File Me Away.

I save outfits. Sometimes I spend ages thinking about what to wear (in general or with other things) when I ought to be thinking about pretty much anything else, before coming up with an outfit. Then I save it. Occasionally I write it down on a post-it note and wait. In the meantime I wear a lot of striped shirts and rolled jeans, lurking around my closet and waiting for the weather to ship-shape up and stop being a complete jerk.

For a while I stopped doing this. I decided that I would wear whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to wear it and wouldn't give two hoots about what anyone said. That went on for a while, but one does get tired of the wind up your skirt and snow in your boots (not to mention soggy hems and rain-flattened hair), until I relented and decided it was alright to wear a t-shirt sometimes. If I felt really down about it I could always wear something ridiculous on my head (a bow, something floral) to make up for it. I started filing outfits away again.


Dress from this post, one of two from a day's loot at Recycling Red Dresses

I mean, maybe it's because I' m hard on my clothes. All elbows ripping, hems pulled out, holes in strange places, not to mention drips, drops, and spills. What if each garment only has so many wears in it before the poor thing turns faded and sad, looses its shape, and becomes a dejected shade of its former loveliness and glory? If there are a finite number of wears to a dress, what is a girl to do? Especially with vintage, which has survived this long, but is usually a little bit older than anything else in the closet, and so while it can run with the best of them, doesn't it get a little bit winded a little bit faster? Am I wearing out my metaphors and queries here?

I do a lot of sitting around and waiting for the right hair day, occasion, or weather in order to wear an outfit. Sometimes, as is the blogger's dilemma I suppose, I wonder if it's worth wearing a cute outfit if there is no one to photograph it for me to post on here. I'm not saying I dress for the internet or anything but, maybe I do, just a little. I'm not really bothered by that, because I save my little outfits and new dresses anyway, whether someone sees them or not. There's a what if I don't do this dress/blouse/skirt/thingy justice with the rest of my outfit today feeling.

I almost saved this dress even longer. The first time you wear a dress that somehow meets your dreams is always laden with meaning and a bit of dread. It's never the first time you wear it again!

Then I decided I was being ridiculous and tossed it on for an afternoon, even though I had to tie the straps up in little knots because they were far too long and then switch my shoes since they rubbed and we walked up a hill in the heat. Still filing it though, for a more glorious wear.



Photos taken by John M.