Wardrobe Therapy and What I did on Spring Break

So. I went to Spain! And it was super fantastic. The trip was part of the decorative arts and design history class I'm TA-ing, and part of the conditions of the administration sending the TAs was that we would handle the logistical aspects of the trip. My job was transportation, and I was holding my breath the whole time that buses would show up when we had booked them. They did, and the rest of the trip was fairly smooth as well (one stolen wallet, one case of food poisoning -- not too bad for a 23-person group.)

I have stories and pictures, but first.... Wardrobe Therapy!

The brainchild of Dr. Wende, Wardrobe Therapy is on again for the spring. Since my closet is about to burst and there are shoes everywhere in my apartment, I thought it would be a good idea for me to participate. Also, it's a form of productive procrastination, and I'm always up for that.

I wanted to go ahead and put up my answers to the questionnaire, and hopefully I can get to the rest of the week 1 tasks tomorrow.

Wardrobe Therapy Questionnaire:

1. Thinking primarily (but not necessarily exclusively) about looks, who's your favorite performer of your own gender and species? Why?

I love Lady Gaga. Love her music, love her look, love that she feels free to make her body and her clothes into an art project. That said, I’m a girl who needs to wear pants, who can’t really balance in super high heels, and who believes that muppets are for watching, not for wearing. Still, I admire her confidence, and her willingness to be beautiful and ugly and to play with traditional ideas about gender, even if there isn’t much specific inspiration I can take from her wardrobe.

For a performer whose wardrobe I could actually steal some inspiration from, well, I have to say Gabby Sidibe. It’s so nice to see a woman of size in the public eye, period. But it’s especially nice to see one who seems so comfortable and confident in her skin. She’s obviously having such a good time in the limelight, and she generally looks great doing it. And while I share the mixed feelings of the Shapely Prose crew on this subject, one of the nice things about Gabby’s use of off the rack clothes is that I actually could wear the things she does.

2. If you could live in any historic era with a really good clothing budget (as well as soap, toothpaste, and delicing as needed), when would you choose?

It's totally unsuited to my figure, but in an ideal world, with an ideal figure and budget, I’d live in the 20s and 30s and be costumed exclusively by Vionnet. This seems just about right for a night at a supper club or for cocktails and dancing.

3. What's your favorite painting or other form of visual art? Why?

I fell in love with this painting at the Prado a few weeks ago. I love the contrast between the spinners in front and the elite ladies in the background. I love it as an art historian, a knitter, a fan of mythology. I like the idea of the behind the scenes part getting to be front and center stage. I was also really tempted to put Velasquez's Las Meninas here, too. Or this one, by Florine Stettheimer, Spring Sale at Bendel's

It's so bright and bustling, there's so much to look at (which is sort of a theme in my favorite paintings) and it completely captures the mania of a big sale.

4. What is your first memory in which clothes are important?

I had this beautiful dress for my role as a flower girl in my cousin’s wedding. White organza with tiny yellow and peach flowers and a giant peach satin sash. It had puffy short sleeves and a long full skirt – very southern belle-ish. It was a floor sample at a fabric store and so much work must have gone into it. And it was the itchiest thing I have ever worn. I hated every single second I spent in it. It’s been memorialized in a big studio portrait of me and my brother that hangs in my parent’s dining room. We look very adorable. They must have caught me between scratches.

5. What is your favorite garment ever? Why?

I bought this amazing dress for the semi-formal my sophomore year of college. It was the most sophisticated thing I’d ever bought, and the most designer (it was Liz Claiborne and we got it from Macy’s – that was a pretty big deal to me back then). Little black dress, sleeveless, asymmetrical neckline. Oh I loved it. It’s been ages since I could fit in to it, but I’m not ready to let go of it yet.

6. What is your favorite garment in your wardrobe right now?

In a rare moment of foresight combined with extraordinary shopping karma, I managed to purchase a beautiful black London Fog raincoat with these super cool silver toggles. Not only was it incredibly handy during my trip to rainy Spain, but I feel very chic in it, like a proper New Yorker. I also really, really love my glittery black sneakers. They get me more compliments than anything I’ve ever owned.

7 What is the worst clothing purchase you can remember making?

I don’t know why I buy half the stuff I do. The worst offender I can think of right now would be all the vests I owned in middle school in the early 90s. I had a tapestry cat vest. I wore it with turtlenecks and a horrible perm. It was just as bad as you’re imagining right now.

8. What's your most embarrassing clothing-related memory other than a bad purchase?

Middle school was not a good period for me, fashion-wise. As a sixth grader, I had this sweatshirt I loved. Yellow with little ballerina bunnies on it (Yes, I know. Dancing bunnies. I can't explain it either). I was wearing it to school when I overheard two girls making fun of it, and me. They may have been right about how stupid that sweatshirt was. They probably were right about it. But it was all I could do not to burst into tears. I never wore that shirt again.

9. What body part (no more than three!) are you proud of and expect compliments on?

Expect compliments on? I don’t really expect compliments on anything. But I guess I do like my eyes. They’re a nice shade of blue, and really pop when I’m wearing the right colors, which I do pretty frequently, now that I realize that.

10. What body part (again, no more than three!) seems to require management, if not coaxing, cajoling, and sometimes outright begging if it's to please you?

My name is Erin and I have serious hair issues. Other than the color, there’s not much I like about it right now.

11. If you could dress however you wanted all the time, what might you include?

Cardigan, [t-shirt and jeans/t-shirt and skirt/dress], cute flats. That’s pretty much how I dress most of the time now. It's comfy and it works. I do like the idea of wearing fancy dresses all the time, but it seems like way too much work in reality. And also not that comfortable.

12. If you could shop at any store (or from any designer), which would you choose?

I’d like to live a life where I could wear Alexander McQueen’s last collection. It's all so amazingly beautiful. But since I’m not a swordfighting princess ninja, I’m worried that they wouldn’t work with my lifestyle. I also really wish Anthropologie offered things in plus-sizes.

13. Where do you ordinarily shop now?

The fat girl staples – Lane Bryant and Avenue, plus Macy’s (if you can brave the Herald Square Macy’s, it has one of the nicest plus size departments I have ever seen. Much nicer than the Macy’s in the malls back home).

14. What clothing, accessory, or prettifying need (if any) do you enjoy shopping for?

Shoes and makeup.

15. Which one do you most loathe shopping for?

Pants. I hate shopping for pants. The Lane Bryant right fit system has helped, since now I can get pants that approximate a fit at both hips and waist, but I still struggle with finding the right length, especially since I’m too cheap to pay to have them hemmed and too lazy to do it myself. This is one serious argument in favor of a pants-free lifestyle, but I don’t know if I’m ready to live solely in skirts and dresses yet.

16. Do you consider yourself low-, medium-, or high-maintenance?

I’m low-maintenance in reality, but I like to think I’m high-maintenance. Which might explain why I own so much makeup I never actually take the time to put on.

17. What are the two most frequent occasions that you dress for and how would you describe them?

Work/school – it’s all in the same building, so it gets the same wardrobe. It’s pretty business casual (jeans + nice tops are okay, and I even get away with my cuter sneakers), but I’d like to do a better job of looking more like the staff than the students. I can’t think of anything else I do often enough that also requires a different style of dress, which might be one of my problems.

18. What was your favorite Hallowe'en costume ever?

My mom made me an awesome panda costume when I was about 6. She sewed it herself. It had a top, pants, shoe covers, gloves, a hood and a mask. I think my brother had a matching tiger costume. It was hot to wear, but I loved it.

19. What do you see as the current problem(s) with your wardrobe and/or look?

My whole wardrobe runs together. I don’t ever really dress up or down, I just sort of dress. I have a problem knowing what to do with accessories, and I tend to just throw on the appropriate amount of clean clothes and go. I also get very self-conscious about trying anything new.

20. At the end of WT, what lovely compliments do you want onlookers to give you?

I’d just like to look appropriate for wherever I’m going/whatever I’m doing. I’d rather people compliment me on my actions, not my clothing, so I guess I don’t want my clothes to distract from me.

Whew, that was a long questionnaire. Stay tuned for my attempt at the other week one tasks. I have had a revelation about my pants, but it will have to wait until tomorrow.