a sartorial post of my very own

I was walking down a busy street in Philadelphia with the Ackerman Medical Squad (Dr Peter and nurse Jamie) when something happened to me that had never happened before:

A gorgeous fashionista walked up to me and said "I LOVE your outfit!"

The thing that makes this story awesome is that everything I was wearing had been dug out of clearance sale racks and altered by yours truly. (Except for the denim jacket. It needed no alterations- it was awesome as is.)

This dress came out in the middle of Winter (cause that's when everyone wants to buy a light as air strappy dress, of course). I tried it on, but beautiful as it was on the hanger, it just did not hang well on a human figure. at all. so I passed.

A few months later when I was digging through the aforementioned clearance pile I decided to make peace with it's awkward draping and pay it's $10 ransom from sale hell.

It hung around for a few days until I woke up and decided that it was finally the day to wear it, so I put it on, and in what is probably the worst idea ever, started cutting first, and measuring none. I cut off the goofy gathered high collar, but kept the fluff of tulle and kind of rolled it down, till it was the same level as the underdress. Next, I put a couple of stitches in the side to make it fit a little better, and sewed the shoulder bows onto the straps. Snip snip snip and done.

add awesome denim jacket

mend the small rip in the super clearance tights

slip on some old cowboy boots

and you have the awesomest outfit ever

(Except maybe my gallery opening outfit, but believe me honey, I payed the piper for that piece of beauty.)

A few weeks later I wore it to a concert and when I was getting a record signed by the band Dawn Flippin Landes asked me where I found my dress!

Jiminy cricket, I never spent $12 on clothes better!

The whole experience has encouraged me to make the alterations I've been thinking about on my other clothes.

Now my motto for all my ill fitting/ old/ paint smeared clothes =

cut it till you love it!

__________________________post edit___________

new link alert in the Blogs I Actually Read list: rugged/refined -a style blog that's actually well written

Dawn at 8:00 pm

Tomorrow night I'm going to see this lady and also, this guy (Elvis Perkins in Dearland) at The Bell House in BK.

For well over two years I'd shake my paint and turn on some Bright Eyes (AKA any band Conor Oberst is in) or maybe some Iron and Wine, then get down to business. After a year Peter, who never really liked it much in the first place was sick of it.

Near the end of the second year, I pretty much was too, but I couldn't find anything else that was the perfect background music for creative contemplation... until we were out driving on a sunny day and Dawn Landes came over the radio doing an interview in her sweetness-drenched voice explaining how the song Little Miss Holiday is about an imagined meeting between a 12 year old Jane Fonda and the 15 year old prostitute she played in Taxi Cab. After we got home I bought her album "Fire Proof" then every other album she's made.

Happily, it wasn't long until I got to see her live at The Mercury Lounge, where she was so genuine and magical (and maybe just a little goofy) that cemented her spot a spot on the short short list of music I love so much, that I could listen to it all the time any time. You know what I mean... songs so precious, you keep actual physical c.d.s of it, just in case your computer crashes and your ipod drowns on the same day. My Bon Iver I could survive without, but not Sweetheart Rodeo.

Now, when the paint starts shaking, Peter knows who's about to start playing.

Post Edit: If you're in NYC, and you need an awesome way to spend this Friday night, why don't you come along? Buy yourself some tickets here, and get thee to The Bell House in Brooklyn.

When the lease is up...

Dear Peter, Radar, and Beauvra,

We're moving here, and playing with hula hoops and hay. (But we're not wearing tomatoes as jewelry, cause they'd probably stain).

LOL as if I'd ever have a say about where we live.

I think if I could only watch one music video ever again for the rest of my life it'd be this one.