Ponder this:

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Isaac Mizrahi: "Color is like food for the spirit--plus it's not addictive or fattening."

A couple of weeks ago I was hanging up freshly-washed damp things to dry as wrinklelessly as they might. My hanging place is the top of an antique chest on chest. It's six-and-a-half-feet tall and has a big wide crown molding. It's a perfect place for clotheshangers, with room below for the items of clothing to be surrounded by air currents. One of the things I hung up was a magenta peachskin jacket. 
I keep folded things in the drawers of that chest. I opened a drawer to put away something and saw a scarf that I had forgotten I owned. It coordinated perfectly with the jacket. I draped the scarf over the shoulder of the jacket to remind myself to wear them together during that workweek. 

The workweek that followed included the Tuesday afternoon on which I protected the porch floor from a nasty dent by bouncing a log of firewood off my toe. In the following days, I wasn't much inclined to dress myself colorfully. Accessorizing was beyond the focus of my interest: simply applying body-coverings was adequate. So it wasn't until last Thursday that I got myself done up in those bright colors. Almost ready to come downstairs to leave for work, I saw an orangey-red necklace that was perfect with the scarf. 
Orangey-red with magenta? 
Well, sure, if there's a scarf between the two.

I felt stunning all day.


I am once again, and still, high on the magic of colorful accessories
And, have I mentioned (more than ten or twelve times) how much I love eBay?
This weekend I have eBayed my way into these beauties for $.99 apiece.

The only thing I own that I think might go with this is a blue shell. 
But who knows, once I hold it in front of the clothes in the closet, what might occur to me...
I do have a teal green silk shirt...

Oh! This! The jewel tones! The proportions of the thing!
How many ways could I wrap this around my neck . . . 
or fling it over my shoulder?

Mmmm . . . summer white slacks . . . 
any number of colorful tank tops . . . and this!

Tidy and tailored brown slacks/white shirt combo,
with this soft but tidy-and-tailored-looking scarf fluffing and flowing somewhere on my body...

Breathtaking as this one is . . . in its shimmery silvery blue, 
it pried out of me the princely sum of $4.








This necklace caught my eye. 
I looked at it closely. 
Looked at it again. 
"Looks like a bunch of baby's  toy blocks strung together," I thought, and passed  it. 
Then I went back and looked at it some more.

I am one of those who are called, politically correctly, "big girls." 
Dressing in classic neutral colors did nothing to make me look smaller. 
In fact, dressing conservatively made me feel as if I were trying to hide. 

And, "One thing there's no getting by–
I've been a wicked girl," said I;
"But if I can't be sorry, why,
  I might as well be glad!"
~from The Penitent by Edna St. Vincent Millay


Now that I am old I shall wear purple. And orange and blue and red and yellow. All together if I choose.
And whenever I catch a glimpse of myself mirrored in a winter-darkened window, 
I shall feel uplifted and rejuvenated.

17 comments:

Pauline said...

This post made me smile. You might as well be glad - and colorful at the same time! Good for you. You will please any eye that sees you for happy colors make us happy without knowing why.

Mac n' Janet said...

I agree totally. Love the scarves!

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

Love, love, LOVE those colorful scarves and beads! And your attitude, too. Go, girl!

Olga said...

I am madly in love with Isaac Mizrahi. Good for you with the colors. I am only a recent convert to the whole idea of color. I was the queen of beige and black (quick, easy get dressed in the early a.m.)when I was working so I certainly lag behind you in that department. But I ind myself now doing all my clothes shopping when I am in Florida just because there are so many more colorful things available here.

Vicki Lane said...

Great colors! I love the orangey-red magenta combination!

My niece once looked at the wild assortment of colors I was wearing and said, "Well, you're sure not afraid of color."

I can see that you aren't either.

Anonymous said...

I think the clothes by German company LA BASS might go very well with your taste in accessories... There are usually quite a lot of their items on ebay (I'm selling one this weekend). I had a lot of their things when I was a big girl and the label OSFA (one size fits all) is accurate.

Recycled Cottage & Garden said...

As I get older I find myself drawn to brighter colors too. Especially in a swath of rainbows...rather like the baby block necklace.

Hilary said...

Some lovely colours and patterns here. What a great idea to get some things through eBay. That never occurred to me. It has now! Thanks. :)

Cathy said...

This post is a song.

And you, June, are an artist.

Delightful.

Linda Myers said...

Love the scarves! I've finally started wearing them with jackets when I go out. They brighten me up inside and out.

Autumn Mist said...

I have a real 'thing' about scarves and absolutely love them (totally the opposite with shoes). As you know, I am realising that dressing how you please is very important. We are all individuals after all. Those of us who perhaps can't paint or draw have this one crucial way to express our creativity and personality and I think it's vital to do that.

...lisa said...

wonderful colors! Isn't it amazing how bright colors make our moods lighten- both the wearer and the observer?!

Sally Wessely said...

I loved this post. I'm with you. I love wearing color and texture! Now, take some photos when you wear these. I want to see them.

#1Nana said...

When I worked full time I never had time to accessorize. Now that I have to dress professionally only one or two days a week, I'm enjoying pulling together a complete look. I, too, have a drawer full of scarves, but I can't carry off wearing one. I always feel over-dressed with a scarf.

The Cranky Crone, she lives alone! said...

Grrreat! go for it, love your style!

Barb said...

I need you to come and pull me together! I love scarves - they hide my neck and make me feel glamorous. I enjoy flinging them over my shoulder, too. If I had long hair, I'd fling that! I bought TIGHT jeans today. I'm old but not dead...

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