Dana's Outfits - September 7, 2010...the perils of bike riding

Despite the cost and environment saving benefits of bike riding to and from campus...there is one serious downside...sweating. This has forced me to wear multiple tops in one day...not good. I need to figure out a better system. At any rate, I had two "outfits" today...really just a t-shirt change.

In the Absence of Real Paul...

...I have conjured up what I imagine Paul is wearing today or yesterday or...well, any day really.

Day (whatever) of Paul - The Better/Dana Version

In case you can't read the captions, here is a link to a larger version of the picture.

Let this be a lesson to Paul...handle your shit. (and, for the record...this was Katie's idea.)

Dana's Outfits - Random First Week of September

Ok, I am super sorry about the hiatus...this past week has been a little hectic and I had forgotten to take pictures everyday...but I promise I have remained faithful to the diet! While I didn't take daily pictures, here are my outfit combinations for the past week...I am probably missing some and I don't know exactly which goes with which days...but it is something. So here you go...

This was a very blue day...i didn't realize my shirt and shoes matched so well...hmm. Not sure how I feel about that...who am I? Alice Motes? :P

Ok, yes, I wore the same pair of jeans a bunch of times...but sometimes I didn't wear them all day...and It wasn't like I was sweating profusely in them...nor did I spill on them (I know, I was shocked too!).

As you can see, its all been pretty boring. I haven't had the need nor the energy to spice things up...but hopefully that will be a post-Labor Day phenomenon. But not promises....to be honest, I am kind of enjoying the simplicity. It's kinda like shaving my head...it can be a little harsh, or maybe just boring and simple...but I think it can help to accentuate other assets. Or, maybe I am just fooling myself. Either way...it is what it is.

I do, however, promise to be better about posting...hopefully Paul will too!

Dana's Outfit(s) - Day(s) 7 and 8

Ugh, sorry. I have been taking pictures, just not uploading.

So, on Thursday, Katie and I went on some shopping errands (note the plural) and so I got dressed. Mind you that this is the same day that I bought a bike and had to ride it to the Bart station from the store (reference other blog), so I got a little sweaty...but rules are rules. The day's attire was kept simple with my dark blue jeans and by gray v-neck t-shirt. Too add a little somethin' something, I added a belt (shown in detail). I figured it would at least marginally help with my woefully boring clothing of late.

On Friday, I had to go to class and had my first meeting with Dr. Michael Omi (of Racial Formation Theory fame with Howard Winant). So I thought I should be a little dressed up, so i went with the buffalo checked shirt (and yes, the same dark jeans). The shirt is tucked, because, yeah...I am classy like that.

some gifts to make up for my absence

Well, I guess I'm the life blood of the blog right now.
To make up for my absence (and to fill your time) I figured I'd post some of the fashion related blogs that I enjoy reading as well as online fashion inspiration I pull.

First and foremost, I'm a big ol' fan of Threadbared.  Academics looking at fashion?  Yes, please!  While their posts are generally fantastic, I especially love their entries looking at the politics of vintage, thrifting, and labor. 

Threadbared also turned me onto lipstickeater which is hard to describe but thoroughly addicting.  Expect ruminations on issues of femininity, sex, sexuality, gender, the body, clothing, and too many literary references to count.  It is one part critical observation, two parts personal documentation (complete with intriguing comments, personal experiences, erudite ruminations, and one probably NSFW drawing).

I generally like StyleLikeU because it's video interviews of people talking about their approach to dressing.  I've been a bit bothered by the hipstery, Native appropriation love through many of the more recent videos (if you're interested in the politics surrounding this, Threadbared has you covered with  six posts on the subject).  Overall all, though, there's some great ideas about basics and approaches to dressing that I found intriguing, if not replicable by me: Ladyfag (NSFW), Joanne, Nikki, Craig, Gregory, Mario, Taylor, Sammy K., Jermaine, Hunter, Alex, World Famous BOB, Zamari, and Jenny.  Granted, much of this is antithetical to the idea of a minimized wardrobe but I do find myself enjoying the videos of people with an extremely simplified color palate and an emphasis on drape.  Also, there are many other videos I like, this was the quickest list I could build with people who I explicitly have sought out their videos to watch and rewatch.

The voyeurism of street photos and the enjoyment of editorial repetition get me here: Street Hearts, dirtyflaws (occasionally NSFW), Street Peeper, nerdboyfriend, The Sartorialist, Hel Looks, Copenhagen Street Style, The Urban Gentleman.

Finally, if the like the idea of the discussion of an outfit without a photo, you may thoroughly enjoy The Considered Ensemble.

Overall, these are the primary blogs that appear in my blog reader, that I get excited when there's an update, that make me think of things that I may want to incorporate into my approaches to dressing. 

Days 7 and 8 of Paul

My apologies for not posting on Thursday (I know y'all have been impatiently waiting).
Yesterday I was hunched over a computer all day grading and editing some spreadsheets, not getting home until almost 9pm.  Long day led to immediate exhaustion and changed immediately when I got home.  So, yet another outfit not on my body.  Oh well.  I wore the selvage jeans with the dark blue shirt.  Comfy with a bit of "dressiness" since the shoes I topped the outfit off with were some matte, black leather, dress shoes I picked up at H&M.  Positives: since they're cheap they've already creased on the upper but I like it helps them to look worn in.  Negative: the right shoe gives me a blister on the heel.  I'll be figuring something out post haste since I like them too much to avoid them for a measly blister.

For today I went extra comfy: black denim, athletic grey t-shirt, black Toms shoes.  I added a wee bit of glitz with my necklace that you can also see here.  Overall, comfy day with a little surprise in the necklace.  Wow, I'm pretty boring today (and somehow my poses have become more atrocious!).  My apologies, I'll try to be more engaging (and more modelesque) tomorrow.

Dana's Outfit - Day 6

I didn't go anywhere today, save the wholefoods to buy a tea infuser, juice, and get some coffee. I spent most of the day working from home (writing on whiteness, reference my other blog) and reorganizing the common room so we can actually use the couch and coffee table. As such, I do not have anything to add to the blog today. Not sure what I have on the docket for tomorrow...only the morning will tell.

Day 6 of Paul

Today was a pretty low key day (which, apparently, is the only kind of day I have).  Meh, whatever.  Today's big goals included: trip to the barber, hang out with a friend, grade.  And, other than the barber and needing to grab some coffee, I did not shop!  I know, this shouldn't really be surprising but a trip through the stores with said friend obviously presents me with many an opportunity for consumption.  I actually turned down two records I was interested as well as a vintage, 70s, western shirt in a lovely chambray with contrasting orange stitching because one part of the fit wasn't good.  Do note, a mild annoyance with fit was, historically, not something that would dissuade me from purchasing clothing if I liked the concept enough.  Today, I said no because it wasn't perfect.  This is good news for both my closet and my wallet.

It might seem odd that I just mentioned that I considered purchasing a clothing item during this experiment.  The primary reason this even occurred was because finding vintage clothing in my size is difficult as all hell, unless I'm down for rockin' the muu-muu.  And while it's comfortable (I have considered wearing one around the house on extra hot days), it doesn't really work for my day-to-day life.  As such, when I'm presented with vintage in my size, it's hard to turn down because I don't see it that often.

Anyway, enough with my day of restraint and on to my day of clothing.  I wanted comfort and a get-up-and-go look on the clothing, classed up with the additional components.  I pulled out the 501s, the athletic grey t-shirt*, and the black cardigan.  I topped it off with the oxblood penny loafers and the briefcase since I was only carrying books in case I had downtime in which to read/reread (Purity and Danger and The Power Elite if anyone is interested).  Well, now you can see them all.  Hopefully these photos are better then the prior ones, I even moved a mirror around to see if that would help.

Today was a classy-comfortable day.


* I initially had on the beige polo but after the barber my collar was wet so I changed shirts into the athletic grey t-shirt that you see here.

(Semi) Day 5 of Paul

Today I wanted a slight repeat of yesterday: button up with jeans.  But, I adjusted some things out.  I've been needing to wear my dark navy jeans because they cuff so well.  And when I say need, I mean need as I have some heat rash on my lower legs that just hasn't been helped by the continuing that full length pants brings (apparently much like Dana I am regretting the non-inclusion of shorts).  I wanted to keep a nice color combo and went with my light blue button up and decided to keep it all casual with my black PF Flyers (which I have cut the tongue out of and wear without laces).  Kept it simple with no accessories (but I did rock the briefcase again).  In the photo, you can see my belt.  It's actually my go-to, everyday belt: some cheap, canvas-and-plaid from Target I bought on clearance.

Anyways, the reason I call this a (semi) day is because, post working at the coffee shop, I decided to hit up the Women's Auxiliary up the street from me, to see if they had any tidbits of wonderful to oogle.  Well, they didn't disappoint and had apparently received a bunch of records recently.  Crates of records for $0.25 means I'm down for some diggin' for new hotness.  I lucked out (long story short: Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie were in no short supply, a near mint copy of Thriller... I walked away with 35 records).  I had spent so much time in the store that everything had fully warmed up by that time and I had to walk home in full sun (the high was in the 90s today).  Needless to say, I was a bit overheated when I got home because, really, I just hate being in the sun.

As soon as I got home I quickly changed into some gym shorts and an undershirt and I just haven't had it in me to change back into my clothes for a photo shoot.  To that end, I give you my outfit (sans shoes) in repose..  Yeah, I know, my clothes are awesome, even when I'm not in them.  I'm that good.

Dana's Outfit - Day 5

I was informed by Katie that there was a heat advisory in effect today. I am more and more regretting my decision to abandon shorts for the next 90 days. But I must peservere. As the nisei would say...Gaman! (I am so JA.)

So, today I bust out with my old reliable. The tank top. I have recent reacquired a farmers tan...but not too bad...and I think the avoidance of heat stroke trumps the embarrasment of tanlines...I think.

I am also wearing my mid-range blue jeans and my white hemp flip flops...no other accessories.