After a challenging summer, last week came way too fast. The semester began, projects that seemed like months away came due and events that I had long been looking forward to happened. I was feeling so overwhelmed I didn’t even feel like dressing up. For the first time, choosing an outfit to wear felt like a chore. Yet…could I re-find my muse?
I have to say finding my way felt like rock climbing; a little scary, a little fraught. Slowly though, the familiar routines kicked in and I heard the rhythms of my everyday life return. Actions I have taken hundreds of times like swiping my ID, saying hi to the security guard and my favorite cafeteria cashier Andrea, became oddly comforting and grounding. Having dinner and brunch with new and old friends made life fun again. Glad to have made the effort to wear Miyake for the first day of classes, I felt light and free in the classroom. It reminds me once again of how performative clothing is, how the clothes and you together create something beautiful.
The title of this post is actually a quote by the designer Masayo Yasuki, the creator of dogstar clothing. Clearly, she and I are of the same mindset. She has become for this post, my co-collaborator…my muse. The brand, characterized by asymmetrical lines and strong silhouettes, is appealing to any age. With a combination of a japanese sensibility, natural fibers and innovative textile design, these are clothes that fit seamlessly with my aesthetic. In these photos I am wearing some dogstar pieces which I have styled with some of my own clothes and accessories. For details about the dogstar pants and tunic and more about the collection see my Details post on Wednesday. Watch for dogstar inspired looks in other September posts.
How do you collaborate with your clothing to make something beautiful?
I love the quote so much–and likewise, your ensemble. It is hard to believe you found it hard to get to it, because it is so amazing. A quick glance at the dogstar site is quite exciting.
Starting a new school year is always a shock to the system, no matter how long we have been doing it. Happily, in a few weeks, you’ll find your footing and your rhythm again. I am heading into the 4th week of my school year, and things feel more or less steady, again. Good luck!
Thanks for helping me remember that the steady routine will soon be in place and feel once agin like I have been doing this forever. Have a great school semester yourself!
I love the quote so much–and likewise, your ensemble. It is hard to believe you found it hard to get to it, because it is so amazing. A quick glance at the dogstar site is quite exciting.
Starting a new school year is always a shock to the system, no matter how long we have been doing it. Happily, in a few weeks, you’ll find your footing and your rhythm again. I am heading into the 4th week of my school year, and things feel more or less steady, again. Good luck!
Thanks for helping me remember that the steady routine will soon be in place and feel once agin like I have been doing this forever. Have a great school semester yourself!
Good to see you are wearing ‘dogstar’ – a good Aussie brand!
I have to say this year I have met some awesome Aussie women: bloggers, designers and fashionistas!
Thanks, it is rubber and aluminum so very lightweight.
Good to see you are wearing ‘dogstar’ – a good Aussie brand!
I have to say this year I have met some awesome Aussie women: bloggers, designers and fashionistas!
love your necklace!
http://secret-hipster.blogspot.com/
Thanks, it is rubber and aluminum so very lightweight.
Good wishes to you as you launch a new autumn — Keats’s "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness." And thanks for introducing dogstar — but where in the U.S. do you find this inspiring line?
Good wishes to you as you launch a new autumn — Keats’s "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness." And thanks for introducing dogstar — but where in the U.S. do you find this inspiring line?
Love the brand, love the pics. The belt is especially nice. Also, I’m amazed at how black this black is! Anita
The belt is by another favorite designer Limi Feu. Missed you at the bloggers meet-up.
Love the brand, love the pics. The belt is especially nice. Also, I’m amazed at how black this black is! Anita
The belt is by another favorite designer Limi Feu. Missed you at the bloggers meet-up.
Lynn, you are fascinating. I have decided to follow you. I was gobsmacked when I saw photos of you on 40+style. And yes I knew (about) you long before that. But now I have added you to my bloglist. You can teach me a whole lot.
Greetje
Well I am sure we will get along well, Sylvia and I did. What can I say Dutch girls rock!
Lynn, you are fascinating. I have decided to follow you. I was gobsmacked when I saw photos of you on 40+style. And yes I knew (about) you long before that. But now I have added you to my bloglist. You can teach me a whole lot.
Greetje
Well I am sure we will get along well, Sylvia and I did. What can I say Dutch girls rock!
It was so wonderful having the chance to meet you Lyn. Oops…I can see now I’ve been spelling your name wrong. Gotta fix that : )
I have to add that you are better looking and even more fashionable in person. I wish I’d had more time to chat with you. Next time I’m in NY?
I’m admiring that necklace. Wow!
bisous
Suzanne
I agree! Wish there had been more time. However even though it was the first time I met you, I felt like I knew you because the authentic, funny and stylish you that is on your blog is also you in real life. Maybe I will get to Vancouver, I have always wanted to visit.
It was so wonderful having the chance to meet you Lyn. Oops…I can see now I’ve been spelling your name wrong. Gotta fix that : )
I have to add that you are better looking and even more fashionable in person. I wish I’d had more time to chat with you. Next time I’m in NY?
I’m admiring that necklace. Wow!
bisous
Suzanne
I agree! Wish there had been more time. However even though it was the first time I met you, I felt like I knew you because the authentic, funny and stylish you that is on your blog is also you in real life. Maybe I will get to Vancouver, I have always wanted to visit.
I’ve been enjoying dogstar on Instagram, and excited to see you giving these pieces life. A beautiful collaboration! I can relate to the concept of the "performative" nature of clothing.
Indeed you can! Your outfits are eminently wearable with a dash of costume to make everything so unique. I am loving your new look and attitude with your grey hair.
It’s wonderful, no? Another great Japanese designer.
I’ve been enjoying dogstar on Instagram, and excited to see you giving these pieces life. A beautiful collaboration! I can relate to the concept of the "performative" nature of clothing.
Indeed you can! Your outfits are eminently wearable with a dash of costume to make everything so unique. I am loving your new look and attitude with your grey hair.
Just popped back form the dogstar site. I love their stuff!!
It’s wonderful, no? Another great Japanese designer.
It seems there is no inscrutable relationship between performative clothing and enclothed cognition, the idea that what we wear determines, can affect us emotionally and intellectually, providing interesting corollaries on any given day. Both seem to logically catalog how we define, inspect, analyze, and determine, to say the least, that which we choose to wear on a daily basis. Our collaboration with our clothing and accessories to produce beauty, I believe, rests upon outside forces and interestingly constructed self-schemata. Occasions, weather, mood, fabric, pieces are just a few of the elements that determine what I will put together. To some, that may sound overwhelming, overly analytical, an encumbering exercise. However, for those who know exactly to what I refer know such an event can take a mere matter of minutes, and rather than an event fraught with mental ballast, it is one that provides pleasure and joy, a free-flowing exercise of wonder, pleasure, and entertainment. Whether I’m pairing a crisp linen shirt with a pair of cut-offs and suede ankel boots, pairing a favorite pair of suede, cobalt blue heels with a dress to wear out for dinner, or whether I am determining what will lend to a confident business lunch or meeting, the aforementioned elements are friendly and helpful dictums when creating beauty within a daily sartorial endeavors. Synoptically speaking, collaborating clothing and self to produce beauty is a blast ~
C.e.
http://www.whitedogluxe.com
Love your prose and informed thinking, thanks for moving the conversation in such amazing ways.
It seems there is no inscrutable relationship between performative clothing and enclothed cognition, the idea that what we wear determines, can affect us emotionally and intellectually, providing interesting corollaries on any given day. Both seem to logically catalog how we define, inspect, analyze, and determine, to say the least, that which we choose to wear on a daily basis. Our collaboration with our clothing and accessories to produce beauty, I believe, rests upon outside forces and interestingly constructed self-schemata. Occasions, weather, mood, fabric, pieces are just a few of the elements that determine what I will put together. To some, that may sound overwhelming, overly analytical, an encumbering exercise. However, for those who know exactly to what I refer know such an event can take a mere matter of minutes, and rather than an event fraught with mental ballast, it is one that provides pleasure and joy, a free-flowing exercise of wonder, pleasure, and entertainment. Whether I’m pairing a crisp linen shirt with a pair of cut-offs and suede ankel boots, pairing a favorite pair of suede, cobalt blue heels with a dress to wear out for dinner, or whether I am determining what will lend to a confident business lunch or meeting, the aforementioned elements are friendly and helpful dictums when creating beauty within a daily sartorial endeavors. Synoptically speaking, collaborating clothing and self to produce beauty is a blast ~
C.e.
http://www.whitedogluxe.com
Love your prose and informed thinking, thanks for moving the conversation in such amazing ways.