The shopping equivalent of The Last Supper.

Inspired by Alison and Perdy over at 365 Fashion Rehab, I’ve decided to embark on my own month-long fashion rehab. For the month of February, I will not shop. No clothes, no shoes, no accessories, no makeup. Gulp. I need this, but I have no idea how it’s going to go because I think the longest I’ve gone without shopping is 4 days. So I’m starting with one month, and it just happens to be the shortest month of the year. A coincidence, but I’m definitely not complaining. If I can channel some of Alison and Perdy’s willpower (I think they’re nuts, but also amazing) into these 28 days, I’ll be really, really, really proud of myself.

I hope that within these 28 days I’ll be able to spend some time unravelling all the underlying issues beneath my shopaholicism. Why do I shop so much? What do I feel I’m missing? What am I trying to make up for?

Yesterday, with my February looming, I went to anthropologie, which has been my opiate store of choice lately. I wasn’t shopping for anything in particular, but I saw this dress and wanted to try it on:

Reed shirtdress by Moulinette Soeurs, CAD$148

Really cute on the model. Not so cute on me:

I don’t look happy because I’m not. I’m not a plaid person (not in the nineties, not now either), I felt like it was time for me to square-dance at a hoe-down in a barn.

In a solid colour, much happier:

Unfortunately blurry, but so much cuter, right? Love the v-neck, defined waist, and full flowy skirt.

So that was my Last Supper yesterday. Today could have been my last chance to go out and shop. Instead I’m in my pyjamas and a lululemon hoodie to keep warm because I can’t be bothered to leave my apartment. It’s like rehab has started already.

The end to a black and grey week.

Friday couldn’t have come soon enough.  It was one of those weeks that just dragged on and on, so thank God it’s Friday and I’m in my pyjamas, sitting on my ass on the couch watching What Not To Wear’s 250th episode.

It was also a week where I inadvertently wore black and grey every single day of the week.  My winter wardrobe is primarily black and grey, but I usually try to wear colour at least once a week.  I wonder if it wouldn’t have been such a blah week if I had worn colour?  Maybe that’s next week’s experiment.   

Regardless, it’s still TGIF, and here’s my TGIF black-and-grey outfit:

• black cardigan: Club Monaco
• grey tank top: Club Monaco
• black winter leggings: American Apparel
• brown boots: Geox
• necklace: anthropologie

Wolford tights

Yes, they are hideously expensive. It seems ridiculous and over-indulgent to spend $30-$50 on tights when you can buy them for $6 in the drugstore. But Woldford tights are amazing and I love them; I could never go back to cheap tights again (although I do cheat on my Wolfords for Hue tights in trendy colours). My favourite is the Satin Opaque tights, which are opaque with a lovely shimmer to them (not American Apparel shiny, god forbid), in black, anthracite (a gorgeous dark grey), and brown.

Wolford Satin Opaque tights

If you take care of them (I wear socks on my hands when I put them on so I don’t run them), they last a long time, so that’s how I justify the price. And they’re totally Blair Waldorf.

However, some of their items make me scratch my head:

Wolford Fringe Tights

These are £199. That’s CAD$339, US$320. Why would you want to spend over $300 on these hideous things?

has hell frozen over?

It might have, because I just bought a pair of jean leggings, or “jeggings”.

My sister bought a pair a few months ago and when she told me I thought she was nuts. The mental image I had was just not good.

However, on closer inspection, they’re just even skinnier jeans with more lycra and therefore more stretch in them. I’m very self-conscious about my hips and anything skinny makes me feel like an ice cream cone, but this is one trend that doesn’t seem to be going away and |’d like to try to participate. Hips are great when you’re trying to look like someone on Mad Men, but not so great when it comes to trends.

But last weekend I worked up my courage and I tried on a couple of pairs…

J Brand jean leggings

Citizens of Humanity Avedon Slick Skinny Legging Jeans

…and while I liked them with tall boots and I didn’t look like the giant ice cream cone I was afraid I would, I was loathe to spend $200+ on an item that I’m not 100% confident about.

In the end, I found a pair for $80 from Mavi:

Mavi Serena low-rise super-skinny

Not sure that they’re technically a legging, but tons of stretch, skinny, and I bought them in a larger size (to be taken in at the waist) so they don’t feel quite so painted on.

In the end, this whole experience has taught me a lot about body image issues, specifically my own. All the salesgirls and my friends were telling me that I look fine, but I still have it in my head that my hips are huge. One of the girls at the Gap (who knew the Gap made jeggings? I couldn’t find them online though) who was roughly my size said she says the same thing about her own body, but totally didn’t see any problem with mine. So it’s all in our heads, right?

Dressing like B.

I know, there’s nothing original about listing Blair Waldorf as an inspiration.  And I think I’m a little old for Gossip Girl.  But still, I love how the costume designers dress Leighton Meester.  However, just to be clear, I do not want to dress like Leighton Meester, because when she’s out stumping for her (laughable) music career, she’s a disaster (further evidence here, here, and here).

What do I love about Blair? The dresses and skirts (like Blair, I hardly ever wear pants), the Wolford tights, the pearls.  Definitely not the school uniform or the headbands (like I said, too old for that), but this:

I want her hair, I want that dress, I want the little capelet.  I really want her hair, actually. 

And this:
 

I love this, even though it could be tapestry:

See how cute it is next to Serena’s hideous jumpsuit?

Still want her hair, and her necklace:

I bought a high-necked dress because of Blair:

I even like this:
 

Now if I can only convince my boyfriend to wear a white suit…

New Year’s Resolution #4: enough with the resolutions

I looked at the calendar this morning and saw it was January 23 and immediately thought WTF?  Where did January go? 

Since it’s almost the end of January, I thought that it was time to do away with resolutions.  They’ve all been pretty frivolous anyway.  What do I really want to do with 2010 anyway?

1. Be as healthy as possible.
2. Get out of debt.
3. Find a new job.
4. Be happy with what I have instead of always wanting something else.
5. Spend as much time as possible with the people I love.
6. Find out who I am.

And yes, of course, I’m going to accomplish #6 in one year.  Hell, I’ll be lucky if I find that out in my lifetime, because it’s been 31 years and I have no idea.  But on the style/fashion front (and this blog has mostly been about that), it’ll help me figure out what my style is and what I should be wearing.

#3 and #4 are pretty contradictory, but who knows about #3 in this economy and job market, so in the event that #3 doesn’t pan out, I want to focus on #4. 

As for #1 and #2…they’re the most important to me, which is exactly why I’ve been shopping up a storm and eating a ton of sugar and wheat (two things that I know make me feel unwell).  In all honesty, I won’t get completely out of debt in one year, but I have to start rather than just ignoring it/making it worse. 

But before I completely freak out about the magnitude of what I want to do (except #5, that’s easy), I have to remember to stop, relax, and breathe…and everything else will fall into place.

Dear Club Monaco

I love your clothes, I really do (as my closet and credit card statement will attest), but once in a while, can you remember these few things?

1. not all women are 6 feet tall with legs that go on forever
2. there are other colour palettes besides black and white
3. most women go out at the hips a little. maybe not the 6 feet tall ones, but most of the ones I know do.

Nothing too difficult. Do you think you could get on that asap? I'd appreciate it.

Best,
Rachel.

New Year’s Resolution #3: find a jacket

It’s Friday night, and I’m spending it as I usually do—at home, in my pyjamas, watching What Not To Wear.  The fun never stops on my Friday nights!

Since I’m watching What Not To Wear, I thought I’d reflect a little on jackets and the fact that I don’t wear them.  And this goes against every “essential pieces” list I’ve ever seen, from Tim Gunn to Stacey and Clinton to A. over at The Glamourous Grad Student.  It’s not that I don’t love jackets, but I’ve never found one that fits great and makes me feel good.  I find them bulky, constricting around the shoulders (and I absolutely must be comfortable), ill-fitting across my chest (although not enormous, it’s still a D-cup), etc.  But I’d love to find one that nips in at the waist and makes me look cute and chic, not like a linebacker.  So instead I stick to cardigans (I think I have close to 10?), which pretty much serve the same purpose as a cardigan but don’t quite provide the same structured look as a great fitted jacket. 

It might be my holy grail, but I know there’s one out there for me.

Happy New Year, 12 days late.

One of my personal resolutions is always to write more. I started this blog last year in an effort to write on a regular basis, regardless of whether anyone is reading or not (if anyone is, thanks!). But it’s already January 12 and not a peep out of me, so already a fail?

But unlike past instances, I’m going to keep going, rather than quitting because I can’t do something perfectly. So I resolve to keep writing and try to post at least once a week.

Hasn’t been a great start to 2010 for me; I spent New Year’s Day still getting over my stomach flu, then last week suffering from a horrible case of PMS. Work sucks, as usual (definitely need to find a new job in 2010), so with the two combined, I wanted to eat everything that wasn’t nailed down. But I looked good in the process, wearing some of my favourite winter outfits.

• black cardigan: Club Monaco
• grey ruffle top: J. Crew
• faux-pearl necklace, J Crew
• black pencil skirt: Club Monaco
• black tights: Wolford
• silver flats: Tory Burch

• long black cardigan: Club Monaco
• print dress: Kensie
• black tights: Wolford
• silver flats: Tory Burch

• black wrap top: Bailey 44 via Mendocino
• olive green silk cami: Club Monaco
• black A-line skirt: Jacob
• black tights: Wolford
• black kitten heels: Franco Sarto