in tough times...

i met with a new client yesterday...seems the economy has got her in a pickle...aren't we all feeling the pinch?

i have been reading many many articles (and written some in my newsletter) about fashion and the recession...

i guess the big question would be...for a fashionista that is...where does fashion fit in?

there are a few theories flailing around...none of them terribly scientific...about the role of fashion in a dreary economy...

here's one: when things are bleak, women tend to wear more black...because it is an inconspicuous hue and appropriately funereal...it's always easy...and in difficult situations...that matters...

then there is the opposite notion: dress in white...it will flatter you, light up your face and make you feel virtuous...

the crayola concept is as follows: women who dress in bright colors lift not only their own spirits but those of the people around them...but be careful of this one; it can turn heads (including yours) for all the wrong reasons...

another theory is that fashion is the last thing that should be on the minds of thinking women (yeah, right)

and last but not least: when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping...this one, of course, is what the fashion industry is banking on...

so my client asked me this question..."if you were going to make a purchase, would it be to spruce up your house or spruce up yourself?" i have to confess that making myself look better would probably make me feel better...that leads me to the lipstick theory, which goes like this: one sure pick-me-up when you're low is to buy yourself a new lipstick (or blush or foundation or eye shadow). in other words, a relatively inexpensive beauty product has high value in down times...

i don't embrace any of these ideas wholeheartedly, but i do believe that feasting your eyes on pretty things when all around you seems so unattractive can be a short-term and effective panacea...like listening to a piece of glorious music, reading poetry, seeing a happy-ending movie, enjoying a splendid meal with good friends, babysitting your favorite toddler or taking a brisk walk in the woods with your dog...the activity may not last for a long time...but it does the job...

there is so much doom and gloom on the news...even when talking to people...and although i feel we should not be living in denial...i do not think it is healthy to just dwell on the economy...dwelling on it...is not going to change it...

so to my client i say...what is your preference? for some it would be sprucing up the homestead...for me...well a new pair of shoes sounds nice...and sometimes...just looking is ok...

speaking of looking...as i was at starbucks before meeting my client...a precocious little girl stood next to me in line with her mother...she scrutinized me from head to toe...her gaze settled on my feet (footwear, as you know, is one of the telling signs of a stylish woman). she paused, then said, "nice shoes." that child has a future in fashion =)

all in all...what it all boils down to...is that people are not going to remember the lipstick you wore...the shoes you wore...what your furniture looked like...but the time spent together...the laughter...the sharing...isn't that what is truly important?

living in the age of information, as we do, we sometimes forget that there is such a thing as too much of it...why is it that so many people feel the need to tell all, say everything that's on their minds and not keep what should be private to themselves? i am all for sharing...but only to a point...

a quote i recently read...
"we need to stop sharing too much...as life goes on and time gets shorter, every flicker for love or longing or despair needs to be fully felt...not spun into an instant anecdote to be traded away"...

so my home...as humble as it is...will continue to be a home where friends and family hang out...
attire: whatever you are comfortable in...
conversation: just let it flow
laughter: plenty
time spent together: priceless