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.

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.

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?

Sacapuntas

My mother's mother was the quintessential grandmother. She was a sweet woman who never swore, doted on all her grandchildren, took letter-writing very seriously and hostessing even more seriously. (She wasn't the sort to follow you around with an ashtray — that would be intrusive. But when we had grapefruit at the breakfast table, she would get up early to loosen all the segments in her guests' fruit.) She was born in Iowa in 1909. She was religious, but never ostentatious about it. She was what you picture when you picture a grandmother, and I don't think I'm biased here.

So I was really surprised to find this kicky little number among her things.

Excuse me for a second; this wig is all wrong. Yes, the spiraling black curls echo the pencil-sharpening-curlicues of the print...

Shady Lane

Shady Lane evokes a vague sense memory for me. Every time I wear it, I flash back to a mystery time when I was riding in the back of a pickup truck, feeling the sun on my face and arms. 

O Modaction

After the Parisian misadventure described in Earthly Delights, I did another study abroad program there, for my MA. I don't really remember any details about any of the classes I took (though I did have one professor who could, if you read him a line from Madame Bovary, recite the rest of the page from memory), but I do remember going to lots and lots of mod parties. And I wore a dedicated dress.

Audrey One

Dear Readers, I have another dress that I really need your input on.

The top half is cute, right? Pretty color, lavender piping and shoulder accents. They're like feminine epaulets. Epaulettes, if you will.

But there's something weird about the shape of Audrey One.

Va Va Vinyl

People can surprise you.

In Bloom

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine went to Montreal and all I got was this incredible dress.

I know, right? (Note: I definitely encourage this sort of behavior.) I went to Montreal myself a while later in the hopes that lightning would strike twice, but I couldn't even find any vintage shops, let alone one with red polyester evening gowns.

Phony Joanie

You knew this was coming: let's talk Mad Men.

Spy

All clothes are costumes, when you get right down to it. That's the idea behind the advice "dress for the job you want," as well as "beware of all enterprises that require new clothes" (Thoreau). So why pretend? Can't we just wear costumes every day?

And wigs? Can we wear wigs every day?

Spies are tricky, and so is Spy. I bet you think you know what the back of Spy looks like, don't you?