Miscellany, Packing for NYC, Visible Monday Holiday

From the Miscellaneous files at chez Not Dead Yet Style:

• Have you seen the simple, inexpensive wedding dresses offered at Target? I really like them for brides of any age who are budget conscious. This one would be lovely for a Bride of A Certain Age, with its grown-up (not princess-y) neckline and silhouette. Full disclosure: I bought my wedding dress on eBay for $30 (recycled) and paid a seamstress about $50 to make it fit perfectly.

This dress is $130 at Target.com.

And this one is $700 at the bridal salon. Beautiful for sure, but it's nice
to have more affordable options.

• I'm packing for a week in New York City! There will be lots of walking, of course, and a much anticipated luncheon with my friends at Karina Dresses. Numerous science lectures via the World Science Festival, hours of thrifting, and more than a few pubs to visit.

I'll be depending on one pair of skinny jeans, two knit midi skirts, lots of tees and scarves, and my most comfortable walking booties. Over the years I've found that dressing for NYC is really simple. Neutral base colors, a colorful scarf and great shoes are all I need to feel like a stylish native.

NYC  - this is the outline of my wardrobe for a week in the city.

• Because of the Memorial Day holiday here in the U.S., and my travel schedule, we're taking one week off from Visible Monday. Just one week, Visible friends! We'll be back for all the usual festivities on Monday, June 3rd.

Hope your weekend is fun, safe, memorable and fabulous!

Can't Hit a Home Run Every Time. Help Me Re-Style?

All good intentions and some potentially great pieces went into this outfit. But it fell a bit flat and - dare I say it? - frumpy in the end. I didn't take time to re-style this morning as I had to get to work. So off I went, knowing I was covered and clean, yet somehow unfulfilled. But I knew I had you to help me elevate the look for next time. ☺

Not a complete strike-out, but I feel kind of wilty looking at it.

The Ideology print skirt is adorable. The Old Navy silky top is a lovely sapphire color and it drapes nicely. I like the nude sandals just fine. And the green wooden bracelet is newly purchased from Bella's Etsy shop, so guaranteed cool.

But the top cuts my body at an odd spot, making me look wide, even though I'm not very. Perhaps the blue blouse is too matchy? The necklace too lifeless? How about a colorful scarf? Help a blogger friend out with your styling suggestions, please.

I made a pass at a new look, with a coral blouse and colorful scarf. The bracelet is but a pale substitute for Bella's fab version.

Print Skirt

Thanks for your help, style sisters. And have a great Thursday.

P.S. The Winner of the Cafe Press gift certificate is . . . Tamera of The Menopausal Supermodel! Congratulations, Tamera, your gift certificate will come to you by email.

Are We A Nation of . . . Slobs?

Gorgeous friend Joni sent me this entertaining video about a professor who teaches that we've become a "Nation of Slobs" (that's the course title!)



Professor Linda Przybyszewski teaches a class called "A Nation of Slobs" at the University of Notre Dame.

She says her students are amazed at the way Americans dressed in the 30's, 40's and 50's. "My students very often are floored by the beauty of some of the vintage pictures that I show them," she says.

We dressed up for more than just the theater back then - we put on gloves and hose and heels for going out to dinner and church. Men wore hats and suit coats to go to the ball game. And remember (well, we saw it in movies) when people dressed nicely to travel on a airplane?

What caused the "descent" into ultra-casual, some say sloppy, attire? The professor cites the social changes of the 60's and migration to the suburbs, where more casual wear was the norm. Then came a growing desire for simpler, less expensive clothing and a sportier lifestyle.

Dr. Przybyszewski makes all her own clothing, because she can't find pieces with the details she wants. She's wearing a lovely retro style print dress in the video, with lots of buttons at the sleeve. Many of my blogger friends also enjoy a return to dressing up for everyday and I love their styles.

Beautiful Gabriala of Style Higher dresses to perfection

Susan of Fifty, Not Frumpy is impeccable

I'd like to take Dr. Przybyszewski's class and learn more about the economic/social/racial issues that influenced how Americans dressed. In the movies we usually see upper-class white women with gloves and hats; did the blue collar women also dress up?

I am an in-betweener in modern style as I like to look put together, but rarely could I be called "dressed-up." But I am enchanted by vintage clothing, used to dress in it more often, and have a small collection of dresses from the 40's.

Have we progressed, to more casual, easy-to-move-in, easy-care clothing? Or regressed to a nation of . . . slobs? Love to hear your thoughts, as always.

Visible Monday #98: All-White Before Memorial Day, I'm Doing It

Welcome to Visible Monday #98! If you want to participate, it's so easy: just go to the bottom of this post for the easy how-to.

I don't follow the colors-for-seasons rules. I love ivory in the winter and black in summer. But in Florida, we start summer in April anyway, so - exempt! ☺

This outfit shows we can do all-white without looking the least bit bridal, or Good Humor man. The knife pleated skirt is Banana Republic, thrifted for a few dollars (similar on Etsy). It's very rustle-y, love that. I replace my white tees a lot, and this is a new one from Target. Thrifted pink sash, green bangle, and my Anne Klein platform sandals (similar) finish off the look. I don't own any white shoes yet, do you?

 

Crochet sweater from JCP for the icy cold office, and for modesty with clients.
Happy to report there were no coffee mishaps today.

Now, let's see what you're wearing, Visible Women!!

The guidelines to participate in the Visible Monday Link-Up are so simple!

1. Whoever wants to can join in! Just compose a post that includes any outfit, accessory, piece of jewelry, hairstyle, cosmetic or other adornment that makes you feel more confident, alive and visible that day.
2. Include a link to Not Dead Yet Style somewhere in your post.
3. Go to the bottom of this post and click on this cute little link:

In the "Next Step", you crop the pic (easy tool) you want to display, and you're done!


Oh hey! Not Dead Yet Style has a Facebook page now! Please check it out when you have a moment: Facebook Page.

A New Way To Thrift? And A Rant

A couple of thoughts crossing my mind today . . .

I shopped at an online consignment store recently, ThredUp. They offer a ton of gently used clothing, mostly casual stuff from the likes of GAP, Loft and Target. The prices are a little high, imo, but I got a 25% discount and free shipping on my first order.

My package arrived today, and I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the clothing. I got this very cute Ideology skirt for under $10:

This Old Navy blouse:

Old Navy sweater:

And a couple of pretty summer scarves. Grand total for all the pieces was just over $30! Good deal. Now the flip side: ThredUp invites you to send in your gently loved clothing to sell on their site. They offer to pay you up-front, before it sells, up to 40% of the determined sales price.

But the Internets are full of complaints about this side of ThredUp's operations. Most complaints revolve around being "cheated" out of perfectly good clothing, and getting only "pennies" for nearly-new items. I have not done the sell-end yet, so I have no personal testimony. I plan to send in a few pieces as my experiment (the company pays for shipping) and I'll let you know.

Any of you have experience with reselling through this company? Love to hear about it. I can say the shopping experience at ThredUp was very satisfactory!

Top of my head blowing off department: Did you read this story about televangelist Pat Robertson today? In response to a woman whose husband had an affair, Robertson said that the woman should focus on making "the home as wonderful as possible" so that her husband "doesn't want to wander."

“Give him honor instead of trying to worry about it,” he continued. “But recognize also, like it or not, males have a tendency to wander a little bit."

No messy Seventh Commandment issues for Robertson. And naturally, it's our fault if our men-folk "wander." Grrrrrr. Does anyone still pay attention to this guy?

As Pat Robertson said, should we make our homes "more wonderful" so our husbands won't wander?

On a brighter, more life-affirming note, Visible Monday starts early, on Sunday! Everyone is welcome to participate ☺. Have a wonderful weekend, all.

What I Wore: Scruffy Knees, a Bag of My Own, and a Giveaway!

I just wrote about having a Bag Of One's Own, you know, like the Hermes Birkin or Kelly. Now I have one, the "Not Dead Yet Style" tote, courtesy of Cafe Press and brilliant artist Anne Bray. More details below on how you can get your own custom tote, and even win one!

Here's a casual Spring look, not very trendy but colorful and cool enough to make me happy. The dark floral dress is thrifted from Molly Mutt, as is the skinny patent belt. The coral cardigan is from J.C. Penney - yes, I ventured back in there after a year's absence and found a couple of keepers, like this MANGO piece.

I've worn my yellow bangle to the nubs, and I'm looking at Etsy for an additional one (I like these). The simple black pendant was thrifted for under $5; I think it's vintage 70's and I think I owned it before ☺. Floral sandals by Kenneth Cole complete the look.

Cute look. Knees not ready for Prime Time! Must spa.

My own "It" bag, I has it.

Closer look at Anne's fabulous artwork. It's a nice canvas bag too; I used it on an overnight
trip and it's perfectly sized.

I "designed" my own tote at Cafe Press. You just go to this page and upload the graphics you want. It's so easy, and as you can see, the results are pretty fab. It's a cool site for ordering custom tee shirts, statement sweatshirts, mugs and pajamas, too.

Cafe Press is offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky reader. All you have to do is:

• Be a follower of Not Dead Yet Style, via Google, Bloglovin' or Facebook
• Leave a comment below with your email address 
• That's it!

I'll draw the winning entry randomly on May 23rd and Cafe Press will send the winner a gift certificate for her own personalized treat. Good luck!

What Five Items Would You Buy If You Had Unlimited Cash?

You know I thrive on hypotheticals, analysis, lists, and staring at my navel, right? I went into exactly the right profession when I became a psychotherapist at age 40. Even one of my Psych professors told me I didn't have to analyze everything.

I analyze all the things. Source.

So, agreed. But I have been devouring a wardrobe series by London blogger Anuschka Rees, from her blog Into Mind. Her personal style is more minimalistic than my own, but I love her articles on revamping and refining one's wardrobe.

I'm working my way through Anuschka's Ten Step Wardrobe Revamp now, reading and jotting down ideas. I'm not a de-cluttering rookie, nor a toss-it-out fanatic. I do enjoy picking up tips here and there and this young woman's got some great strategies.

I found the following thought exercise and I'm having fun with it. (Her suggested exercises are meant to help us define our style signature/s). Here's the question, wish I'd thought of it:

What five items would you buy if you had unlimited funds? I pared it down to four for this post, but hey, pick six or eight, go crazy. The idea is to choose "dream" pieces we think would enhance our style. Our picks tell us what we'd like to see in our real-life closets, and how we like to see ourselves. It doesn't mean we'd actually buy all these pieces even if we were flush, because money is for lots of things more important than wardrobes. This is for imagining.

Here are my money-is-no-object choices, and what they say about my style:

• A tuxedo, YSL if I can find the right one. I'd want looser trousers and a slim jacket, Le Smoking would be best. I'm not an androgynous dresser but I love this look, made feminine with a ruffled blouse and red lipstick. This expresses the part of me that wants to stand out, bend the rules, and be visible, in elegance.

• A personalized necklace by Wendy Brandes. I have been watching this Boleyn necklace by Wendy for two years (I have to get the silver version in real life, still fabulous). It represents what I love in jewelry. The initial "G" will make it mine, it's bold and artistic, and I could wear it any day, with anything. It's the part of me that loves unique jewelry, not Mall stuff.

Wendy Brandes necklace. I'd get the "G", of course.

• A Cartier tank watch. The classic, with the leather strap. This piece has the masculine vibe again (a pattern emerges!). I like a simple watch, and I'm perfectly happy with my Seiko. But with cash to burn, I'd wear this one every day. Beauty in simplicity. Masculine (this watch) plus feminine (Wendy's necklace).

The classic.

• Diane von Furstenburg wrap dresses, many (multiples count as one item ☺). The real ones. In fabulous prints. Say no more.

Source

Over to you, stylish readers. What dream items would you add to your closet? Do they reflect some aspect of your personal style?