The Magical Journey Continues...

The magical pink boxing gloves are picking up steam -- they just floated from Oregon to California.  San Diego, in particular, where they adorn one of my favorite bloggers, Daphne.

I have huge respect for Daphne.  She treats fashion seriously.  On a daily basis, she creates chic outfits for her life and then displays them on her blog.  We see Daphne both posing like the rest of us and then wearing her creations in real-life situations.  Daphne integrates fashion into her life in an authentic manner.

Often drawing inspiration from fashion magazines, Daphne explores new trends and hot pieces.  I've learned from her what works and what doesn't.  Anyone interested in the changing world of fashion should tune into Daphne's blog to keep abreast of new trends and see how they play out.

Naturally, Daphne's take on the pink boxing gloves is uniquely her own.  That's the magical part of the gloves -- they inherently lend themselves to personal style.  Go see what Daphne has done with them and consider sticking around her blog for a while.  I'll meet you there!

History Through Thrifting

Thrifting has lots to recommend it.  The items are cheap; the selection is unpredictable; and the impact on our environment is positive.  Giving another use to something headed for consumerism's huge landfill is socially laudable.

To this list add another benefit -- brushes with history.  I had that today when I browsed my local thrift-store and found two treasures.  A Jerry Garcia necktie and the original cast recording of "A Chorus Line" on vinyl.

Jerry Garcia was the lead musician of the Grateful Dead, a Sixties band celebrating hallucinogenic drugs, tie-dyed clothes and endless music.  They toured for years and had a loyal fan-base (DeadHeads).  You still see their emblems on cars. 

It was mind-blowingly odd when this countercultural icon started designing neckties.  Ties?!  Only squares wear ties!  But Jerry was a true iconoclast.  His designs were funky and cool.  The ties adorning them look great.  I own several.

Jerry Garcia neckties are expensive ($40), so when I saw one for $3 in my thrift-store, I lunged at it.  Here's a picture.

Jerry started painting and designing ties in the late-1980's.  Sadly he died in 1995 from complications caused by his lifetime of drug-use.

My thrift-store now carries vinyl records in addition to clothes, so I browsed its wares.  I found an original cast recording of "A Chorus Line" from 1975.  Every generation has its musical ("My Fair Lady," "Grease"; "Chicago"; "Kinky Boots").  "A Chorus Line" was huge during the Seventies.

My favorite trivia about the show concerns original cast member Carole "Kelly" Bishop who won a Tony award for her performance.  Three decades later, Kelly Bishop played Emily Gilmore (Lorelei's mother) on "The Gilmore Girls."  Her character on the TV show is starchly conservative, so it's fun to imagine her dancing in a leotard as a nubbin.

 

 

Turning It Around

I hate whining and I'm sorry if my last post came off that way.  Part of my bad attitude was from being sick with a cold; physical discomfort pushes me into negative emotions.  I realize now that feeling crummy affected my mood.

Generally my attitude in life is to seek joy, no matter how distant it looks.  I can't emphasize enough how grateful I am to you (the blogging community) for the warm embrace you've given me the past four years.  My lifelong dream of expressing myself has largely come true; I rejoice in that, and shouldn't bemoan what isn't on my plate yet.

So I'm spinning my attitude around.  Thank you for being here.  I savor the pleasures of zipping up a slinky dress, slipping into heels that make my legs look better, and enjoying the process of creating outfits in my head.

Today, I put together an ensemble with happiness as its goal.  Constructing the outfit, pondering its pieces, putting on the clothes and twirling around was fun.  Real fun.  I enjoyed it.

Sharing those efforts with you is equal pleasure.  Here's what I came up with.  Thanks to Meghan for giving me the necklace last week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts

Creating an outfit today, I had two thoughts.  I'm curious if you can relate to them.

First, I was inspired by a single item.  I found a silver top in a thrift-store that really entranced me.  It's shiny with patterns and shadows.  I can't stop admiring it.  So I snapped it up for a pittance ($4) and brought it home.

Wanting to show off my top, I build an outfit around it.  Have you ever done that?  It seems odd to construct an outfit with only one centerpiece, but that's how my mind worked.

The second thought is more profound.  Before the Internet and blogging, I wore women's clothing in private but there was nobody to see me, nobody to share myself with.  It seemed odd to put such effort into a futile exercise but dressing relaxed me.  It made me feel comfortable.  It made me feel "right".

Blogging changed that dramatically.  It gave me an audience for the first time.  Blogging offered me a goal (i.e., to look better) and I improved my skills with your helpful feedback.  I'll always be immensely grateful for the opportunity.

But... lately I feel I've lost something.  I conceive an outfit, put it together, apply makeup, do a 1-2 hour photoshoot, strip off the clothes and post pictures on my blog.  It's almost like a job.

I haven't been enjoying the clothes.  I barely wear them except for pictures.  I seem to have lost the relaxation and deep joy I used to get from living in female attire.  So I want to change that.  Last week, I dressed up solely for personal pleasure.  No pictures.  Today, after taking pictures, I relaxed and kept the clothes on for the afternoon.  I didn't rush to put up this post; instead, I savored the experience of presenting as female.  Of course, I had no audience or company but being alone is nothing new to me.  Even isolated, I enjoyed the experience. 

I think I'm going to do this more -- enjoy my efforts at female presentation and harbor less concern for public display.  I wish I had company IRL to share this with, but the absence of that won't hold me back.

Do you understand?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back In The Saddle Again

Last Sunday, I took a nice, leisurely ride around Long Island.  I stopped at two places on the water which are always lovely this time of year.  Here are some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Day In The City

I took a rare day off work today and spent it having fun with my good friend Meghan.  I met Meghan two years ago through her blog and we have several mutual friends.  (Are you listening, Megan Mae?)  This was the third time we've met in person (I visited her in Philly where she lives and we spent an earlier day thrifting in NYC.)  We were joined today by Meghan's friend Brenna who came in from Massachusetts.

Meghan has palpable charm and we enjoyed long conversations about her new job, her boyfriend, her fiction-writing and her life.  Meghan wore a dress she made herself featuring owls in the print.  She also wore an owl necklace.  I admire her sewing ability.  She offered to teach me that skill and I may take her up on the offer.

We planned today months ago in order to get tickets to the hottest show on Broadway -- "Kinky Boots".  Kinky Boots won the Tony award last year for Best Musical.  Its music was composed by Cyndi Lauper (who became famous in the Eighties with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun").

The show was great.  A rousing song-and-dance musical with top-notch performances.  The outfits and choreography were amazing.  We were lucky to score terrific seats -- second row, center -- which gave us the best view in the theater.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and those who have yet to make up their minds...".

Here are some pictures from our day.  Why don't you come visit New York??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Magical Journey Begins...

The magical pink boxing gloves have started their trip around the world.  They are traveling to faraway places and will adorn innumerable blogger-hands.  I'm really excited about this fun project!

The first person to wear the magic gloves is Gracey in Oregon.  The gloves had to cross the country to get to her.  Go visit Gracey's blog for more pictures.  You can sense the excitement and creative expression in Gracey's post.  In my opinion, she's a knockout!

It's never to late to join the list!  Just mention in the comments or an e-mail that you want to wear the gloves and they'll arrive in your mailbox some day.