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Book Pages: All About Women’s Fashion

Don’t judge this book by it’s totally 80s cover. Doesn’t it remind you of Designing Women or something?  Hey, I was a child of the 80s too, so I can make fun of it. And look, at some point along the way, it only cost $0.10!

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Well, this book is actually a mine-field of fashion apparel information. In fact, I have used the collar index to help with my actual copywriting work on-the-job. And, if I were to ever realize my dream (one of about 264) of being a fashion designer , I could take lots of info away from this little gem.

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And shoulders? I didn’t even know they had terms for some of these. Oh how these images make me wish I was enrolled in charm school. I probably lean more toward the Gretchen Wilson (I ain’t no high class broad) end of the spectrum, but that doesn’t mean I sometimes don’t covet me some fashion sense.
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And the collar types. Swoon. I want one of each! I’m not sure I even knew what a sweetheart collar was when I was on the market for a wedding dress. I just tried on whatever looked amazing by sight.

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Doesn’t the word “espadrille” sound classy? This book reminds me so much of Jackie O. I’m pretty sure she probably could’ve written “the book” on high-class fashion.
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Paging through this book is like digging through my grandma’s 50s-style closet, filled with tweed, gingham and houndstooth. Or the time she pulled me aside to show me how to properly iron clothing. These days, I think we’re missing a lot of that grandma-taught-me-how style education. I bet your grandma’d be really touched if you asked her to show you how she used to tie her scarf back in grammar school.

Packing More Life Into My Days

I have to say, I’m just loving these “10 minute increments” that I’m building into my day. I do sometimes truly feel like I’m packing extra life into my days. These are a few of the things that are keeping me busy:

1. TalkShoe.com: how come no one ever told me about this site before? Ha! You can literally take classes for free. I’m currently listening to a podcast course on entrepreneurism. I can sneak in clips here and get a Carnegie Mellon University-worthy education for myself along the way. What a concept!

2. TedTalks: These are just mesmerizing, if you didn’t already know. These come in 20-minute increments, but I often just have them playing in the background. Some are motivating, some are educational, and some are downright awe-inspiring.

3. I just picked up these two books from the library as a complement to the journaling course I’m taking. I’m just trying to soak in all the different journaling techniques to use and coming up with of some of my own.



Journal Junkies Workshop





Visual Chronicles


4. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall: I keep trying to squirrel away time to read this book, because I’m completely mesmerized. I’m a runner, so I find myself just wanting to steep myself in this culture of mega-distance runners and learn all their little secrets. My aunt was visiting last week and she was the one that turned me on to the book. Thanks Aunt Mary! And thank goodness for the public library.

5. Picnik.com: I messed around on this site this past week. Wow! Right now Picnik is offering all their premium stuff for FREE!!! Until April, when they merge with Google, the site is just open to the public. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a Picnik open slate, hey! I am trying to learn new ways to make my blog cuter without Photoshop. So, slowly but surely I’m teaching myself little techniques in those spare moments. I just played around with the above banner, designed an Etsy banner and made a really cool picture invitation. That’s right friends, I’m actually taking steps to open an Etsy shop. S’about time!

Any other ideas of great things to sneak in during the day? What do you accomplish on your lunch break?

Class and Poise

I have been thinking more and more lately about what demonstrating a little bit of class does for your image. I’ve quoted Vonnegut before, but one of the lines from Slaughterhouse-Five that struck me the most was, when you stop taking care of yourself you die.

While I think it’s important not to judge a book by its cover, I also think that the way you appear has a lot to do with people’s perception of you anyway. When I was a teenager, I thought I’d get more attention by walking around with a grimace on my face while wearing unexpected clothing. Cuz that’s what teenagers do. I thought that if people were going to judge me by my outer appearance, then I didn’t need to be their friend.

Well, that didn’t work so much to my favor of course. It’s taken years of observing and growing up to understand that radiant smiles, classy understated clothes, polite “thank yous,” and clean fingernails work miracles for your image and identity. People that practice that are the ones who get the attention. All it takes is a little posture control, a little purpose in your step and an up-kept brow line to turn you from dowdy to wowwy, from a whisper to an exclamation. Well, maybe not that dramatic, but you get the picture.

When you take notice of this principle of class and poise, you start to see it in progress everywhere you look. You read about it, picture it and see it taking place in person. There are some examples that stick plainly in my mind. I remember visiting a church where the preacher talked about being advised to leave his hands out of his pockets because holding your hands in your pockets gives off an air of apathy and sloppiness. I remember my grandma telling me about my uncle’s firm where they interview people over lunch and determine employability by the person’s table manners. I remember reading a small biography of Jackie O where I came across a passage about how her family made up their own family tree despite working class roots and simply believed themselves into their stature.

It takes mere seconds for people to judge you just by your body language. And for some good reason. If you care enough about yourself to wear crisp clothes and keep your hands moisturized, you’re probably a great job candidate who takes their job seriously. If you’re dishevelled, this might reflect upon your desirability as a roommate. I think you start to lose a little bit of yourself when you stop taking care of your body.

Now, I’m not talking about being some high maintenance superficial diva, I’m just talking about a little bit of poise and daily grooming. If you want to be successful, you have to look and feel the part. Or at least fake it till you make it. You might feel like an impostor inside, but if you pull your shoulders back, you’ll instantly feel a bit of heightened confidence and stature.