A Saturday morning rant:
This is why "fashion" aggravates me. Taking a break from cleaning house (I'm finally getting to it!), I flipped on the tv at just the tail end of one of those little fashion dealies that the morning magazine-shows do (a sidenote: when did they take away cartoons from Saturday morning?). The commentator, referring to Pashmina shawls, remarked "Pashmina is over...you shouldn't wear it as a wrap." She did toss out the bone that you could wear it as a big scarf, and the talking head with her acknowledged that yes, she had seen that.

Pashmina, over? I'm sorry, nothing that expensive and plain in style should ever be over. In my book, "over" is reserved for the cheap and flashy stuff you might buy on a whim. But something that cost $300 or more, new? uh-uh.

I dislike being told what I should and should not wear in a given year. I have a closet full of princess-line dresses that flatter me. I don't give a damn if they are "over" and you're supposed to be wearing shirtwaist dresses now. It's totally stupid. I'm glad the hemline tyrrany of years past is over - I would not be caught dead in a skirt shorter than my kneecaps, because I don't want to be that conscious of what is and is not showing when I walk or sit.

I refuse to buy a new winter coat until the one I own wears out. (And since I have a nice thick Gloverall "Paddington Bear style" coat, I doubt that will be anytime soon).

Part of the reason I knit and sew is that my own sense of style is different - often radically different - from what is considered "ideal" for a given season. I remember years back, when I wanted a plain gray cardigan, how frustrating it was. It was a year when the "colors" were navy blue, black, white, and red. My mother and I (I was about 12 at the time) went to literally every store in the mall looking for a plain gray cardigan.

I didn't knit at that point, and it was something I wanted right then, so making my own wasn't the option it is today.
I finally found one. In the men's department at a Syms. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but I bought it.

(actually, I still have that cardigan. It's a bit tatty now but it still fits and it's still warm. I tend to get attached to my clothes and have a hard time disposing of things that may be "over").

Another thing: I got a J.Jill catalog the other day. I liked a lot of the stuff I saw, but not the prices. Catalog shopping is interesting when you sew. I looked at one of my favorite things, the "washable velvet sweatshirt" (I think it's that stretch velvet stuff) and thought, "Yeah, it's $69. I could probably make three of them for that price." In fact, I just might try making one when I'm home over break.

Another thing I want is a long, full dark brown skirt. Just a plain, solid-colored skirt, made of denim or gabardine or some other sturdy fabric. I told my folks about it (for the Christmas list) but I hope they don't waste too much time trying to find one if they're not the "thing" this year. Because that might be something else I take a whack at making over break. (I've made a lot of the skirts I own; skirts are pretty fast and easy and satisfying to sew). I sort of have a mental picture of what I want: gores, to make it full, and then narrowing at the top, maybe almost a Western or cowgirl style yoke-top on the skirt.

I'm coming to the conclusion that "fashion" is for people who lack the imagination to look at their wardrobes and go "I need an indigo-blue, wrap front top" or "a claret-colored sweater would go so well with so many things I own".

Or it could be that if you can imagine just what you want, the stores will frustrate you, because you're looking at someone else's vision of style rather than your own.

"Fashion can be bought; style one must posess" - Edna Woolman Chase

In other news, I finished the Landlord cardigan last night. It's a bit big and boxy but I gues that's ok. I do have to turn up the sleeves into cuffs, which annoys me. Not enough to take it apart and to try to unpick the sleeves and make them shorter, but it annoys me still.