Ouch. I've been a bad, bad blogger. After I posted the sundress pic below, I realized I hadn't written a single word in my invisibleclotheshorse guise since 12/7/2010, a/k/a my birthday. Sorry! There were the holidays, & a show ("The Mikado") & there was also... wait for it... another layoff of Mr. Altocat. On 12/23/10. Really. Nice timing, no? Jobs are insanely scarce in his field these days, so it seems some employers feel quite free to get a great deal of quality work out of staff members, then dump them without warning.
So, I haven't been the most cheerful critter lately, & didn't want to infect the blogosphere with a series of rants about the alleged economic recovery being a load of bunk, people not appreciating hard work, etc. I've been doing enough of that in person. That said, I'm also trying to take better care of some things I've sorely neglected over the past three months, like reading (my book club is helping a lot with that!), cooking, the house, & yes, this blog.
Fashion always helps lift my spirits, but I can't spend like I used to. We have debts to pay off & are living on a drastically reduced income. I'm actually rather enjoying going back to my twentysomething ways of buying mostly vintage clothing. It's (usually) cheap, it's "green", & it seriously reduces the odds of my ever showing up at an event in the same dress another woman is wearing. I still browse in stores & look at "regular" shopping websites, & I've slipped a couple of times, but I'm doing pretty well in terms of not buying anything that isn't a replacement for a worn-out item & not using credit cards. I'm no paragon of financial virtue, & I probably never will be. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't pine for the income J & I had three years ago, before the economy tanked. We probably miss travel the most - used to visit New York & South Beach pretty frequently, went to Florence for my birthday in 2009, & were dreaming of more European destinations before our recent bad news. For now, we have to stay put, but at least we can do so in style.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Due per Due silk sundress - fabric detail
Thrift score - Due per Due silk sundress, $4.
Spring is sprung in Baltimore. Well, sort of. Over the weekend, I noticed a few blossoms on trees during a morning run, & today, I awoke with a scratchy throat & slightly congested sinuses, which sent me into a bit of a panic until I realized that it's late March - pollen time!
I had the urge to go thrift shopping over the weekend, so I headed for the Value Village on Eastern Avenue, a store that has yielded some pretty amazing finds over the years, including a California Pottery "gypsy girl" figurine, a St. John skirt, & this dress. The brand is Due per Due, which I'm only vaguely familiar with, & since a Web search turned up their site, but with collections from 2008 listed as current, I fear they may be out of business. This is 100% silk, lined, & set me back all of $4. Not only that, the red shoes in the print are almost identical to the Faryl Robins I'm wearing in this picture! I always enjoy sundress weather, but I do hope we get a bit of spring (70 degrees, please, not 50 & not 90) first. If anyone has info on Due per Due, please post, & thanks!
