Overkill, part 1

Trying to streamline and refine my wardrobe presents an on-going challenge for me, both physically and emotionally. As a baby step today, I decided to collect and try on all of my black skirts. In this exercise, I did not include two black skirts that are halves of two-piece dresses, three black gauchos, and one black palazzo pant, which are six black skirt-like pieces in addition to the 24 skirts that are in the photo:

A black skirt for any and every occasion!

One pencil skirt is charcoal grey. Seven of the skirts are prints, patterns or tweeds, primarily black and without any other color except white or neutral. The one with a bit of brown reverses to black with tiny white dots, and another is black lace over a nude underskirt. To be fair, six of the skirts are essentially duplicates: two each of three skirts in two different sizes. I still fit in all of them, but the smaller sized ones are tight. I will wear them comfortably again!

There are professional and dressy skirts, resort wear skirts, party and dancing skirts, and lounging or hippie skirts in about four lengths.

From my perspective, I have a complete wardrobe of any kind of black skirt I could need for any occasion. Yes, a couple of them are duplicates in two sizes. Get over it. Can someone tell me why this isn't a sensible set of basics?

As a collector, I want to record the bouclé pencil skirt by Lanvin, the black St. John knit pencil skirt, the flirty black skirt with a "booty flounce" by Alexander McQueen, two straight skirts (one wool and one knit) by Ann Klein II, a cotton pleated full skirt by Elie Tahari, several by Jones New York, a long print jersey skirt with contrasting pocket trim by Max Edition, a faux-sarong style rayon mini by Jams World, and several generic brands, mostly the multi-tiered cotton gauze skirts and the jersey skirts.

I dread the next step of collecting and sorting my black tops and black pants. But this seems to be an efficient way for me to categorize and assess my things. Fortunately I have few items in colors ... but I do have a Jams World resort clothing collection to rival a retail outlet!

The prospect of collecting all of my black shirts and black pants is daunting, but during that process I certainly will lose quite a few items to the donation box! But next in line for consolidation and cataloging is my collection of resort wear.

Gala Celebration of Love

A dream wedding, and accompanying events, were hosted by my dear friends in Amsterdam. Truly the party of my lifetime! They brought together a group of like minded, fun loving, successful people from around the globe. Various festivities ensued for four full days, with some fringe activities before and after. The wedding and reception were truly unforgettable -- worthy of royalty -- and they took place in an exclusive, fantastic private club on the Dam Square, across from the palace.

But what to wear? Since I lack the self discipline that I needed to lose ten pounds, I didn't look my best. Hubby looked fantastic! Here's what I ended up wearing to the ceremony and reception:

Enjoying the festive occasion, filled with love!

I bought this rose-coral dress from Alexander McQueen's spring-summer 2012 collection, and am quite pleased with it. When I've lost those ten pounds, I'll be truly delighted to wear it! The dress is paired with my Prada "dark nude" patent pumps, which are low-heeled with a platform and quite comfortable. A local artist in Hawi crafted my multi-strand pearl necklace. The cape is also by McQueen ... from his final collection, so I treasure it. I carried my vintage Bally quilted gold leather bag, and felt pretty good about how it all came together.

I could have worn a belt, but I didn't want to emphasize my waistline. I continue to look for a great belt, but it's a low priority effort. One of my favorite looks for this dress accessorizes it with navy, so great navy accessories are also on my radar.

Occasions: Wedding in Amsterdam

My dear friends are getting married in Amsterdam in a few months, so Peter and I will fly to London to check on business interests and catch up with friends, before taking the Eurostar to Holland for the wedding.

Today I decided what I'll wear to brunch, or another dress-up event (but not the wedding). In 2008, I bought a vintage 1980s skirt suit by Janice Wainwright from a lovely woman in the U.K. She wore it once, with a big black hat, to Ascot -- and possibly a second time. It is three pieces, jacket, skirt, and long scarf, made of silk twill that is about the same weight and texture of fabric as my Hermès scarves. The cut is fabulous, with padded shoulders, 3/4 length dolman sleeves, and kimono-like paneling on the jacket. The skirt wraps around in the large dot pattern, but has a black silk handkerchief overlay as a front panel.

Here's the only photo I have of it, from her listing:

1980s vintage silk three piece skirt suit by Janice Wainwright

If I wear the scarf as a sash around my waist, I will tie it in the back, allowing to drape and somewhat mirror the draping black panel on the skirt's front.
Even though the label says "dry clean only," I'm considering a delicate hand wash in cold water. I'm worried about the harsh dry-cleaning chemicals on thirty year old fabric. Plus, I love my Hermès scarves after I hand wash them. They're softer, cleaner, brighter and feel better when I wear them. I am a bit worried, because of the assymetrical design elements and custom construction of the outfit -- but it probably will hold up better because of those factors.

I asked the seller to tell me her special memories about the dress, and she replied:

"I wore the black and white outfit, with a very large black hat (which I still have) to go to the Derby the year my husband hired a box to entertain friends and business acquaintances. I don't think he ever quite got over what the day cost him - because he never did it again! Ah, those were the days.

Best wishes,

Marie"

I tried it on moments ago, and love the look! Now, I need to decide about shoes. Fun!

Travel Wardrobe for Frozen Europe

Using Polyvore to plan capsule wardrobes, such as those for a trip, is one of my favorite online recreational pursuits. I've been planning and editing a draft travel wardrobe for my upcoming trip, but need to adjust it to account for record low temperatures. I just tried on a pair of warm winter boots buried in my closet to substitute for the regular boots I planned to take.

Also, I decided to take a dress on the trip. Searching my wardrobe, I decided to take this vintage Janice Wainwright black crepe long sleeved dress from the 1970s that I bought in 2003.

The ruffles and bias cut skirt, with a few ruffles along the bias seams, transform an otherwise practical dress to special status. I need to add a belt. It's a lightweight wool, and requires a full length slip underneath.

My color palette is black, grey, white, purple and red. I think it's going to work well. I'll take a few scarves to complement the separates, and a few pieces of jewelry -- including my red floral skull scarf and red heart Swarovski necklace with the gold heart bail.

I think I'm in a Valentine's Day mood! Of course, I'll take a few of my "everyday" necklaces.

Here's how the travel wardrobe is shaping up. Quite a few of these items are the actual pieces I own, but a few of the basics (turtlenecks and suede boots in particular) are generic versions of items I own. I will take only one pair of boots, but haven't decided which. Also will take a warm black quilted rainproof jacket and gloves. I need to hem two pairs of pants (in process) and shorten the sleeves of my black leather/knit jacket, and find a belt that works for the dress. A belt for the pants is already packed.

Another important activity, that I should finish immediately, is the recording of my Spanish refresher CDs into iTunes and on to an iPod. Tear me away from this computer!

p.s. Here's the post-journey debriefing -- what I actually wore while in Spain and Holland: