leahbrier.com

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I have been bored with a lot of stuff in my wardrobe lately. Older things that I once loved have either become dull and boring or have faded in the wash after years of wear. But instead of continuing to shop like I have all the money in the world (I was on a really bad spending spree before I got sick — happily living beyond my well-dressed means), I decided to cut away the staleness and create something new. Instead of an emotional cutter, I’m a wardrobe cutter. When all else fails, and I’m bored (in life and in wardrobe) new clothes help cheer things up.

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1. I have been cutting t-shirts. I promise they are not too 80′s, but they are great for yoga (I cut the sleeves and neck off my favorite Hanes white v-necks for a little more roominess).

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2. I cut a favorite pair of jeans today that was just too plain. I turned them inside out, marked where I wanted to cut, lined the two legs up and snipped a few inches off the ends (I cut a few centimeters longer than the mark in case I needed extra material to make up for shaky hands).

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Cutting can be a great release — and a cost-free solution to the wardrobe blahs.

This past weekend, cooped up at home, I got to watch one of my favorite movies, Keeping the Faith with Edward Norton, Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman. It may be a predictable love story, but I just love the characters — it’s a walking punch line about a when a Priest and Rabbi and a leggy blonde fall into a love triangle!

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But the movie made me think about something else that is a very subtle story line in the overall plot. Jenna Elfman’s character is a workaholic who is attached, both physically and mentally, to her cellphone. At one point, while her phone is hidden inconspicuously in a garter under her dress, she declares, “You don’t understand. I have a relationship with my phone, we have a chemistry together, I can’t explain it.”

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IT’S TRUE! I get a lot of grief from people, friends and family, about my teeny, tiny obsession with my phone, but I do have a relationship with it — it’s a sweet and loving and reciprocal relationship at that. I give my phone the charging time it needs and it gives me access to everything and everyone I need.

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Note: Mediated-communication rant beginning!

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I am no less connected to my friends and family due to my infatuation with my blackberry, in fact I am more connected. I am able to respond to emails instantaneously, call anytime and from anywhere (within reason, thanks to At&T). I don’t believe that mediated communication of any sort, including cellphones, email, instant messenger, etc. are distancing us from each other. We need to simply embrace the fact that the medium in which we are communicating has changed, but the message hasn’t. Perhaps now that mediated communication is so ubiquitous, the message is more important than the medium — TAKE THAT MARSHALL MCCLUHAN! And once we begin to understand that we can start working on things like properly evoking emotions in written emails and texts and stopping making excuses about that flaw.

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Note: Mediated-communication rant ended!

Blair Waldorf may have brought the trend to primetime television, but I believe that I have officially embraced the bow and made it a part of my style! I wear a small bow barrette in my hair, on the right side, almost everyday. It’s the perfect punctuation point on nearly any outfit.

If I had to describe my style overall I would call it “The Best of Both Worlds”. I think I have a way of combining things that ordinarily would never be paired up. Whether that be colors, patterns, textures, trends, seasonal pieces, etc. I like making things my own, and I think adding a bow does a perfect job of making an ensemble a little less obvious and a little more extraordinary.

BOW TO THE BOW!

Thank Triton it’s Friday

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I have a really good memory. With cities I think it is even photographic. I can remember the lay of the land after only one walk around. But what is even more remarkable is my ability to remember clothing as distinctly, if not more so, than anything else in my memories. I remember the first time I slept over my grandparents’ house in Eastchester, NY. (We called it ‘the short house’  because ‘the long house’ was in Massachusetts — a longer drive away.) I don’t remember much about the sleepover itself, but I remember what pajamas I wore, I remember fighting with my mom about wanting to wear my purple “ragamuffin” dress but ended up wearing a very seasonally appropriate, fall red, gold and brown, corduroy dress.

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My mom didn’t dress us up for occasions the way some parents do. My brother and I never had corresponding outfits, and all things considered I always had a lot of freedom in choosing my own clothes. But I think the care she put into helping me create my own style is the reason the images are still so clear in my mind, and why my personal style is so eclectic and individual to this day!

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There are other adorable kids with real style at Planet Awesome Kid (Thanks for Refinery29!)