Real Deal Holyfield

After much dithering, dilly-dallying, dawdling and delay, I bit the bullet and bought what may or may not be a Pucci.

I mean, theoretically Real Deal Holyfield could actually be the real deal, Holyfield.

Up

I so rarely get to use the word "antepenultimate"—usually by the time I remember that it exists, I am already on the penultimate thing I was going to describe as antepenultimate if I had thought of it sooner.

This is my antepenultimate post!

Autumn Tendrils

It is still technically autumn, right? Even though I am looking at a Christmas tree with a homemade Al Swearengen angel topper, and the colors in Autumn Tendrils are no longer found in nature?

Painted Tortoise

Hurricanes, am I right?

What a snarling, stinking, sloppy mess Sandy was. We were hardly even affected—the power was out for two and a half days, and once my office reopened, getting into work was an expensive challenge—but count me as officially over it.

Mirror Ball

Dressopotamia is a bit like Zeno's Paradox for me, in that the closer I get to the end, the harder it is for me to finish.

But finish I will, as my closet is finite. (I once read an article comparing Sex & the City to a superhero franchise: instead of a cyborg whose punches have the power of kicks—

Fire Sign

Oh, autumn.

I deny thee.

Blue Pill

One thing that I love about Seventies fashion in particular is the affection for... let's call it maximalism.

In general, I think Americans take a maximalist view of life: if a little is good, a lot must be better.

Chinoiserie

The very thing that first appealed to me about Chinoiserie is what now gives me pause.

Namely, the chinoiserie aspect.

Pulitzer Prize

Dress two from my most recent best shopping day ever: Pulitzer Prize.

I mean, obviously it's a prize.

Color Bloc

Color Bloc is an oldie but a goodie. It's an oldie for me, I mean, as I got it in 2000, which means that it's 30+ years younger than Sky Flower, which joined my collection in August.

Sky Flower

Great shopping days don't just come out of nowhere.

A myriad of circumstances, both internal and external, have to fall into place for you to take home a really impressive haul.

Futureworld

Futureworld was actually my first dress to get a name, before they all got in on the action.

Embarrassed Zebra

I posted earlier—much earlier—about the importance of finding the right shoes. Much as I hate to admit it (because my tootsies much prefer ratty sneakers), adorable, albeit uncomfortable, shoes can make all the difference to an ensemble. (In other words: if you are wearing the perfect outfit, you've got on the right shoes. I usually prove this logic in converse, and sometimes in Converses.)

But another item of clothing can also play a crucial role in the way an outfit comes—or doesn't come—together.

All Business

It's pilot season, which means that I am sampling all the new shows, nibbling at each one to see if it is a delectable treat or day-old cream puffs.

Puccini

My dream is to one day own a Pucci dress, and if I do get one, I will of course let you guys know all about it. In the meantime, I have Puccini.

LSDelicious

Here is the weird thing about starting a blog: it is very hard to tell in advance what kinds of pages will get the most hits.

Forest Garden

As the weather gets chilly, I not with sadness the shortening daylight hours and the dwindling number of days I can wear dresses before losing my knees to frostbite. The flimsy, the mini and the sleeveless all begin to work their way to the back of the closet, after having finally gotten their due on Dressopotamia.

(Dressopotamia, by the way, is asynchronous; the pictures might be a day old, or a few months. I don't want to mislead you when I feature sundresses in late September, which I will.)

Shell Game

I just read an article in The New Yorker about a fancy restaurant where dessert is somehow intertwined with a three-card monte. I'm still not sure exactly how it works — the server flips over a card that has your dessert ingredient of choice? — and I am in no danger of ever finding out, given the frequency (hint: not high) with which I take advantage of New York's fine restaurants.

Twin Set

Today's post is a rarity — a double decker.

Veracious

I recently started watching "How I Met Your Mother" on Netflix Instant, making up for the last seven years I spent ignoring it. (Eventually, I'll get around to "Friday Night Lights." Don't rush me.)

I loved the way the show played with time, moving forwards and backwards and kaleidoscoping narratives (think Memento or Pulp Fiction) in a way that is my second-favorite storytelling trick. (First favorite: body swap.) Also, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris are pretty reliably hilarious, even before HIMYM started.

Lunch

I think this is the last dress in my collection that I got from my grandmother.

If I come up with any others, you'll be the first to know. I do remember one piece with a greenish-gray, with line drawings of sailing scenes on it, but it was a) at least two sizes too small (and I don't go for "motivational" clothing) and b) peppered with holes that looked to be about the diameter of a well-fed moth larva, though it was definitely polyester, and I'm not sure how filling that is for the destructive little guys.

Beehive in Your Soul

English is a wonderful language because it's so easygoing about taking in new words. Like "skosh," for instance — I just learned that it's on loan from Japanese, sukoshi meaning "a little bit." We also make up new words constantly (though I am definitely not a fan of either "awesomesauce" nor "amazeballs," I recognize the function they serve for those who want to express extreme enthusiasm while sounding like idiots). The shuffling and re-shuffling of various prefixes and suffixes can lead to words that don't really make much linguistic sense — if you picked apart "homophobia," you would think it meant "fear of people who are the same as you," which... is pretty accurate really.

When I make up words, I want them to make sense when you first hear them, and then more sense the more you think about them.

Goldenromp

I knew it would happen: I've started dreaming about Dressopotamia.

If you don't like hearing about other people's dreams, read no further.

Bridethrilla

I got into Dressopotamia without an exit strategy, and I still don't have one, besides "finish closet."

That day is not today.

Coquelicot

Another find from Takoma Park's Polly Sue's Vintage Shop, circa June 2001...

Noir C'est Noir

I've never really warmed to the idea of the Little Black Dress.

Against the Wind

Much as I love allover patterns, sometimes all you need is a pop.

Foam (Dressopotamia Giveaway!)

Seriously, though, Foam is a gorgeous little frock.

Parabola

Another OxiClean success story! What was I doing before I got this stuff?

I think I bought Parabola when I was at college. A few years later it got a weird stain, and I could bring myself neither to wear it nor get rid of it. Then... OxiClean!

Pod Person

When I was an assistant counselor at summer camp, in the days before anyone but geeks had the Internet, I had a quirk that I didn't find all that quirky, but that quirked other people's quirkers.

The Birds

Another day, another inspiring/cautionary tale.

I found The Birds in the summer of 2001, looking at its vast expanse of polyester (it was at least three sizes too big) and seeing only the perfect color combo of its print.

In Dreams

Sleeping is one of my talents.

I'm very good at it. It takes practice, of course.

Swamplandia!

I recently read Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell—have you read it?

Bluey (Dressopotamia Giveaway!)

This one goes out to everyone who's said to me, "You have names for all of your dresses?"

Introducing... Bluey!

Picnic

I love a good print, obviously, but sometimes a solid color hits the spot.

If that color is green.

Beach Belle

I was so excited when I first bought Beach Belle.

It was summery, it was fresh, it was bold, it was supercute. What could possibly go wrong with a dress such as this?

Tangerine Scream

Remember the time I was talking about my best shopping day ever? The time I went to Another Man's Treasure and came home with Raspberry Ripple, Trompe l'Oeil and Natural History?

And thus concludes the story of the best shopping day ever. Movie rights, anyone? (See below for casting ideas.)

Hearts on Fire

I know volcanoes are a huge deal, but when I see them erupting on camera, they don't look very threatening.

Crazy Daisy

 Sometimes you just have to go with a print that looks like a child drew it.

Fun, right?

Verdant

I still remember this shirt my sister bought my dad for Xmas one year. It was the late eighties take on color blocking: I think the left half of the shirt was purple, the right half was green and the pocket was red, or something like that. He liked it so much that he saved it for special occasions, like Thanksgiving. In the photos of about five consecutive Thanksgivings, you can see him wearing this shirt, as it goes from fresh and spiffy to somewhat shabby.

Verdant is my color-blocked shirt. Except I think it still looks pretty spiffy.

Pandora

My most memorable night in Pandora started with Champagne at a secret party at the ugly Grande Arche de la Défense, and ended with a friend's broken collarbone... actually the night didn't end there, or with a trip to the hospital, though it probably should have.

Since then, I've always associated Pandora with bad behavior.

Citric Acid

My mood is extremely weather-sensitive.

If it's raining, I'll just be down all day. Even thinking about it is putting me in a foul mood.

Mini-Post: Audrey One, Part Two (Dressopotamia Giveaway!)

I wrote a full post on Audrey One a while back, and after giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to send it out into the wild. This means you could be the next proud owner of Audrey One!

I've discussed its shortcomings in great detail, but please keep in mind the following:

Opal

Opal is my favorite gemstone, even though (or maybe because) it is the only gem to be considered a bad luck charm.

My opal bracelet doesn't photograph well, but trust me, it's lovely.

Dagenham

Dagenham is a fairly recent addition to the collection; I got it during a recent trip to London, at a shop in the East End called Paper Dress Vintage. 

Charlie Chevron Brown Chevron Garden Chevron Party

Chevrons just for the sake of chevrons are not appealing to me (which is why I loathe Missoni (exaggeration)). 

Saying “chevrons” just for the sake of saying “chevrons,” however — that is very appealing to me. 

Peony Cache-Cache

My memory of this one isn't super-precise, either... I think I bought it in Buenos Aires?

My grandmother, who has been immortalized in these pages before, never talked about her clothes. I find this rule impossible to follow in my own life — obviously — but I do enjoy the aura of mystery in conveys, or rather would convey if I didn't treat every dress like an encapsulation of my own life story, complete with insecurities and indiscretions.

Fractal Candy

The simplest shift dress can go from ordinaire to extraordinaire with a judicious use of pattern. And by "judicious" I mean "as much as humanly possible."

So much pattern!