offices, so we’re not always in close contact.”
Unless you have an intern who is only in the office two days a week, and has to share your office, and you constantly either dump or hang your coat over hers, so her coat winds up smelling like your cologne all day, not that I’d know anything about that, BOSS.
He’s awesome, and his cologne generally does not make me want to tape my nose shut, but, man, he really needs more coat hooks in his office.
Plus, there’s something creepy about walking out of your office building realizing that you smell like your boss. (Also, I’m done with law school, minus final exams (and the bar, sigh), this week! Hooray!).
OK I’m laughing so hard you guys, because YES, the North Africans were all ABOUT me this trip! HA! I totally didn’t get it, except that there is just the slightest red tinge to my hair and I know gingers are popular with that demographic. So THAT is why that dude wouldn’t leave me alone at Sacre Coeur! And that other dude on the Metro, who kept stealthily moving closer and closer with every stop. I will consider myself properly warned. Hee!
@jen – good for you to try to find something different in a bathing suit! I’m not really fond of shopping for them, so tend to take the path of least resistance. Yes, mine is black and from Lands End…
Had an up and down weekend. the dog nearly died, but is back snuffling for crumbs under the table. As a result, almost missed my daughter’s concert, but (zipping through several yellow lights on the way back from the emergency vet combined with a slightly late start on the part of the conductor) managed to arrive in the middle of the first piece. whew! somewhere in the middle of that weekend managed to order the linen dress posted last week. Got it in black – they were out of red in my size and I like black with a tan. I’m curious to see what it will look like on. So I’m waiting for a package too!
@Beth: I loved vicariously visiting the perfume shop in Paris. Thanks for the story!
@jen — I was just over at the Monif C. site and they’ve got a gold swimsuit. Also one in snakeskin print. Can’t get more not-black than that.
I have a First Communion to go to in Virginia in early May. I have a cream-and-brown swirled Abby Z. tunic and cream/ecru cigarette pants, which will be worn with gold sandals and big gold hoops. Too much for the Catholics? I have nieces and nephews to fascinate, after all. I’m the aunt who is rather a mystery for the nieces since I don’t really talk to their parents, and only just saw them for the first time in their lives last month at a wake (though I didn’t actually meet them, but I know they were asking questions about me). As for the nephews, the older one is at an age when he’s utterly mortified by any adult related to him in any way, so I might as well put on a show.
I went to Gallaudet University and the D.C. area on a class trip with my American Sign Language class. It was the best weekend of my college career and has reaffirmed my desire to become a sign language interpreter.
I know it’s Tuesday but I just bought my first ticket to an opera and on a whim and season pass. Does anyone have any what to wear advice for the barely-can-afford-the-balcony young adult big girl? It would be much appreciated.
I keep looking at dresses from Pinup Girl Clothing, specifically the Rita, the Natalie, and the Anna.
I’m also looking at a duplex on Friday, and waiting to hear back from another place I applied to. Not looking forward to moving, but am looking forward hugely to living somewhere else!
@Plumcake That’s a very good point. Sometimes I wear the black and white dress with boots as well, (and its pattern is modern enough not to be twee) but I’m a little worried about the pink flowers looking saccharine. What would you suggest in the way of something to edgy it up?
@Jenne, I woldn’t wear it with boots either, as they’re clichéd. You can’t win for losin’, huh? I’d go with something aggressive but chic, like maybe these Miu Miu wedges or these Chloé sandals.
@Ananas, good luck! I love my duplex. If you’ve been living in apartments you’ll never go back. I have a soft spot for rockabilly clothing –I was All Rockabilly All The Time back in the early 2000′s– but remember, that’s a costume, not an outfit.
@Lucy: Congratulations, what are you going to see? I’m a big opera buff! You can never go wrong with a black dress and sparkly jewelry for the opera, although I suspect you’ll see people in everything from jeans (ptui ptui, I find it disrespectful to the artist) to gowns.
@Olivia, that’s wonderful! And what a beautiful time to visit my hometown. Were there still cherry blossoms? Sigh…I miss D.C.
@Zuzu, I’ll say to you what I say to everyone going to a religious ceremony, no matter how secularized: Worship Is Not About You. Err on the side of decorum. Fascinate with your personality, which I’m sure you will.
@Larkspur (one of my favorite flowers!): Giminy crickets! Poor poochie. I’m glad he (?) is back to regular snuffling order. How scary! Let me know how the dress works out (and congratulations on your daughter’s concert)
@Plumcake: The Bandolino Berrys are the answer. Got them in black patent croc. How come I didn’t find them in my search on Zappos? Anyway, they should arrive soon and I’ll report. Thanks for the tip.
@Beth, it’s also been my experience the North Africans (whom I adore. So, so handsome) are All About the big girl, particularly if she’s fair skinned with dark hair (never heard the ginger thing, but doesn’t surprise me.) If you’ve never had a romantic assignation with a man from Morocco or thereabouts I highly, HIGHLY encourage it.
@Genevieve: Smelling like your boss…what could be more delightful? It reminds me of a time I fragrance-profiled a married guy pal of mine who decided he liked -and subsequently ordered– a very rare scent that only I wear (most niche perfumes are gender inclusive). Someone made a joke that now we could have an affair and his wife would never know. AWKWARD.
@Whitney: is “pineapple upside-down cake” slang for something unprintable? If so I think that’s how I got the diamond necklace I eventually turned into my Cadillac.
@La Petite: I’ve found my office does not rejoice in some of the more, uh, “challenging” perfumes I favor. I do like a big stonkin’ perfume from time to time, but I always either do it at home or put it on as soon as I get home and let the dry down travel with me the next day.
@Jennifer: that tiny little hint of someone’s fragrance is known as a “sillage“…also, a woman’s aroma: the combined scent of her skin, shampoo, sweat, clothes, perfume and makeup is called her “cassoulet” (which is also my favorite French dish).
@Ananas: I think for the good of everyone in the world (and my own well-being) I will NOT be going to an anime convention any time soon. *shudder*
@Orora. Glad to be of service! Let me know how the Berry’s work out!
@Plumcake: Only if you are an intern, and have a last name that sounds strikingly like a certain famous White House interns does it ever give one pause… (especially in an office with old boys club leanings like mine!)
But in all honesty, winding up smelling like him was more surprising than anything else, because the scent was picked up from his winter coat, onto my winter coat, not his suit coat, and lasted longer than I would have thought. He does have quite good taste, though.
@ Plumcake: Thanks! I should have known you were an opera buff. I don’t know why. It just feels right. Why don’t you share your taste with me so I don’t have to cull out my own? Anyway, I’m going to see The Queen of Spades but, even though the production recieved good reviews, I’m not so sure it will be a good starter opera. At least now I can relax a bit about the clothes. Activities like the opera conjure up images of socialites and trustees, which since I’m antisocial and have been on the edge of the lower middle class most of my admittedly short life, scare the living daylights out of me.
@Lucy, no La Dame de Pique isprobably not the ideal first opera –that would be something like La Boheme or Nozze di Figaro– but I promise, unless you’re going opening night, you’ll be surprised and maybe a little disappointed at the pomp level. Through the kindness of a friend, my season ticket is in the Founders’ Circle and still there’s not much dressing up. Just row upon row of old ladies in their diamonds, pant suits, and Ferragamo bow flats.
@ Plumcake: How unexpected. Good to know.
this monday(and today,as well) I have been trying to get a French outfit together,while being obviously french,but not stereotypical, and in the color of the flag( for inductions into Thespian society)
@lucylang: Just remember that while most people find their entree to opera through something like Boheme or one of the Figaros (Rossini’s is another popular starter opera), your personal taste is as important in this as in any other art form. Queen of Spades is very, very Russian. I love it, but then War and Peace is one of my favorite novels and I’ve read a lot of Chekov and Dostoevsky for fun. If things of that nature appeal to you, you’ll probably have a good time. If Russian lit makes you break out in hives, this may not be the opera for you.
And if this turns out not to be your opera, think about trying something a little more mainstream and seeing if it’s the opera in particular or the art form in general that isn’t doing it for you.
(goes to happy place listening recalling favorite production of Boito’s Mephistofoles with Samuel Ramey in the title role, which he rocked to the rafters)
Plumcake, thank you so much for the complement on my name! I actually swiped it from my…ah, I guess she’s my Foster Fish. Big pink blood parrot cichlid that I took in when a coworker moved and couldn’t keep her.
At any rate, the conference is over and I managed not to end up looking like Sybil Trelawney. Now I’m kind of poking around aimlessly looking at swimsuits and realising that I really, really like the retro skirted ones. I’m 38–do you think they’d age me, or would I look like mutton dressed as lamb?
@Plumcake, no, it’s not slang. With this poor man the kitchen has even greater power than the boudoir. Well, that and the fact that using the boudoir as a weapon does tend to affect me as well. I learned from our very first date (I cooked) that he is a slave to his stomach and my culinary skills. Instead of sending him to the sofa, I just close the kitchen. Dooming him to McDonald’s instead of butterflied boneless pork chops seared and served in a pan sauce of onion, mead, and a little of this-and-that is guaranteed success. Though, truth be told, back in the day “pineapple upside-down cake” did finagle quite the 10th anniversary gift from the first husband.
Everyone’s talking about fabulous fragrances and I must confess my dirty little secret: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. You have to wade through an ungodly amount of Goth and Steampunk, but there are literally hundreds of fragrances with sizable samples for $3.00 each (and if you get six they usually throw in six more). If you can get past names like “Scales of Deprivation” and “Blood Amber” (actually one of my all-time favorites) you’ll find good descriptions of the scents and notes. Prices are very, very good for fragrances that will last a very long time. And just think of the reaction you’ll get when someone asks you what that lovely scent is you’re wearing, and you can tell them “Death Cap”.
Actually, my hunt is over. I managed to get something out of my head and into reality. Lavender lemonade cupcakes (which have been burning in the back of my mind for about two years) are now a delicious reality. A reality which happens to taste like the first day of spring.
My weekend was wandering the Kitchen and Bath Show in Chicago (with a side trip to C2E2) The Mag Mile is full of size 2 dreck but the side streets have some kind of interesting fashion/jewelry/art… Chi Town is Fab Much!!!
@Twistie: Will do. Thanks for the encouragement and advice. Outside of my misgivings, I’m actually really very excited. I do think it will take some time to really appreciate opera but I liken it to learning to appreciate a new food. At the Queen of Spades, I’ll be sniffing opera. At the next opera I’ll probably graduate to putting it in my mouth. Is this entirely accurate? Maybe not. Is it cute? Probably.