Spotted on the Elevator:

A very fashionable lady was riding the elevator with me today. She looked completely pulled together! Her outfit was simple: a bright red-orange button up shirt with gray slacks, strappy shoes, and a brown handbag with a matching orange stripe around the top.

There's no way I could take a picture of her, so a sketch will have to suffice.
The thing I loved about her outfit was that though it looked pulled together, it appeared effortless. Like maybe it happened by accident.

Someday, I aspire to look so pulled together. Maybe confidence always looks so effortless, but I have a really hard time being confidant in what I'm wearing every single day. Sure, there are a few days each week when I really like what I'm wearing; those are the days that I get lots of complements. But it's not like that every day.


~ Abi

The Miraculous Sale!

I can't believe it - I bought the coat today!! I think I'm still in shock...

I happened to be passing by the window of the boutique store and new sale signs were posted in the window - "Winter Clearance." I don't know why, but I walked in and asked about the coat. They had one left in my size, and it was 70% off! The discount brought it down to a reasonable price. Sure, it maxed out my whole clothing budget for the month, but it's an amazing coat.

The coat is designed by Mackage, an international outerwear label. I didn't know much about the designers when I bought the coat, but I went home and pulled up the website and read all about the label and the inspiration for the season. I also found the video of the runway show. It was such an amazing experience to watch my coat appear in the show. I finally feel like I'm actually a participant in the world of fashion instead of just a bystander.

This is the picture from the website, which shows the coat in brown instead of the black that I bought. This is a great picture of the coat. I don't look at all like a model so the coat looks different on me, but I feel amazing.

I still can't believe I actually own a coat that was in a runway show!

The coat in the window

I found the perfect coat!

You know that song about the doggy in the window?
I felt a lot like the girl in the song, only I was asking, "How much is that coat in the window"

It wasn't at Nordstrom; instead, I had stopped in at a nearby boutique because the coat in the window caught my eye.

It's beautiful - it's from a well-known designer label and its WAY more than I want to spend on a coat. But I tried it on, and it's truly amazing. Heavy, warm, both gray and black, and it's stylish. It's a military style coat with a zipper closure on the side (instead of centered) and leather trim on the shoulders and a leather belt.

So did I buy it? No... I walked away sad. But I did draw a sketch of it!
If I could only find something like this at a more reasonable price.


~ Abi

The search for a coat.

I may have mentioned before that I've been reading Tim Gunn's book, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style," which is hilarious and very informative. There are lots of passages I could quote, but since I'm looking for a coat, I will simply mention that one of Tim's 10 basics that should be in everyone's wardrobe is a trench coat.

Now, Tim Writes:
"The trench should be of appropriate warmth, because you will be wearing it from early spring to late fall."

I read the statement a second time and thought... what? I live in Seattle - I will wear my trench from early fall to late spring! I need a winter trench, not a summer one! Now if only I could find, out of the several hundred options which will assail me every time I walk into a department store, something that looks good on me!

I am looking for something with a belt, because I look good in clothes with waists. Probably black or gray, in a wool woven fabric. Maybe out of a reaction to my recent coat embarrassment, I really want a coat that is very unique. Something that says "I'm stylish" and that I can feel confidant wearing to a meeting where I may never even take my coat off. I shouldn't need to take my coat off at all - the coat should make the same statement about me as the outfit underneath.

Since I've been looking for a coat, I've been seeing lots of people wearing great coats all around me. I've been particularly noticing the back detailing on the coats of people standing around me on the elevator or at crosswalks.

Here are a couple of sketches of the backs of three coats that caught my eye:

I need a new coat!

I need a new coat!

I've been wearing my long green down coat; it works pretty well as a coat, warm enough for the weather, but I feel sorta like Michelin man wearing it.

I came to this realization today, while I was meeting with the assistant of a company VP today. It was just a quick meeting to formalize plans, and I work in a totally different building. Even though I was wearing the nice outfit that I picked out this morning, my outfit was covered by the green Michelin man coat.

Now, I don't remember what the assistant was wearing; probably a nicely fitting suit. But it was enough that my own insecurities about the coat were multiplied exponentially. She looked relaxed and confident, and all the while I was just wishing I wasn't wearing a coat.

As soon as I got off work, I stopped at the Accessories department and bought a wide belt. No, its not a coat; but it does update the coat enough that I at least look like the Michelin Woman!

See -- look; even on a hanger the coat looks better!