Week in Review

Non-WT-Related Adventures:

Dark Chocolate M&Ms don't taste that different from regular M&Ms.  This is surely a moral failing on the part of someone.

My professional life has recently reminded me how good it is not to be a lawyer.  That's all I can safely say here.

A massive new Whole Foods opened up next door to my office on Wednesday.  In addition to the usual curried tofu bar and other gentrified hippie-kibble (whole-grain vegan sushi?  Pomegranate-nettle soda?), this one has a diner.  Like, a standard, midwestern, meat-and-potatoes diner, where you can buy cheeseburgers and pancakes.

I've come up with a vacation itinerary that satisfies me for more than 12 hours.  Progress!

Cardboard box!  Median!  Front-end alignment!  Auto glass repair!  Gah. (Everyone's fine, including the car.)

WT-Related Adventures: 

Wardrobe Malfunction!  Very happy that I live close to work, and that my boss knows when not to ask questions.  Yeesh.


The first full day of sandals is always a little bit painful.

Hand-written thank-you note on Nordstrom stationery from my consultant (this one is awesome, by the way).  Hm.

Aack!  I've been betrayed by my sunscreen!  Pulled out a new bottle and immediately noticed a difference in texture and smell, and not for the better .  Sure enough, change of ingredients - also not for the better.  Sigh. 

Roped into a Mary Kay party this weekend.  How did I let that happen?

More later.

Granola on the Grounds

Mel is going on a picnic!  Mel styles herself "Granola Chic," so she'll be lounging in her Toms on an oversize bandanna. And, since it's still a little chilly in Chicago, I bet it's the same in Cleveland, so she gets a snuggly hoodie, just in case.

Mel Picnics by Mella DP featuring Seven For All Mankind jeans

In which I help a nice girl at the Clarks store earn an excellent commission.

So, Saturday was another mall day, and I went shoe-hunting with my dear friend LittleH.  LittleH works with children, grumbles when shoe stores don't stock size five, and spent the afternoon being her hyper, excitable, distractable self, until she got tired and just went kaput (kind of like a pre-schooler).  She also bought cute gray converse and shiny purple flats.

I stocked up at a sale at the Clarks store, where things are just getting better and better.

Workwear - I've had my eyes on these for a while.

These look a lot less earthy on, and the arch support is incredible.

These aren't anything I'd ordinarily go for aesthetically, but I needed something not utterly hideous for serious walking days.  They're a new line, and totally amazing.  When I stood up in them, it felt like somehow not all my body weight was resting on my feet.

We were also told that Clarks offers a lifetime guarantee on their socks.  As in, you can buy two weeks worth, keep exchanging them as they wear out, and theoretically never buy another pair.  Yeah, that seemed weird.

To the Derby!

For this week's Dress-a-Friend Monday assignment, Louisville native Cookbook has asked us to dress each other for the upcoming Kentucky Derby.  My job was to put together a look for Pullingthread, who I don't know well at all.  Looking through her WT posts, I notice that Pullingthread tends to like:

• Feminine looks
• Simple lines
• Pretty prints
• Color!

So, with that in mind, here's Pulling thread styled for the stands and the field.

Pullingthread at Churchill Downs by Mella DP featuring Dorothy Perkins dresses

Week 5 - Shoes, Etc.

Oh, Week 5.  This one will have to be stream-of-consciousness.

Shoes.

• Shoes are difficult for me.  I'm a genuinely difficult fit (though not on paper - when I find a shoe that fits, it's a size 8, but the reverse is rarely true).  And, apparently, I'm very fussy.  I feel like I'm becoming less so, but I think it's a matter of styles changing for the better, rather than me.  
• One positive effect of it all is that I'm comfortable with where my shoe wardrobe is stylistically, because I'm too picky to buy something that doesn't work, and I'm too cranky about shoes in general to be seduced by the fabulous-but-utterly-impractical (and even if I were, they probably wouldn't fit).
• At the moment, I actually like all the shoes I have, I think.  Some of them are probably aging more than I want to acknowledge, but there are no genuine rabbits in rotation.  Is it just me, or do most shoes become torture devices when they rabbit?
• At the same time, most of the shoes I wear to work need some repairs.  Heel taps and whatnot.  I spotted a repair shop the other day, so that obstacle is out of the way. 
• I find it very difficult to keep shoes looking non-scuffed, even when they're relatively new.  This is inconvenient, given my aversion to maintenance.  And I'm certain I know how to polish them correctly - I am the child of a Marine.
• So I need to catch up on polishing this week, too.
• I have a pre-existing date to go shoe shopping with my friend LittleH on Saturday. 
• I can live with what I have, but I'm looking for:
• Work shoes - low-vamp heeled loafers, T-strap pumps, etc.
• Work work shoes - For the occasions where neither heels nor steel-toed boots are appropriate.  Usually I go for some sort of sturdy oxford, often in a larger little-boy size.
• Nude pumps.
• Decent walking shoes for summer vacation.  I try not to look like an ugly American, even when I'm only going to Canada.  (Yes, I booked my NS/PEI trip!  Excited!)
• Removed: Torture device white sandals, that I didn't wear at all last summer because they'd become so uncomfortable.
• Same time, next year: winter and formal need some work, but I'm not dealing with them right now.

Bags:

• I have some.  I like them.  The ones I don't like I've gotten rid of.
• I don't have the patience to switch bags constantly, but I have enough patience to do it occasionally.
• But I noticed that recently I was switching a lot more than usual.  Eventually I figured out that, though I certainly have things that work for everyday, I don't currently have anything that's ideal enough to be a go-to.  This is odd, and I'm not sure how or when it happened.
• I will work on it, but don't have an obvious solution.  The main requirement is that I need to be able to fit a book inside.  We're looking at shoulder strap, roughly 8"x10", with some structure. Tan would be a good color. 
• Briefcase: It works.  Heaven help me if I suddenly need to pair it with business formal, but it's not a priority.

Belts:

• I think I recently stumbled upon the path of belting enlightenment.  
• No urgent needs here, but I'll be on the lookout for more, in a general sort of way.

Hats:

• Hats made for women, and sold in ordinary department stores, are almost always too small for me.
• But I recently found a foldable sun hat that fits.  Yay.  Because people who bring straw hats onto airplanes are way too high maintenance for me.

 Umbrellas

• Yes.

Socks:

• I abandoned all my trouser socks in favor of ordinary socks and, when necessary, nylon knee-highs.  So I need to get some of the latter.  And some regular stockings, too - I was fine in that area during legwear week, but every pair I've touched since then has fallen to shreds.

Organize:

• Yeesh.  Stay tuned.

Anne in the Rain

Cookbook picked a cute theme for this week's Dress-a-Friend Monday, so I get to outfit Anne, who lives in Nevada for a rain day.  (At least "Nevada" acknowledges precipitation, unlike "Arizona," which explicitly denies it.)

Reasons my Monday entry wasn't in on Monday:

• I spent the weekend hanging out in St. Louis, where I met up with My Sister the Blond Artist, and we had lots of fun, but, tragically, did not eat pie.  I would add an archly artistic photo here, but they all ended up on MSTBA's computer, and I haven't gotten access yet. 
• I had an appointment with the eye doctor after work on Monday, and it's difficult to do design work immediately after ophthalmoscopy.
• Tuesday I worked until an hour I'd forgotten exists.
• Any moment not spent traveling, squinting or working was spent congratulating the approximately eight frillion women I know who have either given birth or announced their intention to do so in the past week.

Anyhow.   This one was fun, but harder than I expected at first, perhaps only because I was tired and distracted from the task.

I know orange isn't a top color pick for Anne, but I liked the combo anyway.  Also, for some reason it felt very important to put Anne in a hat.

Anne in the Rain by Mella DP featuring Hunter boots

Here's one in another color scheme.

Anne in the Rain 2 by Mella DP featuring Burberry coats

Lotion-Potion

Way back during the very first round of Wardrobe Therapy, wrote a couple of posts going on at length about all the stuff in all the stuff that goes on our skin (and stuff).  I link here with repeated emphasis that I'm not a cosmetic chemist or dermatologist, and make no effort to be either comprehensive or clinically precise.  All I can do is document the ideas on which I base my own decisions. 

My own routine has been pretty stable for a while now, but there are some minor refinements I'd like to make, so I've been driving myself mad examining all the magic elixirs at the drug stores.  Observations, aside from the usual:

• The population is aging.  I know wrinkle-cures have always been a skin care mainstay, but the product balance is shifting noticeably.
• Packaging is all designed along one of two aesthetics:  granola/tree bark, and clinical/high-tech.  I never noticed before that these are approximately opposite, and I wonder what that means.
• It appears that, as long as your ingredient has a name, and you print that name on the front of the package, the consumer will assume it's some sort of cosmetic miracle, even if it is, in fact, a mushroom.
• The breakdown of collagen within the complex structure of the skin is a factor in visible aging.  Therefore, applying collagen-containing goop to the surface of my skin will make me look younger.  Is that supposed to make sense???
• Sunscreens are improving.  Finally.  Yay.
• And fragrance-free is slowly going standard.  Also yay.

Here we should break for a public service announcement:

Wear sunscreen.  Make sure it's good. And wear enough of it.

End PSA.




I'm pretty well set as far as cleaning and decorating my skin goes.  I'm trying to fiddle with the in-between steps, which currently, are as follows:

• Full-spectrum SPF 15 moisturizer (AM) - I use this, which doesn't bug my skin, has the consistency of regular lotion, and has no sunscreen smell whatsoever.  I hate sunscreen smell.
• Beta Hydroxy/Salicylic acid cream (PM) - This stuff shows up in a lot of acne products, but its function is as a lipid-soluble exfoliant.  At much higher concentrations, it removes warts.

 I'm very happy with both of these, but, ideally, I'd like to up the sunscreen to SPF 30, and get a decent antioxidant blend into the mix.  I know for certain that this is something that shouldn't be hard to achieve, but that means little in the beauty industry.  Finding a higher SPF moisturizer that doesn't bother me or feel or smell like beach-sunscreen is still pretty difficult, and, all considered, I haven't found the right mix to try.  I'll keep looking. 

The whole is less than the sum of the parts

Today, I wore an orderly skirt, a green cardigan, and ankle-strap pumps.  A combination that should have been totally Mella-chic, except that:

• The cardigan threw a tantrum and wouldn't stay buttoned.
• The new stockings are too large and have the texture of sandpaper.
• The not-at-all-new shoes gave me three almost-blisters on my left foot.
• One of the recent Nordstrom acquisitions turns out to be made of barbed wire.
• Etc.

Can't win them all.  Will do better tomorrow.

Cookbook at Brunch

So, this week I get to dress Cookbook for Sunday brunch.  A welcome little challenge, since, at least based on her WT postings so far, we have a lot of taste in common.  One caveat - I have a new computer, and I'm still figuring out the color settings.  So, if I've inadvertently put poor Cookbook in hot pink and hospital green, I'm sorry!

There's brunch, and then there's brunch, so, here are a few options at various levels of formality.

Cookbook in a Dress by Mella DP featuring John Lewis Women cardigans

Cookbook in Pants by Mella DP featuring DAY Birger et Mikkelsen pants

Cookbook in Jeans by Mella DP featuring GAP tops

How'd I do?

What I did today (and yesterday).

Tastefully dressed young lady working accessories at Nordstrom: Can I help you with anything today?

Me: Yes.  My office is across the street.  Could you please convince me not to go there today?

Ok, actually, I didn't say that.  But I did imagine the exchange, and, knowing Nordstrom's deserved reputation for excellent service, I went thrifting instead of to work.

That's after spending an enlightening hour with the good ladies on the third floor, and an unusually large number of dollars on garments I don't intend anyone to see.  But it's all a very good thing.  And I was happy not to be the woman in the next fitting room, who was freaking out because she was four months pregnant and had already gained three cup sizes.  That just sounds painful.

After that, it was indeed off to the thrift shops.  Most of them I hadn't been to in a long time, and I wasn't missing much, as far as clothing is concerned.  There's one sizable Goodwill that seems to be the place where all the used clothing in the area (including mine) goes.  My timing was a little off - I got there late enough in the day that I wasn't up for the crowd - but I did find a couple of things:  an experimental floral skirt, and a geometric-patterned shirtdress that I would have modeled for you, but when I cut out the shoulder pads I realized it needed a minor alteration of one of the few sort I know I can do. 

Elsewhere: a scarf, a decorative belt in nice colors (I'll be lazy and wait for accessory week) and, at my local antique shop, a heavy, 3"-long gold cross that I hope doesn't make me look like a male gang member.

Recently from Target:

• Several of a nice style of jersey skirt.
  
• A bunch of mesh bags - mine had all gone missing.
  
• Oil sponge - I can't keep shoes polished for anything.
  
• A lighter shade of nail polish.  Something called "Iced Spice."  I keep my toes done in the summer, and last year was using a dark red shade that I like, but thought that something a little closer to neutral would be lower-maintenance.  

Speaking of nail polish I also picked up (at Walgreens) a nail polish pen:

Not that color, of course; mine is "Stone".  Tried it this morning, though I didn't do a very good job of it.  Definitely tidier, and did indeed dry quickly. 

I gave up polishing my fingernails a while ago.  My fingers are short and my hands not particularly elegant of form on the whole, so anything but a very light, neutral shade is extremely unflattering.  (Yes, nail polish can make you look fat.  Who knew?)  Also, I don't think my nails hold color very well.  I've never had a manicure last even 12 hours without extensive damage, even when I'm not working or using my hands at all.  So I clued in and quit. 

Also completed:

• Washing the makeup brushes.  (Cool water; shampoo; gentle massage; thorough rinse; blot dry; air dry on towel.)
  
• Cleaning (like, with cleaning chemicals) the inside of the medicine cabinet, which holds all the "every day" stuff.
  
  
  
  
  
• Sorting out the every day drawer, the space under the sink, and that shelf in the linen closet with all the spare products.  I have a very fixed routine, and the supply flow procedure is as follows:  when I start using the last one on hand, go buy two.  Everything can be bought in the same place.  Somehow, I managed to rid myself of an entire dishpan full of...I'm not sure what, but I have a lot more space under the sink now.
  
  
  
  
  
• Got sidetracked by the cabinet that contains the actual medicine, which had been attacked by something sticky.  Discovered enough cold medicine to stock a preschool teacher for most of a year.

Other things I've done, but will discuss later:

• Minor hair-related innovation; and
  
• Becoming perturbed by skin-care marketing in no fewer than three separate drug stores, and returned home to do some more research and wonder whether having a chemistry-based education is good for my sanity on days like this.

Week 3 Tasks

1. 
   
   Pile!
   
   
2. Style. Some inspiration.  These are based on actual recent outfits that approach the ideal.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Tuesday by Mella DP featuring JWLA tops
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Black Skirt by Mella DP featuring Salvatore Ferragamo shoes
   
   
   
   
   
   
   tweed skirt by Mella DP featuring Gucci shoes
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Shirt Dress by Mella DP featuring Theory dresses
   
   
   I've also been through the Style Statement process SCB has talked about.  My working model is Composed Intuitive.  (Yes, mine has changed, too.  I started out with "Composed Intellective," but on later examination decided that had the wrong ring.  I realized that, though I never came right out and talked about it, the concept of intuition covered a larger number of my salient themes.  I sort of intuited my way to Intuitive.  It holds up within the system - your second word is allegedly one you're likely to under-fulfill by default, and the idea is that you'll be better off if you make sure to live up to it.  If I think back to decisions that have turned out to be an error in personal style, they can mostly be traced to overthinking.  This may be why some of my panic purchases work out oddly well - in fact, almost every panic purchase that's not a complete disaster turns out to be one of my favorite things, because being in a hurry makes me skip the step where I reason my way into error.)  I think it's compatible with an image from the first round of WT, that of the Brunching Intellectual.  Because whenever you have the opportunity to define your life in terms of omelets, you should take it.
   
   Key elements:
   
   
   
   • Mostly knits on top, as it's easier to fit without frump that way.
   • More tailored (but not to extremes) on bottom.
   • Skirts to the knee - never above.
   • I have a waist.  And all those other important parts.
   • Solids that play well together.  Prints appear in either in the occasional dress, or summer blouses to be worn alone.
   • Colors run dark, bold, clear, warm.  
   • Cuts are straightforward.
   • Interest through accessories.
   • I run a half-step to the formal side of the dress code on most occasions.
   
   
   
   Things I would live in:
   

   Me by Mella DP featuring Me Too shoes
   
   
   • Shirt dresses
   • Character shoe-inspired footwear
   • Fitted cardigans
   • Orderly skirts
   • Interesting necklaces
   • The right sort of scarf
     
   
   Things that are extraordinarily not me:
   
   
   

   Not Me by Mella DP featuring Minnetonka boots
   
   
   
   • Capri pants
   • Fringe
   • Gratuitous jersey
   • Ruffles, and other poufy detailing
   • Dangly jewelery 
   • Pink (except for one very rare shade with orange undertones).
     
   
   
3. Start securing your supply lines. Sigh.  Here's the issue I was trying to address by running myself ragged at the mall last weekend.  I confirmed that there is no magical storehouse for any of my key staples, nor is there any previously undiscovered vendor whose wares may as well have been custom-made for me.  It's actually helpful to know this, since it indicates that, however inefficient my shopping process might be, I'm not missing an easier alternative right under my nose.
   
   Less satisfying, I discovered that the standard price for a 100% cotton dress is $99.50.  This seems off.
   
   One thing I've noticed while shopping and Windows Shopping is that staples in my colors are on clearance - current offerings are all pastelly.  So I should really be shopping in the winter.
   
   Anyhow, sources.  Currently, successful known quantities include:
   
   
   
   • Eddie Bauer for the long-sleeved oxford shirt that fits like a glove.  Last time I was in, there were none in stock.
     
   • Brooks Brothers will always carry my cardigan silhouette if I absolutely can't find it anywhere else. (But it's currently out of season.)
   
   If I had to account for how I've actually filled my closet, it's mostly by the usual intermittent good luck at Kohl's and TJMaxx, etc. and thrift.  Kohl's is particularly consistent in yielding items I don't come to regret, but is limited in the sorts of things I can buy there.  Traditionally, if I'm looking to buy something specific, I'll start up a new systematic campaign through every possible store, logging around 20 field hours per item acquired, on average.  (But usually not all in a row.)
   
   The thrift scene needs updated surveillance, as there are only a couple that I feel like getting to in winter weather.  Also wondering if I could find a like-minded buddy.  Hm...
   
   I'd like to find consistent sources for:
   
   
   
   • Holy Grail knit shirts.  These would be short- and long-sleeved, office-grade T-shirts, and tank tops that skip the indecent exposure.
     
   • Trousers.
     
   • Shoes that like me.
     
   • Some line of jeans that I can count on to fit properly would be nice, but I usually manage to find something appropriate, and don't have to go looking all that often.
     
   • A lovely and a abundant selection of "Things I would Live In," above.  But I know that's asking too much.
     
     
4. Glance at your undergarments. Glanced, as briefly as possible.  (Sorry.) 
   
   
5. Fix Velveteen Rabbits that warrant repair.  Ha!  See the sidebar.

Week 3 Piles

At long last. Please forgive any tedium due to lack of photos.

Pants:

• Stalwart Staples, as Superstars are highly improbable, and VRs, TDs, Mysteries, etc, have all been eliminated in real time.
  
  
• Some gray and brown houndstooth from Kohl's last fall are winners - as Stalwart as a Staple could possibly be.
  .
  
• But both of them need repairs to the hems.
  
  
• Jeans: I have them. They're fine.
  
  
• Loungewear: some black yoga pants from Target to be presentable. 
  
  
• Before next winter: I really need to find new decent, ordinary, black dress pants (no, the yoga pants aren't enough).  I've been getting by this year with a pair of wide-legs that are slightly too big (and that I hemmed slightly too short), and a pair in a questionable fiber.
  
  
• A maybe: brown chinos.  I occasionally find myself wanting "non-jeans", and khaki is not particularly my friend.
  
  
• There is a brand that has fit me extraordinarily well in the past.  The pinstriped pair I've had forever is falling apart - enough that I've completely stopped wearing it, so it's not turning up as a Rabbit here, but I keep them on hand for reference.  I have tried finding others on Ebay and the like (though, based on that Google Product search, I should be going to Sears), but have had some difficulty identifying acceptable fabrics (thus the questionable black fiber noted above).  The problem, in addition to the whole midmarket-identity-crisis issue, is that a given synthetic/natural blend can be made to simulate either wool gabardine or ripstop nylon, depending on the fabrication technique, so knowing that an item is 30% polywhatsit only gets you so far.  (But it is better then the sweater I once owned made of "100% Mixed Fibers".)

Shorts:

• Again: Stalwart Staples, as Superstars are highly improbable, and VRs, TDs, Mysteries, etc, have all been eliminated. And what I have is definitely enough.
  
  
• Two pairs of walking-length (black and khaki) that I've had for a couple of years would still be improved upon if I hemmed them just a tad shorter. 

Skirts:

• Skirts are good.  I'll need some more to get me through the summer without dying of boredom. I've been thinking about brown corduroy all winter - though brown in something less seasonal would serve me better.
  
  
• Most of the ones I have are straight-ish or minimally A-line.  Which works for me, but I'm craving something moderately fuller, like the gray one that I bought in last Saturday's marathon.
  
  
• During that shopping trip, S2 pointed out that I also currently seem to be obsessed by pinstripes.
  
  
• It is possible for skirts to attain Superstar status, but I don't think any current ones have.
  
  
• Somehow, I have at least one more khaki-colored skirt than necessary.  I'll lose the one that wrinkles most viciously.
  
  
• One crinkly brown job is an uncertainty.  It may work for casual - I need to remove the beaded crocheted lace from the bottom (don't ask - it was a Panic Purchase) and see how it fares.
  
  
• The black skirt conundrum: Two black skirts on the dressier side.  One is a pencil skirt of an interesting length, the other is straightish with a back flounce but not quite as high quality as the other. (Also: it's stretchy, but has a non-stretch lining.  That seems odd.).  For the moment they're both staying, though neither fits quite right. 
  
  Over the past five years or so, my weight has fluctuated frequently, due in large part to repeated bouts of illness and treatment (nothing life-threatening, just something I have to deal with).  I've never figured out how much weight gain/loss is theoretically equivalent to a change in dress size, but at this point in life, I seem to have a range of almost 20 pounds in which I can mostly wear all the same clothes.  Things don't necessarily fit exactly the same way at both ends, but most still fit objectively well enough.  I know this isn't normal, but I assume it's a side effect of the way I dress and my personal construction.  Regardless, the black pencil skirt is one of the exceptions, and is a bit snug after a long, flare-filled winter.  (Also: it was once part of a three-piece suit purchased and worn as separates.  Same brand, same line, clearly intended to go together, bought on the same day, in the same store - the pants that fit were a 6, the skirt was a 10.)  Since history suggests it's reasonable to expect that to change, it stays.
  
  The skirt with the flounce, on the other hand, is visibly too large, suggesting that it must have been enormous when I bought it, and somehow I didn't notice.   Since I can style it in a couple of ways that make it look like it fits, and since I can't wear the other one at the moment, it also stays.

Dresses:

• Dresses suit me.  Almost any dress that fits properly, is an appropriate color, and is of a style and length I would choose to wear gets shortlisted for Superstar.  This does occasionally make me over-confident, resulting in Mysteries of Many Lost Shopping Trips, which are immediately removed upon exposure.   Exception noted below.
  
  
• I should have more for standard daytime wear.
  
  
• But I may have as many as I need for more formal (including actually formal) occasions. 
  
  
• I have a lot of luck with Calvin Klein, who's widely available as a department store and off-price staple.  But I don't always take the same size, and occasionally I find pieces a touch too long in the measurement from the shoulder to bust - which, since the bust itself usually fits properly,  makes for a very odd fit indeed.
  
  
• Shirt dresses are good on me, but they're sometimes hard to find with plain styling and/or that don't require a truly annoying amount of ironing.
  
  
• I've finally figured out some ways to make wrap dresses work for me without indecent exposure, so I'm on the lookout for the right one(s).
  
  
• Mystery of the Lost Shopping Trip:
  
  
  
  
  
  I have NO idea what I was thinking.  Short, puffy sleeves, empire waist, 4" above the knee, neckline to the bottom of my sternum.  It's jersey (rather nice jersey, actually) so it's kind of...Gothic Lolita sleepwear?  It SAYS it came from the Loft (Stay away from the Loft!) but I don't have a clear memory of purchasing it there.  I'm hoping, for the sake of my dignity, that I was drugged at the time. And, wherever it came from, I have no idea what it's still doing here. 

Lessons and Action Items:

• Stay away from the Loft.
  
• Acquire skirts and dresses preferentially, with an eye toward the office.  Target items as stated above.
  
• Beware of Dress Dazzle to avoid Mysteries.
  

Books are Entertaining

A rather dry statement, though hardly a surprising one for anyone who's known me for a while. 

Like Wende and SCB and doubtless others, I've hit the library shelves for resources in the spirit of Wardrobe Therapy.  So far I've learned that:

• It's important to wear clothes that fit you.
• Black is a neutral.
• You can save money by buying things on sale.

And so forth.  Most of the text is more interesting than that, but little of it more informative.  These books are clearly useful to people...but to people who've already read a dozen recent books on the same subject?  Right.  So why do we keep looking for more?

The same thing happens, of course, with all sorts of topics - decor and productivity spring to mind - which is why the self-help industry is such a cash cow.  And the then there are the quizzes, like we were discussing briefly at Wende's.  Does the average reader of Cosmo really need somebody to tell her that she's the kind of girlfriend who likes to get flowers for no reason at all?  I'm a little curious about what makes us do all this retracking - is it just entertainment, affinity, self-fascination, and/or inaction bias, or is there something more interesting going on? (I'm thinking probably not, but you never know.)

So, I was perusing these redundant books, and I finally asked myself, "What information do I actually want, here?" At this point, I know what I like, what looks good, what works, what I want, all that good stuff.  My primary issue right now is sourcing.

I understood surprisingly late that, for some women, shopping is something you do, something that regularly just happens as a part of ordinary life, akin to watching television or drinking coffee.  Silly me, all these years I've only been going shopping when I'm planning to buy something.  But I bet all those shopaholics have accumulated, along with their consumer debt, a body of knowledge that would come in handy.  When the question is how and where to find what you're looking for, familiarity with the course, so to speak, has to be an advantage.

So, other than a systematic and comprehensive inspection of every store in the mall every month, how do we get to the bottom of this?  There aren't any shortcuts, are there?

Other Top Issues

1. Pile your tops.  See here.
   
   
2. Identify your Joyous Colors.  My personal coloring: hair very red, eyes olive green (as in, the actual color of green olives - perhaps a bit darker), skin fair but not pale - all in all, "stronger" coloring than the classic ghostly pale redhead.  So, going with the eye color thing - warm greens (yes), or the opposite, cool reds (often yes, if dark enough).  Generally, my best colors are jewel tones of most hues and clear, saturated autumn colors.  Blues need warm undertones; reds are darker than true and stay far away from magenta. Especially good: leaf green, deep purple, darker teals, many browns.  I rarely wear lighter colors, now that I think of it, probably because the natural tonal contrast built into my head is fairly high.  That, and the coffee issue.
   
   And so here I suppose I admit to taking advantage of Wende's indulgence anyway.  Because though I like all those colors, I'm not sure I like them with my feelings.  Or, rather, the way they make me feel is happy to be in the presence of something I like, but not much else that I can discern.  I am extremely okay with this.  And I do like colors. 
   
   
3. Turn a stern eye on your support garments.  They've been glared at, sternly.  They are currently too few, which I knew before, but I'm at least convinced that they fit something close to properly.
   
   
4. Fix your Velveteen Rabbits that would benefit from repairs. My Achilles' heel, no? See the sidebar.  I need to figure out some schedule to commit to so that you ladies can properly scourge me if I don't follow through.

Top Piles

So, I've been out shopping too, and my main observation has to do with fibers.  There seem to be three options for summer-weight knits at the moment:

• Nylon.
• Nylon blended with lycra.
• 100% cotton made to resemble nylon blended with lycra, presumably through prolonged application of torture techniques unknown even to Dick Cheney.

On to the tops actually in my closet. Let's go by classification.

The Cardigans

Ok, not them.  These:

I've always been fond of them, but lately the relationship has blossomed into ever so much more.  Starting last fall, I've sort of been trying out a policy of acquiring any reasonably priced cardigan I encounter in a desirable color, and it's working out well, in that my likelihood of being particularly pleased with what I put on any given morning has increased significantly.  Not pictured: Dark purple; Sweater-knit oatmeal hoodie for weekend wear.

Most of these you might call Particularly Stalwart Staples, with forays into Superstardom.

Velveteen Rabbits: The Orange and Brown pictured here were borderline-questionable acquisitions from Ann Taylor Loft last year that haven't worn particularly well.  I keep forgetting to avoid the Loft, since it's a favorite of my two closest girlfriends here, who are little munchkin people with narrow shoulders and a higher tolerance for ruffles than I have.  Anyhow, I've identified potential replacements, and if those come through, these should probably go.

Torture Device/Mystery: The red one with the drape front.  Actually, that was from the Loft, too.  I've found exactly one way I can wear it (under a wide belt with black pencil skirt and white blouse).  Otherwise the fabric goes off in all sorts of weird disorderly directions.

Jackets

Not much to say about these.  For as many as there are, I don't wear them often, but it's often enough that they all stay, for now.

Fixies: two still need their sleeves taken up.  We will go to the tailor.

T-esque Shirts

Here things get interesting, as this is the area that Wende and I have been circling anxiously.  The Holy Grail would have a smooth texture, feminine cut, the right amount of stretch and drape, and band-free finishes.    For me, they would ideally come in long-sleeve, short (or elbow length), and sleeveless/tank, and in every imaginable color.

There are a few standouts here, as at various times in past years it wasn't too hard to find something that fit the criteria at least somewhat.  I have no idea where to find such a thing currently, and am about to resort to searching systematically through every single store at the Escher-Maze Mall.

The good: The short-sleeved navy number up front (Izod, Maxx) A+++ for fit - it's seriously one of the most flattering garments I've ever owned - B for marginally sporty styling.

Long sleeved olive green (Jones Wear Sport, Thrift) - pretty close to ideal, if you're not fussy about crew necks (for me, the cut through the body determines how well I can wear a crew).

Long-sleeved kelly green (not shown) (Liz Claiborne, Maxx) - Rivals the Izod in fit; casual styling puts it out off contention for all but weekend.


More interesting short sleeved things

Superstar: The red shirt up front with the interesting neckline.  Possibly also the brown bat-sleeved sweater.

All others are Stalwart Staples, though the three V-neck, short-sleeved, cable-knit sweaters will be under scrutiny this year. The sleeveless brown woven thing is good for casual in the deepest pits of summer - think about more of those.


Same Time, Next Year: Explicitly winter; special occasion (not shown).

Long-sleeved buttony things

I've found exactly one button-oxford style shirt that fits like a glove - a (mercifully) wrinkle-free number from Eddie Bauer.  I currently have one (navy/brown stripe, not shown - laundry) and intend to get a couple more.  Unless carefully styled these tend to make me look a tad Sock-Hop, but I think I'd like to have them for variety.

Of the two shown, the tealish one is probably just a tad too big, but it's a - well, perhaps not quite a Joyous color, but an unusually cheerful one.  The shear thing pictured is a borderline Diva, in that it has more limitations than most of my wardrobe on where and with what I can wear it.



Sentimental Journeys

I don't know how these haven't gotten culled in past rounds - the pink seersucker belonged to my mother when I was very, very small - it's another one of the very first garments I remember on anyone.  The greenish shell is the first article of clothing I ever made myself - I was about 10, and yes, it still fits (presumably because things were large in the 80s).  I've recently acquired a box for oddball items from childhood that aren't currently being displayed, so a few Journeys will be going in there.

Reparable Rabbits (not shown):

In addition to a trip to the tailor for the red and gray blazers, I need to do the following in-house.  Please hold me to it.  I will shortly be posting my WT to-do list in a sidebar for accountability.

• Replace several buttons on tan button shirt.
• Fix frayed hem on B+ brown t-shirt.
• Fix seams on camel and red turtlenecks (winter wear)

Not shown: ribbed tanks and cotton camisoles.  Broadening color selection of the latter could compensate slightly for absence of the Holy Grail T-shirt.

Lessons and Action Items:

1. Stay away from the Loft.
2. The cardigan experiment is a success.  Continue to pursue with abandon.
3. Get creative with the quest for the Grail.
4. Hit up Eddie Bauer and Old Navy for a few more of their respective Known Quantity Offerings.
5. One more sleeveless shirt for being presentable for casual summer occasions?
6. Fix things.

WT-Related Quandries I Already Know I Have, and Other Reflections

This is what the inside of my brain looked like when I sat down to write this post:

So you can see why I felt the need to get it down on paper.  Ahem.

• I've lately been fascinated by the idea of saddle shoes.  I really don't know how I could make them work for me.

• Problem: transitional season.  I finally figured out that it's a lot easier to wear skirts whenever possible.  I know there are still people who run around in dresses almost every day all winter in the north country, but despite the abundance of advice about layered tights, that's not going to happen for me.  I currently have a cast of pants that work well enough that I don't resent wearing them, but I figure that if I mostly reserve them for occasions when they're climatologically necessary, I won't have to find replacements as often; skirts are far easier to fit.
  
  The problem lies beneath.  April (etc.) is time for neither bare legs nor woolly tights, and ordinary sheer stockings have their useful limits, especially when the aesthetic being supported calls for something other than sensible business pumps.  But I definitely feel weird in most of the patterned stockings I've tried, though I've had some luck layering them over solids.  I think it's mostly a matter of scale.  So I'm trying to figure this out.
  
  Not as problematic, though far from obvious, is what comes in between knee-high boots and sandals (not ballet flats - they look gimmicky on me, most of them hurt my arches, and I feel like I'm standing in a hole).  Especially if we get a replay of last year's monsoons.
  
  Slightly related rant: What is it with the movement of the last few years insisting that women outside the sex trade embrace fishnet stockings?  I don't understand it at all.

• I need someone to explain the difference between different types of hair styling products and how to purchase them, if desired (because except for "mousse" and "gel", the categories typically discussed in the beauty press never seem to match up to the product names on the shelf).

• Note to self: STOP trying new colors of lipstick.  When was the last time that worked out well, hm?

• My mother often tells people that I was born at 40, meaning that I spring from the womb as an 8-pound, middle aged person.  She's spot-on there, though we've only occasionally discussed what it was like to be the 20-something caretaker of a toddler of a certain age.  In reality, I turned 30 last summer and have started to notice that I feel far more like a real person than ever before.  This is a good thing.  But I suspect it's contributing to minor style confusion. (I think I'm navigating the confusion very well, but it's confusion still.)
  
  I'm finding myself drawn to, and able to successfully pull off, things that never seemed to work before.  Larger scarves, brooches, drop earrings, slightly (very slightly) more interesting shoes.  I had a momentary existential crisis one morning as I was getting dressed and felt (gasp) bored with my gold hoop earrings.  Now, I don't think I'm at risk of becoming fun (I'm quite unfun), but my most successful recent efforts have been refining in a clear direction, and I think I'd do well to expand on the pattern.  I've started by accumulating an unseemly number of very plain cardigan sweaters, but every time I start to second-guess myself about them, I put one on and notice how devastatingly legitimate I feel. 
  
  
• In conjunction with the above, a functional rendition of the old notion of "accessorize your fabulous basics" has suddenly clicked for me.

Some other things I could add, but I think I'll wait to address them with weekly assignments.

WTW1 - Assignments

Week 1!

1. Remove one (and only one!) unsuccessful item from your wardrobe.
   
   I've done a decent job with regular purges lately, and I unloaded a couple of bags just before Wende suggested the current round of WT.  A few things that left included a MotLST dress that made me look like a cross between a colorblind Bavarian milkmaid and Sam Spade's secretary; a severely rabbited four-season silk sweater (originally from Talbot's, but I got it second-hand ages ago); a gray skirt that has hung in my closet for ages looking cheaper and cheaper; and a maroon cotton sweater that would decently represent my Brooks Brothers-prep side if it were six sizes smaller and not such a magnet for cat hair. There are other things that could go (the medicine cabinet is due for a sort), but I think I should wait for weekly assignments and work through it systematically.
   
   
2. Do the opening questionnaire.  Here.
   
   
3. Find yourself some sources of inspiration on personal style.
   
   I feel like I have a pretty good handle on where I'm going by now.  But, also before the start of this WT, I started collecting images looking featuring intriguing variations on the theme, or color combos to remember, or things like that.  (I was hitting the academichics kind of hard - I can wear heels regularly - but for fashion-conscious types who find it noteworthy when they wear the same outfit twice in a season, they look alike most of the time. But, man, they're cute for grad students.)  I'll try to put something together that shows what I'm going for, since I may need to request some sourcing help at some point.
   
   
4. Do something that makes you feel good about your body.
   
   Well...since the start of WT, I've spent about four days in bed with an atrocious cold, which doesn't exactly make me feel good about my body, but did seem to make my body feel better, after a fashion.  Also, I had a dental cleaning this morning.  This isn't something I particularly enjoy, but I seem to tolerate it better than most people, and I like getting praise for my perfect teeth (perfect in this case meaning cosmetically acceptable but clinically awesome). 
   
   After being ill-ish since Thanksgiving, I'm finally (knock on wood) feeling consistently better (other than the virus) and itching to get more exercise.  I accept that I'm usually going to gain weight during a longer-term flare, what between weird medications, zero energy, and frequent bouts of feeling nauseous whenever I go for 20 minutes without eating bread.  Since I'm pretty well balanced in the whole body image department, this doesn't stress me out much, but now that I'm feeling healthier in the "my immune system has been persuaded to pause in its ongoing campaign to devour my connective tissues" sense, I'm ready to feel healthier in the "balanced diet and more or less in shape" sense.

WT Interview

New WT, new interview:

The NEW (if not Improved) Opening Questionnaire

1. Thinking primarily (but not necessarily exclusively) about looks, who's your favorite performer of your own gender and species? Why?
   
   Possibly Susan Sarandon on a good day (though, based on my image search, there are a lot of bad days...)
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. If you could live in any historic era with a really good clothing budget (as well as soap, toothpaste, and delicing as needed), when would you choose?
   
   It seems to be the popular choice, but I'm also going Postwar.  It just suits me all over.  And you don't even need to mess with space-time continuum for basic sanitation.
   
   
3. What's your favorite painting or other form of visual art? Why?
   
   In general, I prefer to look at design and craft than at art - architecture, furniture, textiles, jewelry.  As art proper goes, I run toward expressionism.  In both cases, I guess I'm kind of into the 20th century.  The Art Institute of Chicago opened a new Modern Wing last year, and my favorites the last time I visited were:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Franz Marc - The Bewitched Mill 1913
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Jackson Pollock - The Key 1946.  
   I mostly like this because the notion of a Pollock landscape is so intriguing.
   
   
   Some of my other favorites from the AIC collection are here.  And though Cookbook beat me to it, I'm also a fan of Charley Harper.  Also the more colorful offerings of Alex Beard.
   
   
4. What is your first memory in which clothes are important?
   
   The first item of clothing I can think of is an awful pale blue floral maternity smock that my mother was wearing (while pregnant) in 1982.  The first item of my own clothing I remember is a teal blue terrycloth shirt with a pink and orange satin applique butterfly, that I wore through most of my early elementary years.  At the time, I also wore a school uniform (a burgundy jumper). 
   
   After I left that school, I remember being embarrassed and annoyed that my mother bought me a pair of thin-whale yellow corduroy pants - apparently, they were totally out of style, but I thought it would be childish of me to tell her that, so I wore them and hated it - a lot off my memories from that period were along those lines.  This didn't turn me into a rebel fashionista - on the contrary, I suffered for ages with the notion that wearing clothes you hate is a necessary part of dignified maturity.  Thankfully, I got over it, but not nearly soon enough.
   
   
5. What is your favorite garment ever? Why?
   
   I don't usually do well with superlatives, so the next few questions will peeve me slightly.  I guess probably the mandarin-collar cocktail dress - black satin with green, gold and pink.  I got it for $12 at a second hand store in Ithaca my senior year of college.
   
   
6. What is your favorite garment in your wardrobe right now?
   
   I still have the dress above, but as far as things that see more regular rotation, a brown lace over teal sheath dress I got about 5 years ago for about $10 on clearance.
   
   
7. What is the worst clothing purchase you can remember making?
   
   I've gotten good at getting rid of misguided purchases pretty quickly. I'm having a very hard time thinking of any that are particularly picturesque. 
   
   
8. What's your most embarrassing clothing-related memory other than a bad purchase?
   
   It would probably involve wearing a pair of pants with a safety-pinned hem for their entire useful life.  Because no, that hasn't happened more than once.
   
   
9. What body part (no more than three!) are you proud of and expect compliments on?
   
   Hair, eyes, shoulders (they're very straight).  Though I don't suppose I expect compliments on the last, at least not from the general public, because that would be weird.
   
   
10. What body part (again, no more than three!) seems to require management, if not coaxing, cajoling, and sometimes outright begging if it's to please you?
    
    Gah, I don't like talking about that sort of thing.  There are issues, but I basically like what I've got.  One safe sample - I naturally carry more weight in my face and hands than I'd like, but there's not a great deal of cajoling to be done with either of those.
    
    
11. If you could dress however you wanted all the time, what might you include?
    
    Skirts and sweaters, which isn't far off how I dress anyhow.
    
12. If you could shop at any store (or from any designer), which would you choose?
    
    I don't have aspirational targets that I can identify.  I suppose if money were no object, I'd just buy the highest available quality versions of the same styles I choose anyway.
    
    
13. Where do you ordinarily shop now?
    
    Over the past year, almost exclusively Kohl's, Carson's, Target, and the thrift store in Wood Dale.
    
    
14. What clothing, accessory, or prettifying need (if any) do you enjoy shopping for?
    
    Dresses. I'm one of the fortunate few for whom dresses minimize the fit issues.  Also jewelery.
    
    
15. Which one do you most loathe shopping for?
    
    Trousers of all types, and usually shoes.
    
    
16. Do you consider yourself low-, medium-, or high-maintenance?
    
    Medium.  I don't dry my hair, but I do brush it. I use multiple skin care products, but I buy them all at Target.  I wear makeup most days, but if pressed could make it from bed to door in 20 minutes without skipping anything.
    
    
17. What are the two most frequent occasions that you dress for and how would you describe them?
    
    Work - assorted business casual; for me, usually the skirt-and-sweater thing.  I'm glad it's getting warm enough that skirts are regularly doable again.
    
    Non-work casual - either the same as work, dressed down, or jeans with shirt/blouse/sweater-knit hoodie.
    
    
18. What was your favorite Hallowe'en costume ever?
    
    I don't care for Halloween and never did, even as a child (not for reasons of religious or dental fervor, for the record - it's just a matter of preference).  I remember being a clown at 3, probably because there are pictures, but not much else.
    
    
19. What do you see as the current problem(s) with your wardrobe and/or look?
    
    
    
    • My template is shifting, and I'm missing some building blocks.
      
    • I never get around to fixing things.  As usual.
      
      
20. At the end of WT, what lovely compliments do you want onlookers to give you?
    
    
"You always look very nice."  I'm pretty straightforward.

Week 5 - Leftovers, and Wende is Difficult

This week in Chicagoland...

Lots of snow and bitter cold, plus the governor got arrested, which surprised no one but the governor himself, and upset no one but (possibly) his wife.

Me, I had a little Christmas party on Thursday, where we spent several hours wrapping a ton of gifts for various church benevolence projects. I also locked my keys in the car on Tuesday and spent the entire afternoon in a gas station a block away from my office - couldn't leave, of course, because I had to wait for the tow truck, which was slow in coming because we were in the middle of a snow storm and he doubtless had more desperate people to rescue. Convenient though, since I'd just come from the doctor, who told me my blood pressure was too low and ordered me to consume beverages and salty food. And what else is there to do in a gas station but just that?

Back to WT. Directives live here.

Breath - I piled my jewelry last year, and nothing much has changed since; Wende is correct in supposing that nothing else needs to be piled. I'm ok as this stuff goes.

Bones - Done. There's really nothing broken.

Head - Here's the thing - I've unconsciously moved away from neutrals on top almost completely, and toward bold colors most of the time. But a lot of my necklace wardrobe served as accent color when I wore more neutrals. I need to intentionally think through how things should pair up now. Either that, or add one or two more substantial, investment-type pieces in metals. Probably both.

Heart - Here's where Wende becomes difficult.

• Looking over the items from past weeks that suit you and make you happy (particularly the Superstars), what features (shape, color, fabric, etc.) define your personal style?
• If you had to sum up your personal style in 5 words or fewer, what would those words be?
• How does that style connect to your values?

Okay...

1. The consistently successful elements are:

• Strong color (usually solid)
  
• Uncomplicated design
• Moderate styling
  
• Soft but shaped construction
• Drape and flow
  
• Flexible formality (dress up/dress down ability)
• Natural fit and motion
• Disinclined to get in the way or call for attention while being worn
  

2. My personal style, as derived from the above, should probably be described as straightforward. Yes, I know Wende was more generous than Sally in descriptor allotment, but I came up with one word anyway.

3. How does this connect to my values?

Though I'd a thousand times rather live exclusively inside my skull, frolicking with ideas, when I do have to venture into the corporeal, I'm a rigorous pragmatist. I don't have much patience for idealism, and can be unsentimental to a degree some people consider frightening (or so I've been told). [Example: I hate Thanksgiving, because the conventional mode of celebration does absolutely nothing to encourage me to feel thankful. My preference would be to make it over to my specifications*, which is socially unacceptable because apparently most people have gotten their emotions all mixed in with great-aunt Gertrude's sweet potato recipe.]

My natural question, for most everything from holiday tradition to closet organization, is, does it work? It's an orientation could be mistaken for the barren, utilitarian aesthetic which is actually only characteristic of male engineers, but that isn't it at all. In truth, it's the high functionality - the "working-ness" - that delights me. It's eliminating the non-working-ness that gives me the charge of significance. This is why AT advice on storing unused extension cords neatly tied with grosgrain ribbons color-coordinated with your kitchen decor gives me hives. Rubber bands work; therefore, rubber bands make me happy. And by extension, opening the drawer to see a less functional but more attractive arrangement would actually make me unhappy.

So it's not that I don't have preferences about how things look, it's that those preferences include an aesthetic reaction to practicality. And yes, I think my "straightforward" style connects. Functionality notwithstanding, it would be different if I felt like playing games with my clothes. Some people do. But not me. I'm not really very much fun, but to the extent that I am, I prefer to play with my ideas, instead.


*Starting with swapping out the turkey for lobster, an idea I've been pushing for over a decade before it caught attention in the media this year as an economic choice, and which, for me, has nothing to do with the fact that the Pilgrims lived in New England, and everything to do with the fact that I don't like roasted turkey.

Week 4 - Shoes, Purses, Outerwear

Eventful times here in our corner of the blogosphere, aren't they? My holiday weekend was intentionally quiet. I hung out here, spent the day with a local friend's family, and accompanied the same friends to see Wicked (probably not something I would have sought out on my own, but fun).

In between times were spent in necessary rest. I was very sick at the beginning of November with what has turned out not to be a bad virus, as it appeared to be at the time, but the start of a flare of a chronic condition (basically this) that previously hadn't bothered me at all in several years. The net result is that for most of the time since then I've been feeling tired, dizzy, queasy and generically lousy with a smattering of aches, pains, sensitivities, weird skin stuff, and hamburger cravings. (Seriously. When the condition is active it messes with my blood counts, and I'm currently anemic enough that red meat is a far better pick-me-up than coffee.) It could be far worse, but there's no quick way to deal with it, so, best case, I'm anticipating a few more weeks or months of generalized Bleh (thankfully, not unmitigated Bleh; some days are better than others).

So, anyway, I'm relieved that I can do this week's piling in my head while lying on the couch. It finally snowed here last night, so I've pulled out the last of the winter-wear. I also broke my snow brush shoveling out this morning. Grr.

Breath: Piles.

• Coats: Good. I have a couple to get rid of, too.
  
• Gloves and hats: Need a better hat (got plans); another pair of leather gloves would also be good.
  
• Scarves worn primarily for warmth rather than for decoration: Good.
  
• Shoes and boots: need to replace brown loafers.
  
• Socks and stockings: re-evaluating my sock strategy. But good for now.
  
• Purses: Good.
  

Bones: One button to sew on, and lots of shoe polishing. Not done yet.

Head: Evaluate the workability of current maintenance equipment and arrangements.
Decided to get a larger drying rack. Otherwise, everything seems to be fine, which means that any resistance to maintenance I still experience is strictly internal.

Heart: Where Wende gets tough:

• What's your Status Symbol? That is, what quality do you want people to value you for?
• Do you want this quality to be reflected in your wardrobe? You're allowed to say "no." It's possible that the role of your wardrobe is to fit in quietly, rather than to make a statement.
• If you want this quality reflected in your attire, how?
  
• Is there any garment or accessory that you always wear? If so, what does it represent to you? What about items that you frequently wear or that you ritually wear on certain occasions?

a) I want people to regard me as intelligent in a manner that's worth respecting.

b & c) I don't want this quality to be countermanded by my wardrobe, so if something about my wardrobe were working against me, I'd want to change it, but otherwise, I'm not up to engineering a message.

d) I wear hoop earrings 95% of the time. Optimum size is 0.5"-0.75". I don't know that they represent anything in particular, but anything with more or less motion (i.e., studs or dangly things, respectively) just doesn't feel right. Out of habit, I also always wear a wristwatch and rings, though my hands have been too swollen for the latter in recent weeks (see above).