Woohoo!

Congratulations to Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the first Canadian and North American Olympic gold medallists (and the youngest) in ice dancing:

 

What a gorgeous dress too.

The sublime and the ridiculous in Vancouver.

I’ve always loved figure skating.  I remember watching the Battle of the Brians in 1988 (I was 10).  I’ve never been a fan of ice dancing until I saw Canadian skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir; I’m staying up past my bedtime to watch them go for gold tonight. 

One of the highlights of skating is the costumes.  Last night there was the gorgeous:

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir:


Tasteful and elegant, and fit the character of their Spanish flamenco perfectly.  The full red skirt looked fabulous on the ice too.  I kinda want a dress like that, but with a shorter skirt.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White:
 
Again, tasteful and elegant.

Then there was the the ridiculous...

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy from last week:

They skated to “Send in the Clowns”.  Yeah, I get it, they’re clowns.

...and the purely horrific.

Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin:



What else is to be said? Not only was their “aboriginal” dance culturally insensitive and offensive (even though a Canadian aboriginal elder reached out to them), their costumes were the ugliest I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been watching figure skating for over 20 years. And these were the toned-down versions!

But then again, if the there weren't such ridiculous costumes, I would have nothing to mock. 

Sigh.

I feel like my parents’ Basset Hound after she knows she did something wrong and she’s going to be yelled at.

This photo is from three years ago when she was a puppy, but she still gets that look.

What I did wrong: I broke my shopping diet yesterday. 

I only made it 13 days (12 days in February, 1 day in January) and I’m so mad at myself.  Sure, it’s been 14 days, that’s a lot longer than I’ve done in the past, but it’s only 13 days.  I do feel like a complete failure.

I don’t want anyone to yell at me, but maybe that’s what I need.  My boyfriend didn’t yell at me.  He understands that I was completely crushed after finding out that I didn’t get a job I really wanted (and only found out from a friend who works at the company that someone else was hired) and it was either go shopping or sit and eat an entire container of Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, which would have made me very very sick (but it would have been cheaper!). I can say I had just cause, but did I?  So I really wanted this job.  But I still have a job, and a job that pays well at that.  900 people were laid off at my company in December.  I shouldn’t complain.  I should be grateful for what I have.

So, I’ll try to remember to count my blessings, and I’ll try to take the good from the past 13 days and learn from the bad.  For one, I’ve learned that setting out to not shop doesn’t work; that’s something I should have known from past experience.  But I’m not giving up.  I don’t know where to go from here, but I’ll figure it out.

Winter…

I’m tired of it, but I live in Canada, so what can I do?

• grey knitted scarf (United Colours of Benetton)
• black wool coat (Soïa & Kyo)
• purple rain boots (Hunter)
• silver ring (Matsu Jewellery)

I never wear scarves as an accessory, mostly because I love jewellery (I choose a necklace over a scarf every time).  I do wear scarves in the winter for warmth and style (not like I’m going to hang a necklace outside my winter coat), but I’m completely incompetent when it comes to tying them.  So A’s recent post at academichic on the pretzel/braid tie was perfect to keep me warm and fashionable on my morning and evening commute.

But still, I’d prefer if winter just went away.  Just over 5 weeks til spring.

one week down, three to go

The first week was hard. 

I already knew that I’m an emotional shopper, but that knowledge was reinforced this week.  Bored? Bad day? Let’s go buy something to make me feel better.  But damnit, I’m going to accomplish this goal and prove to myself that not all my promises are like pie crust. 

At first I just replaced one bad habit with another.  When I wanted to go shopping, I ate junk food.  I tried to eat “better” junk food (my current weakness is Green & Black’s organic white chocolate), but sugar is sugar and I’m dairy intolerant, so it’s not a good choice.

 

Tastes good though…

When I wasn’t eating junk food, I was reading articles on shopping less and 365 Fashion Rehab for inspiration.  I read about The Great American Apparel Diet and the women from all over the world who are participating.  But while Alison and Perdy haven’t cheated, some of the Great American Apparel Dieters have.  I could do a year’s worth of “dieting” if I knew I could cheat every now and then.

So the first week was hard, this week’s not nearly as hard.  Is this one particular shopaholic being reformed?

a week of colour and Anthropologie

After spending a week wearing nothing but black and grey (and, coincidentally, having a very depressing week), I decided that I was  going to have a week where I wore colour every day.  Also coincidentally, I wore something from Anthropologie every day.
Monday:

• Beribboned Buds Cardi by Tabitha, at Anthropologie
• hot pink cami (Banana Republic)
• black A-line skirt (Jacob)
• black Satin Opaque tights (Wolford)
• black kitten heels (Franco Sarto)

Tuesday:

• orange cardigan (Club Monaco)
• teal tank top (Oqoqo)
• black pencil skirt (Club Monaco)
• teal tights (Hue, via Anthropologie)
• black kitten heels (Franco Sarto)
• necklace (Ayala Bar)

Wednesday:

• orange Claudine tee by RicRac (Anthropologie)
• purple cardigan (J. Crew)
• grey tweed pencil skirt (Benetton)
• grey Satin Opaque tights (Wolford)
• silver flats (Tory Burch)

Thursday:

• Spotlights tank by RicRac (Anthropologie)
• white cardigan (Club Monaco)
• black pencil skirt (Club Monaco)
• black Satin Opaque tights (Wolford)
• black kitten heels (Franco Sarto)

Thursday’s outfit was my take on this from the January catalogue:

Friday:
 

• Plaza cardigan by Moth (Anthropologie)
• grey tank top (Club Monaco)
• Mavi Serena super-skinny jeans
• brown boots (Geox)

Over my dead body

I love Anthropologie, but my love is not blind.

Come One, Come All Booties by Bettye Muller, $188

Is it a wedge?  Is it a bootie? What is it? I think they’re hideous and would never wear them, especially for $188.

But even worse than shoes are these pants:

Rachel Pally Seragalio Pants, $129.50 (on sale) at shopbop.com

Yes, please, I want my crotch to be two feet long.  Apparently these “jersey harem pants” are big in Europe.  I love all things European, but for once, thank God I live in North America.

Being Erica

Canadian TV tends to be hit or miss.  It has to be quirky and different, or else no one would watch it, because why bother imitating American TV when you can just get American TV.  But Being Erica was a definite hit for me.  It’s about Erica Strange, a 32-year-old woman living in Toronto who believes her crappy life is due to the poor choices she’s made.  In the first episode, after being stood up by her date and ending up in the ER from an allergic reaction to a hazelnut coffee, she meets a therapist who has the ability to send her back in time to the moments of her biggest regrets to change those events, and more importantly learn from them.  Erin Karpluk, the Canadian actress who plays Erica Strange, describes the show as “My Name is Earl meets Pretty in Pink meets Back to the Future meets Sex and the City.”

The opening voiceover from the first episode hooked me right away:

You know that friend you have?  The girl who seems to have it all figured out?  She’s got the great job, the great guy, the great life.  Well, I’m not that girl. 
I know people wonder why the cute girl with the great education and the great friends can’t get it together.  There’s a simple answer: bad decisions.  I could teach a course on messing up your life; really, I am that good at getting everything wrong.
Okay, okay, so I know it’s my fault my life is where it’s at, but I figure I gotta catch a break some time, right?

Like Erica at the beginning of the series, I have a Master’s degree that hasn’t gotten me anywhere.  Like Erica, I have a family that has high expectations that I feel I’m never living up to, but unlike Erica, I’ve never yelled “I am suffocating under the collective weight of your disapproval!” at them.  I wish I’d done some things differently.  But unlike Erica, I don’t want to go back to these moments.  I made the conscious choice a while ago not to have any regrets; I am who I am because what has happened to me, and there’s no chance for me to go back in time and change any events, I can only move forward.

And in the end, Erica never returns to a present world where things are very different; the changes always happen on the inside.

Still, it’s an interesting question.  What would you change if you had the chance?


On a more frivolous level, I love Erica’s wardrobe:
 






Lots of dresses, skirts, and colour.  And unlike some TV wardrobes, I feel like this one is actually attainable.  In fact, I know where some of these pieces came from.  For instance, this is a Banana Republic dress that I actually tried on:


And apparently the costume designer shops at the same places that I do, because I actually own some of these clothes.  I found seeing my own clothes on someone else on TV to be quite a weird experience, in a “you’re wearing my clothes, bitch!” kind of way.

I own these two lilikoi tops:



And this Banana Republic wrap dress, which I love:


So I already do dress like Erica Strange.  Maybe I just want to be her and get a job as an assistant to a publisher and go to editing a book within a year.  I know, I know, it’s fantasy.  It’s a TV show, it’s not reality.   I should just stick to the clothes.

Day 3 and already almost a relapse.

It’s Day 4 if I’m counting January 31, when I didn’t buy anything. But really, who’s counting? (Oh dear God, when will this month be over?)

For Flora skirt by Burlapp, at Anthropologie

I was bored/frustrated at work this morning so I was shopping online at anthropologie.com. This skirt nearly broke my resolve. I’ve had my eye on it for a while, and now it’s on sale for $79, down from $178. So in my twisted mind, I think, ooh, I’ll order it online when February is over! So I have to go over to Anthropologie on my lunch break to try it on in person! Just so I know what size to buy! (What am I, a complete and utter moron? The answer is, of course, yes.)

The skirt was also on sale in store (cheaper than online with the exchange rate and shipping costs), in my size, and I was this close to walking out of the dressing room with it. But in the end, I put it down, put my own skirt back on, and hightailed it out of the store.

I didn’t cheat because I told myself I don’t need the skirt. I don’t. I don’t need any new clothes. I want that skirt because it’s so cute on the model and because it’s different from anything else I usually wear. But I would probably wear it once and then it would sit in my closet, waiting for another party where it would be appropriate, when something else would have already come along to replace it. If I had bought that skirt, I would have been buying “the fantasy of momentary reinvention". I want (or I think I want, I’m not entirely sure yet) to be that girl who has a ton of parties to go to, or who is just so stylish and works in such a creative environment that she could wear a “fancy” skirt like that to work. But I’m not.

I might buy the skirt when my self-imposed month-long rehab is over. I just want to know that I can exercise some willpower and delay gratification. Or maybe I won’t buy it. Maybe I’ll have learned to shop for the life I actually live. Maybe I won’t want to shop at all? We’ll see.