Casual Tuesday

I put on my new cocoon top today (cold as it was) and my kid told me it was bland and my husband told me it was meh. Admittedly, I asked them for their true opinions. I'm inclined to agree that it's not quite optimally drapey in the French terry. Don't worry - I'm wearing it as a lounge top even as I write (this thing is comfort and softness incarnate). And the next one I make, in bamboo, will have the drape that M and I appreciate about the first version (which didn't fit me well and which she gladly took).

Instead, I wore this:

Denim leggings, you say? I thought you were changing it up. Well, we had a staff "retreat" today and, between that and intense PMS, there was no way I was wearing something with buttons around my waist. So, this ain't a nod to my new style but it did facilitate the eating of grilled cheese sandwiches at lunch. In case you're wondering, I couldn't wear the new Club Monaco pants today because I already wore them yesterday. And I love them.

A couple of other things:

• That's the Aisance cardigan, btw, which I finished 15 months ago. It's one of the handmade sweaters I wear the most. In truth, I barely wear any handmade sweaters so I'm just about finished with making them. Till I get a knitting machine (and learn how to use it), I think I'll hand knit accessories. They get much more wear. I should say that the Shibui Staccato silk/merino blend is quick to pill and to stretch (neither comes as a surprise). I wouldn't use it for a sweater again, much though I appreciate its silky drape and hand. The pilling and stretching age it.

• I went out shopping (again) on Sunday - ostensibly for a friend who ended up finding my fab new Pilcro Superscripts in my perfect shade of dark wash. They're fancy denim - like, to wear with the cashmere or a tailored jacket. Not sure if I mentioned this but, after buying my first pair (on sale), I went to the Anthro website to get a second pair. In the time it took me to make up my mind about whether this was a sound idea (a couple of hours) they were sold out in my size. Live and learn. So I vowed that, if I could find another pair, I'd snap them up - price be damned. And then, less than a week later, my wish came true, but better - cuz who wants the same pair of pants twice when there's a dark wash to be had. (They're slightly different in the front pocket detail too). They looked as great on my friend (totally diff shape than me) as they do on me, so we both bought them. And then we discovered they were on sale for 20 per cent off. Ain't the 40 per cent off that I got on the first pair, but I'll happily take it! The trouser denim dilemma is resolved.

• I should hire my friend Jeanette to take my photos because she really gets it. I want you to know (lest you concur that I don't look overly PMS-bloaty here) that it truly is the power of camera magic. Prior to bossing me into positions, she took a bunch of Kristin freestyle shots that were hideous. Unusable. Then, she suggested I stick my chin out in a certain way, move to a place with a plain background, cross my legs demurely and I look adorable. You cannot even see the zit on my chin! At the retreat, later in the day, there were a dozen "candid" pics of me taken (and distributed??!) and they are SO horrendous that I'm inclined to force everyone with access to them to press delete. Like double-chin, pale and blotchy, top-heavy hideous. In truth - and this is in no way self-pitying cuz I'm over that! - one of the things I miss about my slimmer stature is the relative ease with which I could take a photo that made me look slim. :-) I have never been a particularly photogenic person but my thinnest iteration is kind in pics. No mind, it can still be done with a bit of skill - so read up on Gillian's Better Picture Project series and learn. Or bribe a friend who knows what she's doing. That works too.

PS: Needless to say, Gillian's series is not about taking photos to make oneself look slim because what an unnecessary aim! I blur those lines for myself because I like a photo that highlights this trait and I figure, why not be honest about it? Perhaps it's 30 years of fashion mags (though I have never once felt remotely bad about myself because of a supermodel's beauty. Um, it's her freakin' job. She should be good at it!) Maybe it's just my preference. Whatevs. Just want to clarify...