may 31

yikes, the last day of may and it is in the mid nineties, hot hot hot. today, a pair of short pants from the gap, bought 2 years ago. a citron jersey tee...i love the color. today's picture by a short 5 year old so it's foreshortened.

may 30

today i am sporting a henley cotton top from h & m that i bought two years ago. i made the pants about 4 years ago from one of my favorite patterns. my photo has been taken each day by either my husband or my five year old. each has a slightly different aesthetic.

may 29

todays clothes are: a nylon woven paisley blouse which i found at the bells road flea market in 1999. i remember seeing a nice printed fabric sleeve and pulling the object from an abject pile of old clothes. the jeans are from the gap, bought in 2006. another story from the flea markets,
as a designer of clothes you always see something you designed come around, sometimes good, sometimes bad. at the same flea market, i once came upon a dress i once owned. it was a silk brocade gown which my stepmom made and i shortened into a mini dress in 1990. i knew it immediately since it was handmade and unique. i was so tempted to re-buy it but decided to let it keep cycling, who knows, maybe i will see it again.

may 28th

here's a look that's sure to please (not), if you wish you can comment like no to the look but save the pants, tops etc....
so, the pants are cotton sateen, made about 6 years ago from a basic pattern i made. the top is a cotton raschel knit from the store dosa in soho, bought in 1989 or 1990 when i was a designer at urban outfitters. the look would have been sleeker had it been warmer but the slight chill of the day brought out a sweater i/o a fitted tee.

may 27, 2008

hot today, and were still cleaning out our old house. the look of the day is a pair of linen palazzo pants bought at anthropologie in 2001 and an olive tee shirt. dansko sandals. that's it!

may 26th, memorial day

another day of work! my favorite jeans from gap, 6 years old. a tee shirt with an image of an ed gross painting. beware, tee shirt weeks coming up, gotta get through the inventory while trying to keep some more appealing clothes for the days which require appeal.

may 25th

my second favorite overalls, oshkosh bought in mt vernon iowa at a small menswear store in maybe 1999???. red tee shirt which i bought in 2003 at target. we cleaned out and moved truckloads of stuff today, hence, overalls. i also have another pair and i do wear them for mowing lawns and gardening.

may 24

anyone notice i am a day off? it is the 24th not the 23rd, and i can't edit some things, oh well. last day at the beach and were driving home in a bit. today i am wearing a brown and grey microfiber dress i made last spring, leggings and, yes, brown shoes again.

may 22

today's look is a pair of pink cotton trousers from old navy, maybe 2003? the shirt is an asymetric black cotton tee shirt. we visited the eastern shore and wandered around cape charles. a lovely bright day.

may 21

it's a lovely day, 75 degrees and sunny. we'll ride bikes today and go to the beach. maybe we'll even get a snow cone. this top came from H & M last summer, leggings from target. how to make sustainable clothes and art? at the beach house there is a bowl of wax fruit, circa 1970 i would say. i am really drawn to this collection of pears, apples and grapes. john suggested i make wax clothes, not a bad idea as i could melt them down into candles. meanwhile, i am thinking about what would happen if we had to source our fabric locally, who still makes a textile within 500 miles of richmond, va in a quantity which can be sold?

may 20th

the look of the day is: a black tee shirt from old navy with a x-large bright green tee shirt worn as a skirt. the neck becomes the waist. i am also thinking of taking a bunch of the tee shirts and making them into something else.

may 19th

here we are at the beach! it's rain and sun and thunderstorms and sun again. we rode bikes 118 blocks and along the boardwalk, walked on the beach, read on the beach and just beat a thunderstorm back. this shirt was bought 5-6 years ago at the phoenix and the pants 8 years ago at need supply. the shirt was originally ivory and i dyed it a lovely orange.

may 18th

an early post. this shirt came from the thrift store last year. the pants are eileen fisher cotton pants bought on sale 4 years ago for a trip to vietnam.

may 18, sunday

today we had a yard sale, windy and sunny all am with rain showing up around 1pm. then we
dropped books etc off at the thrift store and headed downtown to a city event, broad appetit to hear joel salatin speak. back home, getting ready for the beach.....wearing:
blue pants from target bought 8 months ago and a top/dress from same bought 2 years ago.
ues, it's the brown shoes again. some notes on how the blog will go when i am on vacation. i will still be posting and wearing within the system i have committed to. however, bathing suits are exempt from posting as is one beach coverup so i can only change out of the look of the day if i switch to the beach coverup and suit. another note, among my rules was the concept of a safety garment. i have made the first jumpsuit as a prototype and will be using this as my one outfit which i can change into if any of the following types of things happen: five year old spills ice cream on me, i get soaked in downpour, seat of trouser splits out, etc. i also have only one outerwear garment for the week, an orange rain slicker. so, one week down! 40 to go !

may 17th

yikes,
two graduations to attend in one day so this post is late! here's a tunic dress in poly chiffon from H & M. purchased last summer or fall i think. leggings and the ubuquitous brown shoes.
now time to feed the family and then off to a retirement party for a colleague at VCU. it's been an end of the year graduation triple play!

may 16th

it will be raining on and off all day, about 70 degrees. i have to go to a fashion event tonight so i feel the day calls for a dress. i made this dress in 1995 or 96. the skirt is all mens silk ties from the 1940's. i bought the ties (sewn together already!) on a 50 mile road bike ride in eastern wisconsin in 1994 when i stopped to stretch my legs and stuffed it in my jersey pocket. i added a linen bodice and here it is. the fabric for the bodice came from perry ellis where i was the designer of the america line in 1988-89. picture will be posted at around 2pm.

may 15th

this pair of culottes came from urban outfitters about 3 years ago. the shirt i made 4 years ago from a piece of vintage fabric. sandals with socks, sorry, at 45 with foot surgeries and old injuries i don't do fashion shoes.

may 14

this skirt came from a thrift store about 4 years ago, a nice cotton vintage print. basic boxy tee shirt and leggings. it's warm, 75 degrees and lovely, did housework, studio duties and went to the botanical garden. ciao.

may 13th, 70 degrees

it's fresh and sunny today and instead of gravitating to my usual wardrobe I went for a knit wool skirt (clearance, banana republic two-three years ago) and a ubiquitous pledge drive tee-shirt, leggings and the usual shoes. i gardened for two hours this morning and hope to be outside all day, maybe a bike ride with lulu later. photo will post at around 2pm.

the first day, may 12th 2008

today is 50 degrees with heavy wind, rain and generally fresh conditions. starting the line-up for the project are some unremarkable but functional clothes, a beige v-neck cashmere sweater that belonged to my daddy and a pair of wool knit eileen fisher pants bought second hand about 2 years ago. shoes and accessories will be repeated along with outerwear (until we get to winter coat season!) you won't be seeing this sweater again until march, yikes.
photo to follow around 3 pm when we get the backdrop all set-up for the daily shot, and then i have to figure out how to put the poll up! vote keep or dump for each day's look.

some tee shirts

why does every event have to have a tee shirt? is this why i have over 40 of these image laden things? i am thinking about what else i can do with them, maybe there will be a tee shirt week mid-summer and i can wear one as a skort and one regular. plus, i'm not a tee shirt girl, i don't have a willowy shape, more like a cheese cube. i am wishing i hadn't kept so much stuff, some of it is going to be pretty sorry, especially since my storage method is to stuff everything in big black bags in the attic and i refuse to press except for special occasions.

looking forward to picking out the first weeks contenders, after wearing they are tagged and stored across the street at my aunties.

more tangents

today i am thinking about the idea of the safety garment. because i often make garment based artwork i am considering making 5 jumpsuits/jumpers which can always be worn for professional appearances or chores. the line-up would look something like this, 1 look for professional functions, 1 look for gardening and working outside (i do alot of this) 1 look for hanging out with 5 year olds at various venues, 1 look for my studio activities, one look for those days when morale is low and only comfort will do. each piece would have specific built in features that suit the function. pictures will start coming on monday! for now i think i will post my picture somewhere here. also, links to quirk, lupilu and vcu fashion.

aesthetic to ascetic, may 7, 2008

aesthetic to ascetic is my journal of my attempt to come to terms with my own fashion consumption.
as a designer/educator for over 20 years i have amassed and given away thousands of pieces of clothing. as i try to lessen my impact with food and consumer choices in this commercial world, i am constantly fighting my own ball and chain of a wardrobe. starting on may 12th i will wear each item currently in my possession once before any garment can be re-worn. i am working on an excel document with garment tallies and an elaborate set of criteria for the project. my preliminary count looks like i can make it 306 days without repeating a dress, sweater, top or fitted jacket. skirts and pants will be worn once then will be allowed to re-enter the rotation since i have considerably fewer of these items. more to follow on the guidelines. because my life includes professional engagements, i may be allowed a limited number of "safety" garments. each day i will post a photo of the look of the day. at the end of each day garments will be tagged and stored for exhibition, re-fashioning and sale/giveaway.