june 30th

rain, finally.
today's featured color, purple.
the shirt is from 1990 or 91 when i raced mountain bikes with a gang of 20 (mostly guys) out of philly. three of the riders had sponsorships with yeti bikes, my boyfriend was one. the pants came from the stores on broad street, my husband got them for my b-day in 1999?
so, kind of my street look.

june 29th

today i am wearing: john's old army shorts, originally from a thrift store. the shirt i made in 1999 from some linen/cotton i had.

june 28

hello, welcome to saturday the 28th of june. these shorts were bought in 1998 and were a regular rotation in my wardrobe when i kayaked four times a week. now they have been delegated to the bottom of a bag. i made the shirt from a vintage knit in 1996. today's activities, nature walk, farmers market, pulling weeds, pool.

june 27th

jue 27th, really...i am off again by one day. this is what happens to academics in the summer,
we lucky ones with the summer off lose track of calendar time.
the look today: black cotton voile top from h & m bought in 2007, marimekko unikko print skirt bought at anthropologie in 1999. i am making my second jumpsuit and one for my daughter this weekend. i feel some jumpsuit days coming up....

june 27th

june 27th, hot and steamy. this tank is from the sale rack at anthropologie about 6 years ago. way too big, it's held together with a safety pin. the pants are my favorite cropped brown cotton ones.

june 25

the look of the day is a black skirt made in 2000 out of found fabric and a black tee shirt. i don't know where the tee came from. hot, 93 degrees. working on studio projects all day.

june 24th

summer summer summer, it's getting harder to face the rack and drawer in the am, the combinations are narrowing a bit. i have to save some good looks for a fashion/work trip to las vegas. or...take all those 50+ cotton tees of varying hues and fits and create something new from them. i really think i will have to make one reject re-make, the tee shirts i keep pulling on which are just too small, the misbegotten skirt, etc.
the look for today is a pair of red pants made from my favorite pattern in 2000. the tee shirt has been around since 2001. pink dansko sandals.

june 23

here is a pair of red cropped pants, bought in 2003 from anthropologie and a black tee shirt which i made in 2006.

june 22

i cannot believe it is nearly the end of june. the day is clear and warm, we had a great real heavy rain last night. now were picking scraps of water balloons out of the yard and thinking about going to a dog show. today i am sporting a cotton tee shirt, bought in ? 2001? and a cotton asymetric skirt with hand stitched details which i bought at the thrift store in 2000.

june 21st

happy birthday mom and papa sammy!
we had a great housewarming party today, thanks to everyone for filling our house with love and laughter. this frock is from urban outfitters dresses line, ecote. i designed the print from a vintage fabric and the style, we sold it in our line in maybe 1990. black leggings....

june 20th

todays look features: a cotton lightweight shirt with a liberty-esque print and a pair of purple patagonia shorts. these shorts were bought in 1995 for a trip to china and are still alive!

june 19th

today's look features a cotton voile shirt from target and a pair of brown linen pants from the phoenix. both bought in 2007. you can always vote yes or no and add a comment which puts one garment in and one out. i do track all comments and votes.......

june 18th

the look of the day took a few false starts. this shirt was made by me in 1990 from hand screened silk bought in the handcraft emporium in new delhi india, a regular stop in my past design life. the skirt was purchased at anthropologie in 2000 (sale of course!)

June 17th

today is clear and lovely, a fresh summer day. i am wearing:
a skirt from the sale rack at gap in 1999 which has been shortened and
a wrir pledge drive tee shirt which has been cropped.

jume 16th

hot and sunny...a look of nearly cast aways. a voile top from target in 2007 and a brown linen skirt from gap, sale in 2001. can't say it's much more than function sometimes, neither garment has provided much constancy on my part!

june 15th

i can't believe it's june 15th. this skirt came from h & m in 2000 and the tank from gap in 1999.
i spent three hours gardening this am, now some design work then a birthday party for a five year old friend. multi-utile

june 14th

it's really summer now isn't it? this tee shirt is a target special circa 2007. the pants were made in chengdu china for me in the summer of 1995 when i spent two months working on an art project there. the tailor had a little shop in an old hutong along the river, next to the lassi and frites shop and the traffic hotel. all these wonderful places are probably gone now. the fabric is hand batiked swans. i will be saving and re-making....the pants did serve me wonderfully during pregnancy!

june 13th

the look today is a study in pink. pink trousers from banana republic, bought in 1998 and dyed pink in about 2002. the top is lightweight linen, i made it in 2006.

june 12th, ONE MONTH!

one month down and i still have plenty of hot weather clothes. i don't think it will get really ugly until those hot days in august or september. this top is from arlequin inc in the year 1987. i started as their designer during my junior year at parsons in nyc and it's one of the few items i still have. it had long sleeves which i removed about 4 years ago. the skirt is a target rayon blend knit one.

june 11th

the look of the day is a printed tee shirt which was designed by my husband for the 1999 shockoe tomato. the pants were purchased in 2001 and are printed cotton.

june 10th

today's look is a printed voile shirt i made in the summer of 2001 with fabric i bought in the souk in doha, qatar. the pants are from old navy in 2003. my best friend sarah and her family were visiting from iowa so she was my guest photographer. she also told me about a project a seattle artist did where she wore a little brown dress everyday for a year. check it out. http://www.littlebrowndress.com

june 9th

still very very hot! i am wearing a button front cotton knit tee that was one of my dad's. when we cleaned out his closets we found maybe 50 of these cotton knit italian polo shirts. this one was my fave. the shorts are from old navy last spring.

june 8th

today starts with unforgiving temperatures. here is an orange tank i made five years ago and a silk chiffon asymetric skirt bought in 2001 on sale at saks outlet. crocs because i was watering all morning and doing useful things like cutting dog hair. why a silk chiffon skirt for such tasks? because at 3pm we have a tea party to attend and i need to dress for the day. my husband wonders why i talk about what tasks i do, i think that it's important to notice why we dress for certain events or tasks and how that changes our perception of who we are in our other mundane tasks.

june 7th

a fine outfit composed of a tunic style silk thai top from my friend pornprapha phantanateacha
and yes, leggings again. it's 97 degrees in the shade.

june 6th

a late post, we had to get my husbands hand stitched up. bit of a shop accident but all is well.
today's look is a vintage red printed gingham dress which anda lewis added some felt and zig-zag stitched flowers to. not quite a housedress, i tied a polka dot scarf about my waist.

june 5th

today i am wearing: a white tee shirt with a black screen print given to me by my friend dima. the designer of the image is karl grandin, it's a composition of hundreds of animal logos and mascots.
the pants are from 2002, black cotton bought when i was pregnant.

june 4

june 4th and it's 90 degrees here in lovely richmond va. yes my 5 year old does seem to shoot a very foreshortened photo but alas, i am a 45 year old medium height healthily round sort so no amount of styling will ever produce a "fashionably" sized me. maybe i'll get her a cinderblock to stand on in our outdoor photo studio. this is a pair of linen culotte pants made 5 years ago, i liked a black pair i bought so i knocked them off. the top is yet another $5 top from target, dark olivey green.

june 3rd

summer is here and the possible combinations are still nearly endless! this top was bought at target on sale 1.5 years ago. the skirt also is a target purchase, two springs back. neither has been worn much...like many of my clothes.
does anyone have any opinions about how many clothes it is reasonable for one person to own? if i have 40 sweaters should i cut it in half to 20 sweaters. or should i make a lifelong project out of it, keep it all and never buy an article of clothing again?
comments please!

june 2

here is a shirt from h & m bought in 2003. originally white, dyed pink. the skirt was bought in 2006 at the loehmann's in san francisco for $10.

june 1st

hey, it's a new month. today was a real summer day which for us is hot! this dress is a vintage dress from a friend who gave me her collection of vested gentress smocks. the company made these preppy screen prints in pennsylvania. this one features frogs. since i have started this project i have made one trip to target with my family. it was really clear to me that the whole retail set-up is designed to get me to purchase something easily and cheaply. i know this because it has been my business of 20 years but it really sinks in when you go off retail. over the past few years it has been increasingly difficult for me to purchase clothes. every time i buy a sweater my husband and i wonder who has paid with their health for my cheap top.