Kate Moss, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Renee Zellweger and Gwen Stafani got named to the list. Wonder what they have that I don't. Besides a couple milion dollars.
Ah, there's the rub. No wonder those folks are so sharply turned out. They don't have to wash their own laundry. Not only that, I'll bet they have a wardrobe advisor or image consultant or something on stand-by to help them pick out their day's attire. They've never stood in front of their closet in the morning swearing they had nothing to wear.
Fashion trends come and go. Since I'm not living on the cutting edge of pop culture and am blissfully aware of most of the latest trends, it doesn't brother me that what I'm wearing might be five or ten years out of date. Whatever. If it is clean and it fits, it is a good look. A good morning means getting to work without toothpaste or coffee on my shirt.
Billy Joel sang, "Don't you know about the new fashion honey? All you need are looks and a whole lotta money."
I am not trying for a certain "look", unless its Midwestern Smalltown Casual And Always In A Hurry, and in that case, I think I have succeeded very well. For about six months of the year, I do not care what my clothes look like as long as they keep me warm and for the other six months, I do not care what my clothes look like, as long as they keep me cool. Perhaps if I lived in a more moderate climate that did not zig-zag between extremes, I would be more concerned with creating a fashion image and less concerned with avoiding frostbite or heatstroke.
Back in the day (which was during college,, I think), I used to shudder at the thought of wearing "last year's" styles. That was before marriage, full-time job and a full-time hobby left me delighted if I fit into last year's styles, whether they are still "stylish" or not.
So while I despair being overlooked as among American's best dressed, at least I can take comfort in knowing I have not been named to Mr. Blackwell's worst-dressed list either.
Vanity Fair has released its "best-dressed" list for 2006. I am not on it. Darn. I tried so hard in the last year. My T-shirts were clean and my sweat-shirts were dog-fur-free. Well, more or less. Okay. Less.
Well ain't that the truth. I sure do not have a whole lotta money and looks are another column entirely. If I was a wiz-bang at sewing, I'd make my own clothes and save big bucks, but 10 years of 4-H made me realize pinning patterns, cutting cloth and stitching seams are not my cup of tea. You have either got the needlework gene or you don't, and in my family it skipped my generation. I got the cookie baking gene and the gardening gene, but sewing? No way. That is why God made shopping malls.
As it is, my clothes are 99 percent washable cotton blends and one percent dry clean only wool. Unlike some folks who spend a great deal of time "building a wardrobe," I spend a great deal of time laundering my wardrobe and am not interested in anything that requires special handling. I will happily take sweaters to the dry cleaners now and then, but "hand-wash-only-cold-water-mild-detergeant-no-bleach-do-not-stretch-lie-flat-to-dry-out-of-direct-sunlight"? Not a chance. Been there. Done that. Got a life. Not doing it any more.
Some people look great no matter what they wear and some people spend a lot of money and never look like more than a collection of designer labels. Some fashion-stats would faint dead away if they looked in my closet. There is not a designer label in place, unless you count L.L. Bean. Backwoods chic is not exactly the catwalk, but it is warm and comfortable and not a prima donna when it comes to laundering.
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