Hello

I finally realized what it was that was causing my rather serious-feeling wardrobe break-down.

I've been reading blogs, fashion blogs and design blogs in particular for over a year, obsessively. It started out feeling like a hobby, but it's started to feel like it could spur some serious bouts of creativity if I have a way to interact more directly. Just lurking is no longer enough. Plus, being so embedded in it, I've grown this vocabulary and knowledge of smaller designers that I might not have otherwise. It's meant that when I talk to my friends who are not such cyber girls, they don't have the same frames of reference, and it's a lonely fashion world without someone else with whom I can try to justify the hours spent pouring over beautiful things, not to mention justifying dollars spent. How did it happen that the people I love have never heard of Acne jeans, never heard of Vena Cava?

We're not just talking about a love for the above mentioned brands and wishing I had more to spend on such things. There's plenty of that, but what really gets me going is an appreciation for being able to dress up in, essentially, the "costume" for the day to express your mood or tell a story. The fashion blogging world is like a community of my soul sisters (and brothers) who also feel that the perfect shoe holds within its sole (haha!) much more than meets the eye. It's a way of life, man.

Finally, as a former minor dabbler in fashion, now feeling much more entrenched in all of it, I know that there are trends, and trends inform what we will see on the racks at most of the stores out there. Now, I feel that part of my dissatisfaction with my current wardrobe stems from the fact that some time ago I saw the trends each season and was tempted in, no matter the poor quality. Lately, my mantra has been more along the lines of "Quality over Quantity." This is not anything new, and is the general idea behind the much touted change that needs to happen worldwide. This, strangely enough, is largely according to some of the very people who are creating the goods that we are so eagerly snatching up. It is manufacturers, designers, who are taking on the green way and trying to use that to appeal to a customer. Thus causing us to buy more, to help us feel like we're part of a cause. A bit hypocritical and this could spur a blog of its own entirely!!! I'm not here to do that. But being in product development myself, I am accutely aware of this dilemma and hope to explore it further.

I do believe though that I would be happier wearing a simple classic set of what could almost be described as uniforms, though, rather than having a closet (and half of my boyfriend's closet) stuffed to the brim with "nothing to wear." It's going to happen. It's got to happen. Not to the extent of a uniform because that's no fun, but I need a change for the better. I like to think of this as a part of growing up and refining my tastes, a way to express what I hope will be some creative moments as it happens, and a way to legitimize some of this and stop making myself feel like this is a fruitless obsession I've entrenched myself in.

Clothes. Sigh.