Word One: Clothes

[lostinarcadia]

I'm beginning with the last word. It's the one I found easiest to write about. Mr Arcadia came home and saw my list of words and said, "3 are normal and that last one...oh my God, you're going to go mental, aren't you...?" I replied, meekly, "I've only written 2 pages so far..."

Comments

[feralcheryl]

clothes are your obsession and we, your legion of fans, are forever gateful!

[lostinarcadia]

clothes are your obsession

Um...you know how fish don't see water?? I didn't know I was obsessed...

[quatrefoil]

Lovely - well done. I think it may be more than your hobby, it may be your calling, or at least one of them. And goodness knows I've got more value out of the clothes you made me buy than just about anything else I've bought in the past ten years. When I have money, I'd love to do it again. Beyond that, you make some really good points about what we say and what we think we say with our clothing.

But the reason I have a red suit is because it was $10 and I was willing to pay that for the trousers, and willing to rework the jacket for that cost.

[lostinarcadia]

"I think it may be more than your hobby, it may be your calling, or at least one of them"

Erm... yes... fish...water...obvious...BFO.

I'm glad that your experience of the Shopping Fairy continues to satisfy.

And yes, there are many stories behind Red Suits. But I'll be it was more than just that. Some people wouldn't buy a red suit even at $10 - or free! (But then some people probably don't rock red like you do.)

[infoaddict]

Remind me to employ you as my clothes-godmother next time I'm in Melbourne and needing to buy. Clothing shopping makes me tired and angry more often than not, and someone who Knows The Way Of The Cloth is something I - and others like me - would pay money for.

So there's another depth to clothing. People know it's important and so the act of sourcing clothes can be as important or relevant as the results of the act. "I found this gorgeous handbag when trying to buy a pair of work pants", or "I went in for a pair of black court shoes and came out with strappy high-heeled red sandals" - immediately, there's a story to the clothing that makes them stand out beyond the six-pack of knickers from K-Mart ...

[lostinarcadia]

I am more than happy to be your clothes-godmother. I hope it is soon. And you don't have to come when you need to buy - it often takes a couple of sessions of just-trying-on to get used to it. I make it fairly painless, I promise (with coffee & cake breaks as required).

I am seriously toying with the idea of doing a course to become a clothing consultant (or whatever the nice version of Trinny & Sussanah are called).

And yes, there is invariably more to those strappy red sandals than "they were there". Just like there's a tale behind the six pack from K-Mart (and I prefer M&S myself... yessirree, all my "everyday" knickers are from the UK.

[infoaddict]

Crikey. I just did a quick search for "image consultancy course" in Australia. Is that the sort of thing that floats yer boat? - cos if so, it's all OVER the place!

I am hoping to organise a Melbun trip before Xmas so shall see what's possible.

I outfit my rear in Bonds these days because I know the size and the cut and the fit and I don't have to fret about whether they work or not. Makes life MUCH easier. Some of us haven't had the M&S option recently ;)

Means to an End

[lostinarcadia]

I think what I do IS image consultancy (I prefer Shopping Fairy) but yes, most of the courses sound gadafful. There is one local lady who is highly qualified and sensible at the same time. That's the one I'm going to investigate further.

Or my friends can send me lots of leads and then I won't need a piece of paper...

[hometime]

I looooove clothes shopping for other people too! I like the challenge of picking out exactly the right thing for someone, or something a bit more daring than they would pick on their own. I have so much fun shopping for Splozza!

[hometime]

Also, your stuff on planning clothing for travelling would be worth publishing and/or doing as a consultancy for people.

[lostinarcadia]

Thank you! Hadn't thought of that.

Its been very surprising getting all this feedback - but interesting too.