My SJP T-shirt

And now for something completely different.

Remember how disappointed I was with the quality and fir of most of the SJP clothes I saw at Steve and Barry's? Remember how disappointed that I was only able to bring home one t-shirt? I do love that t-shirt though. I wear it every chance I get and it makes me look good. Shapely yet modest. I think I'm going to have to go back. I think it was the shirt-tail hem-tee, if anybody cares. I couldn't find a good picture on her site. The only one they show is underneath the v-neck dress.

Here it is Friday & I'm Still Adrift

A week away from school starting and . . . I am adrift on the sea of hormones (not in a good way). At least this will be past by the time I am in class with my students.

I lifted weights last night while going through a particularly low and anxious moment. It really helped. By the time my honey got home I was not a raving lunatic any more. I need to go out for a walk, but the same construction workers down the street that amused me a couple of weeks ago make me edgy now/today.

I want to wear my old comfy clothes today, but they make me feel frumpy instead of comfortable. I guess I should just hit the shower and wash up, give myself a facial and change into clothes that are more perky.

It amazes me that humoring my need to be a hermit does not make me feel better. I actually feel worse. It takes a certain amount of energy to look good, but I am not comfortable being a self-fulfilling prophecy. (I feel frumpy therefore I will look frumpy therefore I will be frumpy)

I WANT OUT OF MY OWN HEAD!!!! Agh!!!

Lost in Glamour

I picked up the September Issue of Glamour yesterday.

This one:

With the cover story
"Look and Feel Your sexiest at 20, 30, 40
The hair, the skin, the body, the secrets!"

Aside from the fact that I guess once you turn 50 you have no need to be recognized or sexy (but I'll get back to that later), I really have enjoyed and been quite immersed in the magazine. (This is probably the 2nd Glamour I've ever bought in my life. I don't know what's coming over me lately.)

I especially liked the part where several celebrities talked about the best and worst of the aforementioned decades. Iman said the worst part of being in her forties was worrying about being old, but when she got to be in her early 50's she realized how young she actually was. It reminded me of how I felt the week before I turned thirty. I got over that pretty quickly. I'm not sure how the being old worries are going now that I am forty.

I know I am getting sick of being told what should not concern me/ is not suitable for a woman my age: Being sexy; I want to be "classic" now. Going to certain clubs with good music and fun dancing; I now should be concerned with "fine dining and wonderful conversation." I am always second guessing my clothing choices and the shops I go into. I'm wondering if the things I love to do are "appropriate" for someone my age. I think I'm supposed to give up an being adventurous soon. (I haven't even started having adventures yet.) I feel like I've spent the first half of my life "too young," and I'm about to spend the next half of my life "too old." And the short moment when I was "just right" flew past without even letting me know it had arrive.

Yeah. . . I know I'm whining. I'm just as old as I let myself feel, and who are "they" to tell me what I can and cannot do. I don't think I've ever truly believed in societal messages before this time in my life, but I see them where ever I turn these days, and I say to myself, "No wonder you want to keep your age a secret. No wonder you are having such a hard time liking yourself when everyone seems to have such a long list of stereotypes you won't live up to."

The hardest one is that a woman who won't accept these stereotypes and act as expected is making some kind of fool of herself.

I thought it was hard to battle the "Good Mother" stereotype. They just keep getting piled on. I am waiting for the day that I will have the courage to say "F this!" and be who I really am.

There are just so many levels that compete against each other. I am respectable: a mom, a teacher, a business woman, but I have a wild side that never got expressed when I was younger and it cries out that it won't be shut down forever. I need to balance them. I don't know how.

But I comfort myself with the realization that no matter how much I hate all the messages about what I am supposed to do with myself during this decade of my life, in the next decade I will apparently become invisible and of no interest to any kind of advertiser except those that sell fiber supplements to keep me regular.

I'm feeling a little . . .

Satisfied.

I really do feel less than contented quite often. Summer just doesn't seem like the time somehow.

Yay for NASA!!!!

I am so happy to see Barbara Morgan on this shuttle mission. I'm not happy just because she is a teacher. I'm not happy only because she is bringing closure to what Christa McAuliffe started in 1986. This is not exciting strictly because she is 55. It is exciting because she seems to be living her dreams. I know several people who work for NASA, and I admire each and every one of them. They are smart, determined people who have the guts to persevere and realize their dreams.

From what I've read about Morgan, I would also admire her as a teacher in the classroom too. The Chicago Tribune published an article about her on August 8th that describes her as a teacher who rarely lectured, preferring her students to have a hands-on experience with her subject. I love a quote from her that was published in that article: "You can't really learn about something until you get a little bit on you." She is so right. I try everyday to bring a little of that to my students in my own classroom. I am almost apologetic when I have to lecture.

A colleague described her as "always looking for those breakthrough moments." She said that Morgan interviewed her students about what they wanted to know about space while she was going through the selection process for the original "Teacher in Space" program. Wouldn't it be nice to be known that way?

I'm just getting sick of all the coverage that talks about her in a tone that implies that the "real" astronauts are so kind to let her "help out" with some of the little tasks on the mission like operating the Robotic Arm. The woman has worked at this for 22 years! She is a full-fledged, completely trained astronaut. Her job is to operate the robotic arm. That is what she was trained to do. Give me a break. She's not "so cute." She is the Real Deal. (As an Astronaut and as an educator.)

Godspeed, Barbara Morgan. Godspeed, Endeavour Crew!

Designers vs. Knock-offs

Apparently, according to the Chicago Tribune, clothing designers are taking action against manufacturers that make knock-offs. They want their designs to be protected by copyright laws in the same way that other intellectual property is.

Hmm. This is a tough one. As it currently stands, as long as a look alike doesn't have the designer's label on it, it is ok to reproduce the garment. I understand that a designer does not want to lose out on any sales that their creation might generate. Believe me, I get that.

But quotes like these make me wonder if these designers in particular get the point:

[Narcisc0] Rodriguez, who designed the dress that Carolyn Bessette wore at her 1996 wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr., said 8 million copies of that dress flooded the market.

'It's very harmful to my business,' he said.

I'm sure that all 8 million of those women would have paid the full designer price for that gown if they had not had more reasonable alternatives.

I read somewhere (Brenda Kinsel, maybe) that the fashion industry understands that their true money making potential does not lie with designer sales because they know very few consumers have $1500 for a blouse. Their true potential lies with the copies that are made and sold at Walmart, Target, and Dress Barn where the average woman goes to shop. The value of a designer is that they create a piece or two a season that normal women would be glad to be seen in. The designer that does this most often gets to be the most popular. That is why original designs cost so much (less sales of the actual design) and then the trickle down begins.

I was also under the impression that, at least initially somehow, the designer gets compensated for his or her work. Maybe through the licensing to upscale retail chains and boutiques. Therefore I do feel kind of sorry for one designer in the article.

Dana Foley, a designer with a chic Lower East Side boutique, said the retailer Forever 21 has copied her twice.

"We don't even know how they knocked off the last one because it's not even in stores yet," she said. "It cuts our legs out from underneath us in terms of building a brand, an identity."

Foley said her dresses cost $300 to $400, while the Forever 21 version sells for $29.99.

Yet, I repeat that more women have $29.99 to spend on a dress than have $300-400. I suspect this is whyt he laws are written the way they are.

But, the real outcome of this whole debate will lie not with the designers but with the manufacturers/retailers. If they believe that knock-offs ruin their business, intellectual property rights will be upheld. . . . but it won't be the designers who get the benefit because contracts will immediately be written in a way that makes it impossible to mass produce garments unless all "rights" have been signed over to the manufacturer/retailer and they will claim the cash not the creator of the design.

Just ask the record companies and the musicians that write and sing the songs how that works.

Could this be as good as being carded?

I was out shopping today and was called "Miss"!

Whoo Hoo! Feels so good. Probably was a salesperson that had discovered that customers respond so much more happily to that word than the other, higher, nasal, and more annoyed "Ma'am." But I don't care. I almost feel like I was carded.

I Love My Contacts (lenses that is)

Got new contacts the other day. I have worn lenses in the past but have always ended up decided that I cannot stand the nagging "hair in my eye" feeling. I get cranky. I put them away and I never wear them again after about two days.

I just got some silicone hydrogel ones (Accuvue Oasys, I think). From the moment I put them on in the Dr's office, I can barely tell they are there. the Dr. was surprised because he said I should have felt something since I haven't worn any contacts in about 6 years. They are amazing. They sort of freak me out by how good they feel.

But the best part is . . .

I don't look like someone's grandmother anymore in pictures!!!!! I have to look at least 5 years younger than I did before. And when I'm out in the stores, I get lots of help from male employees. Not that I am looking for attention, mind you. (One night out with the PG's I discovered that there is only one guy I want attention from.) It is just an indication that someone besides myself notices these things. It tells me that my remodeling efforts are working.

I told my Honey that I thought I look Great!! in the new contacts. He laughed and said, "So that means you look like you always do when you take your glasses off."

"But I'm in focus!" I replied with glee.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," he said with a smile. "You've always been in focus to everybody else."

Well, Duh!!! But I'm gonna take it as a compliment anyway.

Today I Feel . . .

Like I have overcome my demons.




Ask me again tomorrow.

Feeling a little

Literate:

Now . . . Shopping in the stores: Bitten

So . . . Yesterday I went shopping with my BFF.

We wanted to check out the Sarah Jessica Parker "Bitten" line of clothes because "Fashion is not a luxury. It is a right." (It is not just the truth. It is her slogan.) Before I talk about what I thought about the clothes, I will say that she is scheduled to be signing autographs at the Randhurst Mall in Mt. Prospect, IL on Friday, Aug 3rd at 2:00 PM. I wish I could be there to shake her hand. I have loved her ever since she was in Square Pegs when we both were children. (By the way, I think I saw Square Pegs on Comcast "On Demand" listed under "Tube Time.")

Anyway, Steve & Barry's partnered with her to create a really nice looking line of clothes for women of every age. Not one piece costs more that $19.98. To see the line you can take a look at their web page conveniently linked here.

The clothes look great. The fabric feels marvelous. This is important to me because I demand that my clothes are soft. Some people have accused me of shopping more with my hands than with my eyes as they watch me plunge my hands into the racks, pulling out whatever pleases my touch, then deciding if it looks good as well.

That said. My body may be weird. But, in the slacks I tried on, size 12's fit my hips and thighs but left that huge gap in the back by my waist. (Typical, I know, but I wanted so much more.) If I picked a pair of trousers that were sized so that my pockets didn't stretch, my back side gapped. Many of the more stylish t-shirts had strange gathers in the armpits. BFF is a size 4-6 and she had many of the same problems. It seemed to me that even though the clothes looked like they cost more that $20.00 on the hanger, they fit like discount clothes on the body.

That doesn't mean that I did not walk away from Steve & Barry's without purchasing something from the Bitten Sarah Jessica Parker Line. I did. I got a very nice blue t-shirt. I have to admit that I like the fact that the clothing line carries several different colors of t-shirt with several different neck lines in each color. And it is SOOO soft. I was just sorry because I had planned on restocking my entire fall wardrobe from her line, and all I was able to take home was one pretty great t-shirt.

Shopping (at Home & in the stores)

As promised, the PG's (Pretty Girls') home show was a unique experience. The vendor was a little company known as Pure Romance and the inventory was a blast. Everything from a spray that makes your skin silky and covers you in pheromones to a unique variety of devices of all shapes kinds and colors. I could go into detail, but I could not describe the inventory as well as their web page can.

Every time I attend one of these home show things, I wonder how lucrative they actually are. Is anyone really making $4000 a month running a home show business? Which one is it? And how do you manage to do it?

Needless to say, this party got pretty rowdy. From the girl who decided she loved us all and would maim any man who tried to break one of our hearts to the woman who suggested that one of the devices could be cleaned just by "throwing it in the dishwasher," it was a blast of an evening. Just as I knew it would be. I'd love to tell you more, but we were all sworn to secrecy as the evening began.

Does anybody have an outrageous home show party story they would like to share? I would love to hear it.