Sartorial Schizophrenia
All your favorite shows - LOST, The Office, Grey's Anatomy - go on summer hiatus while they go make more shows. Your beloved Viaggiatore is also headed into "rerunland" for a bit, while the crunch of dayjob takes me offshore. This is my first trip back in a while, and the first since I've REALLY felt at home here, so compare-and-contrast opportunities should abound.
The first such shock came tonight as I peered into the corner of my wardrobe known as "dressy work clothes".
I tried on a knee-length turquoise blazer, that I bought at Nordstroms a year and a half ago. I was with The Mom, and she - a good judge of such things - reassured me that it was a great find, very snazzy.
Tonight, I look abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous in it. Laugh out loud funny.
My size hasn't changed.
It's me, I've changed: I own a wardrobe for a life I don't have anymore.
Or rather, my skin no longer feels comfortable in the clothes of the life I used to lead.
Here's the problem: I STILL HAVE TO LEAD THAT LIFE. Because, as I'm fond of saying, sitting in the sun and sipping Chianti doesn't pay the bills.
I feel like a trained monkey or a girl playing dressup in that outfit, and four others like it.
Yes, I hear you saying, "but, Italy is fashion heaven!! Don't you have Gucci and Prada and Armani out your ears? Wear those!" Well. Tuscany, and RURAL Tuscany more specifically, is not the streets of Milan. I would look just as ridiculous here in a swanky Gucci suit as I feel right now in this turquoise getup.
I should reiterate that I am not a nudist here: I do have a wardrobe, and it's a simple but stylish one I that I feel comfortable and confident in. Though it, sadly, will not be sufficient for the upcoming gigs with ye ole day job, which is expecting the girl in the snazzy turquoise blazer, or some iteration thereof.
I never thought I'd wish for a job with a uniform ... but leading two lives is hard enough; DRESSING for both is a project I never considered.
The rebel in me has decided not to take the turquoise monkey suit. Though I'm sure I'll break down and go shopping when I land; I mean ... I won't feel so obviously like a monkey when I'm in the middle of the zoo. Or at least I'll blend with the other monkeys.
But when I get back and have a little quiet time, rest assured there will be some very DC-power-suited homeless folks wandering the streets of Italy.
Anyhow: I'll stay in touch the best I can. Grab a bowl of popcorn and click on the archives to the left if you're lonely.
The first such shock came tonight as I peered into the corner of my wardrobe known as "dressy work clothes".
I tried on a knee-length turquoise blazer, that I bought at Nordstroms a year and a half ago. I was with The Mom, and she - a good judge of such things - reassured me that it was a great find, very snazzy.
Tonight, I look abso-fucking-lutely ridiculous in it. Laugh out loud funny.
My size hasn't changed.
It's me, I've changed: I own a wardrobe for a life I don't have anymore.
Or rather, my skin no longer feels comfortable in the clothes of the life I used to lead.
Here's the problem: I STILL HAVE TO LEAD THAT LIFE. Because, as I'm fond of saying, sitting in the sun and sipping Chianti doesn't pay the bills.
I feel like a trained monkey or a girl playing dressup in that outfit, and four others like it.
Yes, I hear you saying, "but, Italy is fashion heaven!! Don't you have Gucci and Prada and Armani out your ears? Wear those!" Well. Tuscany, and RURAL Tuscany more specifically, is not the streets of Milan. I would look just as ridiculous here in a swanky Gucci suit as I feel right now in this turquoise getup.
I should reiterate that I am not a nudist here: I do have a wardrobe, and it's a simple but stylish one I that I feel comfortable and confident in. Though it, sadly, will not be sufficient for the upcoming gigs with ye ole day job, which is expecting the girl in the snazzy turquoise blazer, or some iteration thereof.
I never thought I'd wish for a job with a uniform ... but leading two lives is hard enough; DRESSING for both is a project I never considered.
The rebel in me has decided not to take the turquoise monkey suit. Though I'm sure I'll break down and go shopping when I land; I mean ... I won't feel so obviously like a monkey when I'm in the middle of the zoo. Or at least I'll blend with the other monkeys.
But when I get back and have a little quiet time, rest assured there will be some very DC-power-suited homeless folks wandering the streets of Italy.
Anyhow: I'll stay in touch the best I can. Grab a bowl of popcorn and click on the archives to the left if you're lonely.
posted by Viaggiatore | 6/15/2006
7 Comments:
Hahahaha! Do I know what you mean? Yes, my dear friend, I do.
I have had some luck mixing things up to re-use my business clothes. Jeans with a Barry Bricken double breasted jacket, a long and floaty gauze skirt with a Max Mara linen cropped jacket. Overall, however, it does feel like a costume. Here goes Super Slave!
Here we wear T shirts and sweaters tight. There it looks like we are overaged hookers if we wear those.
I saved up the more conservative things and packed them for my most recent visit to the US and was dressed entirely in US clothing. A friend came to pick me up and said, "You look so Italian!" Huh?
Have a safe trip! Remember that if you hsve any down time while in DC I could always meet you for lunch/dinner. No pressure as I know "making the rounds" with everyone is difficult.
Love
Unassuming Princess
OMG!! I wore that McDonald's uniform in 1974 for my first job during the summer, with the requisite white plastic shoes. What hideous memories. Hopefully your trip back will not result in such hideous memories....
Although I never owned a Mc Donald's uniform from 1974 (or any other year for that matter) I did wear a uniform for 8 years of my life when I worked on an ambulnace in Indianapolis. It was soooo nice NOT to have to worry about what to wear to work. There are sometimes when I do miss the old days....
Cyn
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