Fashion

[MacDuFF]

A few times a week, I turn on the radio (K-LOVE), open my closet doors, and spend an hour or so "playing" in my closet.  I try different outfit combinations, purge, organize, take pics, mend, iron, etc.  I escape from the world for a while and think about fashion and style...no epiphanies...nothing intellectually stimulating...just thinking creatively and unwinding.  Thought I'd share some of those pics and thoughts here.

 @Franklinbell   It's fun to "play" in your closet, right?

Shoes...

The shoe section of my closet is seriously lacking!  Shoes have always been more utilitarian for me than fun or smashing (as my British friend says).  It's not like I'm going to make the same mistakes I made in clothing (that resulted in my infamous Epic Closet Purge) and start buying all kinds of kool shoes, but, now that I have more discretionary $$, I need to up my shoe game.

These are three pairs of shoes I've purchased recently for transitional wear (have I mentioned lately how much trouble I have with transition??).  

Tommy Hillfiger espadrilles...

Johnston & Murphy denim suede mules...

Thrifted (new) Summit by White Mountain black booties with fringe/bead detail...

But, I covet a pair of these mules from ibumovement (dotcom), the Ali MacGraw Collection.  They are TDF in my book...have my name written all over them.  BUT, they are on sale for $225...waaaay out of my league, AND they are "one of a kind," which means I can't pick the exact one I want.  Too bad, so sad!   I really really really LOVE these...

I know we have a shoe forum (and I need to check it out more often!), but can we discuss shoes for a moment?  What's your favorite style of shoe?  Do you have many?  Are they utilitarian and "match" your typical clothing colors, or do you throw caution to the wind, buy a pair of smashing shoes, and then buy clothes to go with?

[MacDuFF]

Ali MacGraw...

So, that got me wondering...whatever happened to Ali MacGraw? 

She has kept a low profile (smart, I think), so I was surprised to learn she had a line of clothing, shoes, and accessories at one time. 

Here are some pics of her.  I'm sure she can afford to take very good care of herself, but I think she's aging gracefully.  If she's had "work done," it looks natural...

Young AM...

Now...

[MacDuFF]

Sewing Tip...

I am seriously asking:  Am I the last one to hear about this little sewing trick!!?  My British friend, Jean, clued me in...and it works!   

Instead of knotting both ends of your thread together, tie them separately and you'll never get a tangled knot in your thread while mending!!   

I didn't believe it.

I took the hem down on a recently thrifted top.  I hate running out of thread in the middle of a project, so I gave this a try.  You probably know I have an apple shape, so I pulled a very loooooooong string of thread to accommodate the circumference of the top's hem, knotted the ends separately, and hemmed the top without a single problem.  I'm shocked and pleased at the same time!  

This has been my strategy up to now for not ending up with a tangled knot in a short string of thread...

while slowly and carefully pulling my thread thru the material, I chant:  pleasepleaseplease PLEASE pleeeeeeeeease pretty please oh no! nonononono!!  NOOOOOOOO!  D@##!!  hahaha!

 NO...

YES...

[Kachina624]

@MacDuFF    Run your thread over a wax candle and it'll never tangle or twist or knot. 

[Katcat1]

One thing I say about Ali is she is a brave women going silver.  One of the silver foxes.  My hair is salt & pepper.  All my pepper is underneath comes thru in areas.  I never knew she had a line of clothes at one time.  I would think it would quite relaxed like she is.

[Franklinbell]

Hello! Yes it is fun playing in your closet! I still find things that make me say..."what was I thinking" lol.  The pictures of Ali are great. I love her hair. I'm a silver sister also. I love the photo of her in the while shirt and black pants. I love that look! 

[jlkz]

@Kachina624 

That trick with a wax candle was one of the first things my mother taught me when I learned to sew buttons !  She always had a piece in her sewing machine drawer and with her ironing board !

[phoenixbrd]

@MacDuFF   I think the espirilles are adorable...love the print.  The J&Ms are similar to the beloved Ali mules.  I'm thinking that you chose the boots as transitional because of the color....cute boots.  Good choices and I think Ali MacGraw looks terrific.

[kate2357]

Love the pics of Ali ... the white blouse/black pants is fab, right up my alley (pardon the pun).

Re: shoes, alas, I'm no longer able to buy smashing shoes to go w/ certain outfits. I have horrible feet and need an orthotic, which leaves out a lot of shoes I am unable to wear, like mules. I used to have so many shoes - not Imelda quantities, but a LOT of shoes.

About 3 years ago I became a bit boot happy and so I have quite a few boots, but since you can really only wear boots (w/o looking silly) for about 6-7 months out of the year, that leaves summer as the time I have the biggest issue finding wearable footware. None are what you would call smashing. I did find a footbed (Vionic) on a platform sandal that is seriously a 12 hour sandal and bought two colors. They are my go to and so I have to find the outfit to go w/ the shoes, not vice versa.

[DiAnne]

Because I have a difficult size foot to find shoes for I tend to buy shoes and then find an outfit to go with it.  Since I have been retired I mostly wear a type espadrilles. I love colorful shoes and bags.  I have a couple pair of boots that I wear when it gets really cold.  I think accessories make the outfit so I have many shoes.  I don't care for the slip ons that I know you like because they remind me of house slippers.