Ode to Target

There is actually an entire blog about Target by two women who love it. I can say confidently that we are two women who also love it, but I think we'll probably limit our Target pontificating to one or two posts. But I was just there this afternoon and bought my second Mossimo long-sleeved V-neck tee. All the soft, thin comfort and perfect length of a Velvet or USAmade tee but for 9.99. I am in love with them. And have you seen the adorable Behnaz Sarafpour line? Fab. And it's all coming to Anchorage in March. This won't register on Mari's controlled lutheran expression, but inside she's jumping up and down.

UPW index justified

Hear, hear on use-per-wear. While I have arguably the most expensive taste of the children in my family (discounting my suburban siblings' bulk spending at Banana Republic and Abercrombie and Fitch, naturally), I also have the most notorious apparel-longevity of anyone.

This is particularly pertinent regarding my choice of casual clothing, which has been modeled almost exclusively on "The Preppy Handbook" and from semester forays into - most recently - Amsterdam and Sweden.

All this is to say I own mostly black and button-downs. And men's sweaters and boots. Here is a list of my can't-do-withouts:

-red Frye cowboy boots, 2005
-Brooks Brothers button-downs, yellow, white, blue, 1998-2002
-navy peacoat, 1997
-pink Jimmy Choo flats, 2006
-Swedish straight-legged jeans, raw denim, 2006
-brown motorcycle boots, Amsterdam flea market, 2004/1958
-long black wool skirt, Banana Republic (? yes.), 1998
-grey cable-knit men's sweater, J. Crew, 1997
-tan western belt, Mom's, 1968
-red paisley/flowered scarf, Paris 2006
-black dress pants, J.Crew 2003
-black V-neck sweater, Topshop 2000

The Russian

Both were good choices and I would fully support you getting both. The Valenkis Rus has that rustic-throwback-turned-celeb-sported cache and the Lobben has a bit of romance to it. I could definitely imagine 'Anch' occasions for both.

I think now is a good time to introduce a concept that is extremely important to my consumption world-view:

Cost of Wearing

Mathematically, it looks like this:

Purchase Price/Number of Times Worn

The higher the denominator, the more justification you have for a higher numerator. Outerwear, handbags, and jeans tend to have an extremely high '# of times worn' and can therefore support pricetags that look appallingly high to the untrained eye. Formal dresses, swimwear, and fads (if you buy 3-ply cashmere legwarmers, you deserve to be parted from your money) have low '# of times worn' and must be purchased with caution. Shoes are a toss up. They could be these which I wear constantly:


Or they could be the Anna Sui platforms I bought this spring, which I've worn once with such disasterous, blistering, pedicure-ruining results that I'm not sure they'll ever be worn again. Of course they're still in the closet because, well, you never know, do you?

Cost of Wearing is a good basic analytical tool, but it requires some refinements when dealing with more complicated purchase decisions. Formal wear is a good example of a category that needs more advanced computation:

Purchase Price/(Number of Times Worn*(1+% of people attending the event you feel you need to impress or outdo)

In simple terms: the more important the event to your social well-being, the higher the denominator, the more you can spend on the dress.

And then there's 'heirloom' pieces. These are the handbags, shoes, jewelry, furs that you will pass down to future generations and their math is of too high an order to go into here. There's a Time Value of money part to it, brand longevity and rarity must be taken into account through a Schrodinger's Cat kind of thing, finally you have to solve for i in 12 dimensions and ask some pretty searching questions about your very existence. But buying those tends to always be a good idea and if you need someone to help you justify it, just call me.

Gorgeousity Slightly Redefined.

Repettos were the one thing Madge and I were going to go to great Parisian extremes to acquire, but instead we got distracted by the fact that they EUspensive and - probably more likely - that we settled instead on good food, good wine, good company, and good salad. (A brief side not here on things which were not good: tempura made by sketchy live-in bohemians, cranky vintage purse store owners, and secret daylight savings time changes.)

For now, though, being it currently -12 degrees here in the Anch, I have been forced to do the grown-up thing and purchase clothing appropriate for the season and climate. For instance, my last purchase was a pair of Russian wool boots called Valenkis Rus; these I fully debated for a week in +3 inches of snow against a pair of Norwegian wool boots called Lobben which all the dogsledders ("mushers") use up here.

As you can see, I eventually went with the one with the bigger pictures, more American-Apparel-like ads, and the non-Norwegian styling. And in brown, although I'm regretting not getting them in whitish I think. And let's not doubt the fact I may just end up with some Lobbens this year anyway - although it would sort of negate the fact that the Russians were easier to buy because they were so cheap.

Gorgeosity

''Hello, Alex. This is the mood board for the next edition: sex, bitch, aristo, sex, punk, whore, bitch, prossie, lesie, punk, tart, slut. Oh but Alex, Alex, with lovely shoes. ''

That's right, two poor, displaced, fashion-concious girls. Looking for an outlet for all their socio-retail yearnings. What used to be accomplished over a copy of Vogue and a bottle of wine now must revert to the ether of the internet. I'm anticipating brilliant, erudite, occasionally elegiac takes on whatever obesses Mari at the moment. From me, just expect pretty pictures. The instant I learn to hyperlink.

Let's see...here we go:



Mari! Look! What's 25% off? Oh, the ultimate ballet flat. Repettos gave us the slip on our last Parisian junket, but Daily Candy gaves us another chance today. How about another pair under your desk to lure you to work, dear?

Madge-Mari Pledge

We are currently separated by 4400 miles - the distance from Atlanta to Anchorage - but share the same love; namely, shopping. I live in Anchorage. My year-long foray in the North, into which I am two months, has resulted in the following:

1. Desperate hours trolling the internet looking at The Clothes which I will never, ever see in Anchorage;

2. A distinct lack of discussion re: The Clothes;

3. Some mad wardrobe improvising to combat the cold weather, which has not surprisingly led to a lot of Swedish fashion rejuvenation, including but not limited to the almost-constant wearing of (gasp) leggings as a base layer;

4. I keep a pair of Jimmy Choos at work in my desk so that when I make the daily 15-minute hike uphill in -10 degree weather I have something - SOMETHING - to which I may look forward.

And since Madge and I can't necessarily write this jazz together, we're just going to fervently hope that some sort of dialogue comes about from all of this. So I'm just going to buck up and say it will probably end up being some sort of shallow couples therapy. Get ready, Patsy and Eddy.