7QT: Around the House

Wow, it has been a long time since I did these!  So long, in fact, that I think I've not done one since Kelly started hosting them over at This Ain't The Lyceum.  (She is hilarious, by the way; I highly recommend reading her blog--her photos are epic)  

--1--

I could write about how Lent is going, but I think the less said about personal struggles in this direction, the better.  What I will say is that my particular discipline this year has been good for the noise in my head and the unrest in my spirit.

--2--

Some Lenten listening: I've always love Attend, O Heaven by the St. Seraphim Orthodox Choir.  It is one of the very few recordings in English of nearly all Lenten music (there are one or two tracks of Paschal tunes at the end, but they are easily skipped over).  I find that so many English-language collections of seasonal Orthodox music are either geared for Holy week (Thy Passion by the Boston Byzantine Choir comes to mind) or have so much Paschal music included that it is hard to find enough to listen to that is truly Lenten.  

I also have some Western sacred music recordings that I like during this season--the Tavener is technically Orthodox, being his take on the Lamentations service of Holy Week.  It is a beautiful rendition, but uniquely Tavener.  

I really like Grechaninov's Seven Days of Passion but again, better suited for Holy Week listening.  I also have several CDs of Slavonic music for the season that are nice, but sometimes it is nice to hear the hymns in English.  The little CD at the bottom of the photo ("Chants of Great Lent") is another very nice Slavonic recording of Russian nuns singing various hymns of the Lenten season.  I found this recording from the Kiev Caves while looking for a link for another recording and it is quite nice as well.

On Pandora, the Russian Orthodox Chant station is pretty decent, as is the Thomas Tallis station.  I like them for general listening, but they are especially nice at this time of year.

--4--

Via

Speaking of Russia, I find myself missing the Motherland a lot lately.  I guess because Putin is in the news all the time lately, I'm reminded of certain aspects my life there, and all the things I miss.  There are things I don't miss, and many things I regret not doing while I was there--mostly relationships that I didn't foster as well as I could have, and I didn't learn as much language as I should have.  I do still catch myself thinking in Russian occasionally, and am eager to take up language study again. Unfortunately, my fatigue levels make memorization difficult right now.  

--5--

On a completely different note, shortly before Lent started, I bought an oilcloth for our kitchen/dining table.  I've been looking for one for ages, and Mat. Anna put me on to the ones from Vermont Country Store. I picked the red gingham and am pretty pleased with it.  I do not love the off-gassing that it has been doing since I put it on the table, but I think that will dissipate with time. It really perks up my blue kitchen!  I've been slowly introducing red accents to the blue this past year and I like the contrast.

--6--

I also got around to framing the baby photo series of the kids.

When each child was about 3 months old, we had studio photographs taken at Sears or Penney's, and after Piglet, we tried to replicate a photo of each of them on their stomachs wearing a diaper cover.  

I saved the wallets and put them in a frame all together, and I'm quite pleased with the result.  Each photo reminds of different things about that stage--I can see how unhealthy and developmentally delayed Birdie was in her photo (she is struggling to hold her head up and steady and she is kind of peaky).

I hung it up on a wall at the top of the first floor stairwell that has been bare since the previous picture fell off and broke apart several years ago.

Original artwork by Audrey Eclectic

Also new on my walls is an Audrey Electic print--I forget who first blogged about her work (Jamie, probably) but I fell in love with all her prints.  I saved a bunch of them to my favorites and knew I wanted to purchase one, but couldn't decide which one to get.  I finally decided on this Madonna earlier this month and it is hanging up in the office/guest room now above my craft desk--it is just perfect (and much better than the Egyptian funeral portraits that have been hanging there for the past seven years)

--7--

Piglet counting on fingers--he comes by that honestly!  Many members of my family (including Piglet's namesake and my grandfather) counted on fingers for math problems.  My math whiz husband can't understand it.

Ponchik is really attached to this doll that my mom gave her in the fall--it has the highly original name of "Doll" (to distinguish it from the Cabbage Patch doll that she calls "Baby") but yesterday morning, she informed me that his name was in fact, Jack.

That's it for me!  Go see the other Takers of Quick at Kelly's!

Dressing Downton Abbey

It's been a while since I did a specific post on Dressing Downtown Abbey--I did a few last winter, but they were mostly late 1910s outfits from season three.  

Season five puts us in 1925, and while it isn't my first choice for favorite fashion period, I do like some things.  My 1920s love really tops out in about 1923, as that is about the end of the late 1910s-trends and hem lines go up and waist lines drop down dramatically.  It isn't a particularly flattering silhouette on me, given my waist-to-hip ratio, which at the moment is whopping 11".

But my hair cooperated in a most 1920s fashion today, and I decided my outfit needed to match.  The dress is this one from eshakti that I've shown here before, but the long lines of the sweater and necklace "cheat" the silhouette a bit to bring it more into the 1920s. 

As much as I'm a fan of showing what I actually wear every day, I put these shoes on for the photos because that's what I would be wearing if our streets and sidewalks weren't a complete ice-skating rink since the storm this past weekend.  I nearly broke my neck just trying to get these photos taken in these shoes--they have good soles and decent traction, but there really isn't any substitute for heavy flat boots in this weather.  I've been wearing my fur-lined boots pretty much non-stop.

My hair ornaments are from Mat. Anna at Cozy House Curios.  I had a small crocheted flower from a Stampin' Up! embellishment kit that I made into a hair clip a long time ago, and I liked it so much that I commissioned Mat. Anna to make me a few more in neutral colors.  I finally got around to attaching them to clips this morning and I went to town.  I really like them and highly recommend her work.  (She is a friend and a frequent commenter on this blog.  She did not ask me to review these hair ornaments, but I love them so much I wanted to give her some blog love!)

My awesome 1920s style necklace--a random etsy find last winter.

More hair clip shots--I'm really quite pleased with the shape of my hair today--I didn't really do anything to it after showering except to comb it with a fine-tooth comb, fluff up the curls and then start pinning.  The advantage of curly hair, I guess!  No need for marcel clips (although I do have some)  I spend so much time being generally frustrated with my hair that it is nice to have a few good days here and there.

It is surprisingly hard to get a good back shot of one's own hair.

The two front clips, in detail.

One of the back clips--I couldn't get a good shot of the other one, but it is similar to this one, just a little smaller.

It being the first week of Great Lent, my GI system has decided to go crazy, so this outfit was just the thing for today.

Outfit details:

Dress: eshakti

Sweater: Merona from Target

Necklace: etsy

Earrings: etsy

hair flowers: Cozy House Curios

Shoes: Portlandia

Tights: Heather Mocha from Foot Traffic via Sock Dreams

Yarn Along: WIPs

As per usual, I'm working on three things at once, and reading about four books at the same time.  I'm still rambling through Anne Hollander's excellent Seeing Through Clothes in addition to the below tomes.

I'm finally getting around to reknitting the soft-shoulder cowl that I made in November and frogged after wearing a few times.  I made a few mistakes on the steeks, and it was too long in the neck and a little too narrow in the shoulders and it just bugged me.  So I frogged it and set it aside.  I'm back at it with some modifications to fix the sizing issues.  I also started reading The Ascetic Lives of Mothers as part of my Lenten reading.  It is good, easy to pick up and put down, and very profound.  I'm trying to take it in small bits so I can really let it seep into me.

The 1918 pullover seater is coming along--the garter stitch is very mindless, and I'm curious about the construction of it, as it is done from hem to hem, with no shoulder seams.  I'm also making progress with Judith Flanders' The Making of Home.  As predicted, I'm completely fascinated.  Finally, a book that really gets at so much of my academic interest in domestic life and the sociology of house and home.  I'm eager to see where it goes.

I finished the striped hat, but it came out much too big, and as it was superwash wool, there was no chance of making it smaller.  (I'm not sure what went wrong--I got gauge, and I do have a big head, so I knitted the largest size, which should have been an inch of negative ease, but I ended up with about 6" of positive ease.  Not really going for the Rasta look, thankyouverymuch.  I frogged it and will give it another go when I finish the cowl.  I bought the Nicholas Carr book for my husband as a namesday gift and he just finished it, so I'm going to read it next.  We both loved his earlier book, The Shallows, and I'm eager to see what he has to say in this one.

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along.

Talking Tuesday: Americans, Hierarchy, and Technology

Via

Peter Augustine Lawler writes in the New Atlantic that Americans are completely in thrall to technology, having lost whatever small philosophical or theological basis for society that existed at its founding. He notes that religion and politics in America are completely intertwined (the technical separation of church and state notwithstanding) and that the pervasive American faith in technology and progress has irrevocably changed both. Americans have no experience of pre-modern living, he notes, and therefore, no experience of long term close-knit premodern villages and churches such as much of the rest of the world.  As a person who deeply values hierarchy and tradition, but also struggles with it on some level, I found his observations well-timed to a Lenten journey.

“If, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn claimed, it is characteristic of the modern West to have ceased to see the purpose’ that should be the foundation of human life, it is perhaps in America that the lonely and demoralizing consequences of modern emptiness are most advanced. Beneath our therapeutic happy-talk and technologically optimistic pragmatism, a critic like Solzhenitsyn can hear the howl of existentialism. Americans have 'nothing’ — nothing but inarticulate anxiety — with which to resist the ‘something’ — the measurable effects — of technological progress.”

* * *

“The wasteland of emptiness grows in America, most of all, because of our lack of a culture or tradition to keep it in check. Certainly there never was a pre-modern America. Americans have no experience of living in close-knit communities like the medieval village or the classical polis that Alasdair MacIntyre finds indispensable for human flourishing. 

* * *

"[America] is all about doubting personal authority. If I defer to your word, then I let you rule me. That is true of all personal authority — from princes to priests to parents and even or especially the personal God. Nobody is better than me, and so nobody knows better than me. I methodically doubt my way to that democratic opinion. I have no reason to privilege anyone’s opinion over my own."

~Peter Augustine Lawler, The New Atlantic, "Modernity and Our American Heresies", Summer/Fall 2014 issue.

F.Vasilyev: Village, 1869

I think that last line is an important observation--it is hard to give up our own wishes and desires, to subvert our will for the common good. To take hardship so that others may have some comfort. I know it is difficult for me to do hard things without grumbling about it. It is hard for me to graciously submit my will, my time, and myself to the needs of others. 

What I don't know (and continue to think about) is where we go from here--how do we build traditions and close-knit premodern communities in a world awash with faceless technology? How do we return to something of which we have no collective memory or experience? And, perhaps most importantly, why do these things matter so much? (and I think they do, but I'm still articulating to myself all the reasons why they matter). I remain intrigued by Rod Dreher's Benedict Option, about which he has written at length, but it does seem that there are no easy answers, particularly in a diverse urban setting.

Things to ponder.

Yarn Along: Making of Home and Striped Hat

Working on my striped beret--my first go at colorwork!  I've got a few more color rows done since I took the photo, and will probably be ready to start decreasing soon.  It is coming out nicely!

The book is by Judith Flanders.  I'm only a page or two in, but already I'm fascinated.  She discusses how people who speak languages that make a distinction between house and home (European and Finno-Ugric languages) have a different understanding of those things than people who speak languages that don't make a distinction (Slavic languages)  I'm very curious to see where she goes with it, because I find myself pondering domestic matters often lately, wondering how to simplify and other related things.

Nothing to do with knitting, but the kids were home for the snow yesterday, and during quiet/nap time in the afternoon, I found the boys reading together on the bean bag chair.  These sorts of moments are actually kind of rare between them.  Piglet has gotten to be a fairly decent beginning reader, and was reading Dr. Suess to Boo.

And a vintage lovely for your Thursday morning.  I'd wear either one!

(In other knitting news, I've worn the blue 1930s-inspired sweater a couple of times now and have concluded that a) it is too small and b) it is too itchy for my sensitive skin.  Oh well.  It was a good learning experience)

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along!

1919 Homage

Via Pinterest

I'm very enamoured of late 1910s looks this winter, as I've said.  I love all of the looks pictured above--the green one especially!  I'm working on a 1918 knit pullover and cast on a striped beret that is similar in shape to the one at the top left on the catalog image above.  I've struggled a lot with chills this winter (probably a hormonal afterglow from weaning Ponchik this fall) and I really haven't been able to knit fast enough to keep myself warm.  I stumbled across a modern sweater on clearance at Target a few weeks ago and the shape was perfect for the late 1910s!  I was thrilled.  It just needed a belt to make it look more period correct.  It is very warm and I really like the muted greenish-blue color--I seem to be collecting a lot of tops in this color family.

I've been wearing this skirt a lot, as it is wool, long, and has a hidden elastic waist, so it is the most forgiving separate in my closet at the moment.

I normally wear a large in Target sweaters, but they didn't have any, and I'm glad I sized up to an XL because it gave me enough extra ease to lap the front as I had intended.  It also fits nicely in the sleeves.

Wearing my Chookas as nothing else is as waterproof in 5+ inches of snow!  The red Wellies that LL Bean sent to replace the green ones were a dud (they've changed the design and the new one gave me bruises on my calves so I sent them back with a long note)  After that disappointment, I tried these pea green Chookas as they were on clearance at 6pm.com--they fit quite well!  I almost never find a tall boot that actually fits my calves well, and these do, plus have room to spare.  The toe box is also a good width for my feet.  I did have a little trouble finding an arch support insert that fits the bottom of the boot well, but that isn't so critical.  They have a functional cinch belt at the top of the boot, and I may actually use it!  

The snowflakes were very dry since it has gotten so cold here, and the flake definition was really nice!  I tried to get close ups of a few than landed on my sweater.

You can kind of see one here:

The pin was a surprise gift from my dad a few years ago--he was in a thrift store, saw it and thought of me, and bought it.  He sent it in the mail himself with a little note.  It was a particularly hard season for me then (which he knew) and I was so touched by the gift and the note.  I treasure both.  

The kids are all home today (again!--this begins to feel like the never ending weekend, as Piglet was also home on Friday for a professional development day)  We did get about 6 inches of snow overnight, and we do live in The City That Does Not Plow, so I guess it is to be expected.  The trash guys did actually pick up today (although no sign of recycling yet) so the end times must be nigh at hand.

Outfit details:

Sweater: Target

Camisole: Forever 21 (I know, I know.  I hate myself too.  I got it for nursing purposes when I was a clothing industry naif)

Skirt: ThredUp

Boots: 6pm.com

Pin: gift from my dad

Earrings: inherited from my gram

Hair clip: Lilla Rose (small size)

Belt: etsy

Talking Tuesday: Orwell and the Modern World

We live in uncertain times.  In many ways, our current times are reminiscent of the first years of any modern century--political upheaval and stagnation, wars, instability, major systems of governance under fire.  One of the blessings and burdens of studying history is the ability see things at a sweep.  To put current events in context, to understand the broader picture of what is happening in the world today.  Sometimes it is helpful (knowing that nothing lasts forever is sometimes very useful indeed); sometimes it is terrifying.  Understanding what comes after a plague, or seeing the end of a system of government, and knowing what that may entail for the future can be scary stuff.

Rod Dreher wrote yesterday about the emotional appeal of ISIS for many followers of Islam, and how we Westerners cannot possibly begin to understand all that undergirds the religious fervor and worldview that informs the jihadist movement.  He largely quotes Graeme Wood, writing in the Atlantic, who writes:

"There is a temptation to rehearse this observation—that jihadists are modern secular people, with modern political concerns, wearing medieval religious disguise—and make it fit the Islamic State. In fact, much of what the group does looks nonsensical except in light of a sincere, carefully considered commitment to returning civilization to a seventh-century legal environment, and ultimately to bringing about the apocalypse."

Like Dreher, I object to modern writers' use of the term "medieval" to connote a backward, unthinking, unlearned society, as so much of the world's knowledge, understanding, and flourishing came from the medieval period, both in Europe and elsewhere.  One thing that stood out to me, however, was the Orwellian observation that:

"Fascism is psychologically far sounder than any hedonistic conception of life … Whereas Socialism, and even capitalism in a more grudging way, have said to people “I offer you a good time,” Hitler has said to them, “I offer you struggle, danger, and death,” and as a result a whole nation flings itself at his feet … We ought not to underrate its emotional appeal."

I read recently that the whole history of modern development has been a slow process of getting comfortable.  We now live quite comfortable lives, from the perspective of history.  We don't have to worry about growing or gathering our own food, (for the most part), our furniture and beds are soft and supportive (and largely inexpensive), our clothing is cheap and accessible, our medical knowledge and access unparalleled, our gadgets increasingly do our mental and manual work for us.  I think one of the appealing things about earlier ways of doing, at least for me, is the sense that there is something soul-good about the physicality of it, and the lack of insularity in that life can be scary and exhilarating at the same time.

~wiws~ late 1910s props

Doing the FLAP thing, as the linky appears to be up again!

Not much to say about this outfit except that I've worn it a lot lately, and wore it to church this morning because it was below zero with the wind chill and extremely windy (gusts up to 50 mph at times!)  I was glad we stayed in town for church this morning instead of attempting our normal hour-long drive to New Jersey and back.  I was extremely cold while taking these photos!

And apart from the gauntlets, I made absolutely nothing I'm wearing.  

And I'm kind of okay with that.  This whole vintage thing started as a thrifting expedition after all.

I'm also a big fan of showing what I actually wear, instead of what would have looked best.  My brown lace up boots would have looked better, but it was too cold for them, so out came the black faux-fur lined boots which are much warmer.  It is hard to see, but I have an off-white long sleeve t-shirt under the blue shirt and gauntlets, which is just the right amount of layers.

My Orenburg shawl is getting a lot of wear this winter, after many years of neglect!

Details:

Oatmeal colored scoop neck tshirt: Old Navy

Axcess knit cardigan: ThredUp

Brown leather belt: etsy

Pierre Cardin Wool Blend Skirt: ThredUp

Gauntlets: Swish yarn in Lava, me-made

Orenburg Shawl: bought from a Russian babushka on the side of the road in Nizhni Novgorod, 1998

1940s Alpine Hat/Hiking Boots pin: via Charlotte at Tuppence Ha'Penny

Earrings: etsy

Crochet cloche hat: etsy

Tights: Foot Traffic classic cotton tights in Mocha Heather

Boots: Payless

Yarn Along: Gold Diggers and the 1930s Sweater that Almost Wasn't

Well.  The 1930s-inspired blue sweater didn't come out exactly as expected, but I think I've salvaged it for now.  It is a bit snug, and I don't really have the waist definition to really wear it well, but it will do.  I'm also submitting this sweater for the HSM #2 Challenge: Blue, even though it wasn't what I planned for this month.

My original split collar didn't work out--I think perhaps I didn't make it wide enough, but it was hard to tell as I was knitting how wide it should be in relation to the shoulders, and I couldn't really try it on while the needles were on the collar.  So I ended up sewing the collar together to make a short turtleneck, but the whole sweater seemed small and blocky to me.  I was casting about for ways to redeem the sweater,  and I found some 1930s knitting pattern images that I used as inspiration to fix this one.  I decided to crochet a double width cord to thread through the top of the ribbed section to cinch the sweater in in the middle, and provide a focal point.  The low turtleneck collar and overall shape of the sweater is similar to this pattern:

I noticed that many 1930s patterns have a belt or some other kind of waist definition, so I feel confident that my sweater is at least remiscent of the 1930s.

I like the left hand sweater (above) a lot, and contemplated pulling out the entire collar section, as it was cast on with picked up stiches, and making a crochet edge with a tie at the neck.  I decided, however, that I didn't really want to pull anything out of the sweater, as my previous experience with dismantling sweaters leads to balls of yarn and no sweater in the end.

I really liked the collar detail on the right-hand sweater (above), as well as the shape of it, and thought I could use the collar on my sweater to imitate the look, but I thought that a tie at the neck and waist would be a bit too busy. 

But on to my sweater:

In my head, it looks pretty bad on me, and I can't decide whether I will keep it or not.  I do like the color a lot, however.  The waist tie does help, and it is very warm, but I wish it didn't make me look so rectangular.  

I know, I know:  foundation garments!!  I also wish the sleeves were a bit looser.  Oddly, it looks better from the back than from the front.

I think if I use this pattern again, I will add some stitches to the sides and sleeves, plus add a tiny bit of length.  I'm short waisted, and this is an appropriate vintage sweater length, but I think another inch would be a wee bit more flattering.  I'm mostly frustrated that I can't find a sweater pattern that looks well on me.  I've just found a book on customizing knitting templates, which I hope will help me to tweak the patterns I have for better fit.

As for reading, nothing much worth writing about.  I just bought Gold Diggers by Charlotte Gray, as it is the book upon which Klondike was based, and I'm curious to know more about the main players in the (true) story.  The mini-series is extremely good, with wonderful cinematography, good writing, and a great cast.  I also love watching Richard Madden--he's really interesting as an actor (although, it must be said, there were a few moments in Klondike where I saw Robb Stark sneak out, but some of that was to do with similar costuming).

What the item is: Mallard blue pullover wool sweater, 1930s-inspired

The Challenge: Blue

Fabric: 100% Superwash DK Wool (Patons)

Pattern: Essential Sweater (on ravelry) with some modifications

Year: 1934 (ish)

Notions: none

How historically accurate is it? So-so. I had intended an aysmetrical collar but it didn't look right in the end, but the small rolled turtleneck top is similar to my inspiration photo, as are the raglan sleeves. I added the crochet cord to cinch the waist since the ribbing looked so weird. The basic shape of the sweater is similar to my inspiration photo, and I made long sleeves because short-sleeved wool sweaters are pretty useless to me in my climate. I should have made the ribbing less wide, and probably should have sized up the sweater a bit and made it a tad longer, as it is snug.

Hours to complete: Most of the month of January, working during naptimes and some evenings. So maybe 30 hours?

First worn: February 2015

Total cost: $35 (I think--I bought the yarn a long time ago and don't remember how much each ball was, but I used about 6.5 balls)

Linking with Ginny for Yarn Along.

Winter Uniform: Whole Lotta Me

Today you get a whole lotta me.  As I said yesterday, I've been trying some different things, style-wise, trying to find a comfort zone that keeps me warm (I have terrible shaking spells of chills a few times a day) and fits around my swollen body.  Given that approximately 95% of my wardrobe is quite fitted through the torso for a 1940s silhouette, this has proved a bit challenging.  I'm trying to shift some of my wardrobe to the late 1910s, as I said yesterday, which is looser and more forgiving, but these things take time and energy, and I'm afraid I'm a little short on both at the moment.  I did cast on the 1918 pullover last night, so we'll see how that goes.

So without further ado, I present recent stylings.

This was an attempt at a 1920s-esque style.  It is pretty modern, I admit, but the vibe is there, and it is a decently comfortable outfit.

The chambray dress is this one from eshakti, the sweater is from target and the belt is an old one from H&M.  The hat is from Target a few years ago.

I know you saw this dress earlier in the fall, but I think this styling works better for the period.  I added a Pavlovo-Posad scarf I bought in Russia about 15 years ago, and a crochet cloche hat from etsy.

I made the gauntlets this fall.  I was initially unhappy with the length, but they work quite nicely with this dress.

I'm pretty pleased with this red outfit--I had bought the dress from an ebay seller, but the seller noticed some flaws after I bought it and decided to refund my money and send it to me anyway!  The flaws are pretty minor, and the corduroy is so soft and comfortable.  The collar reminds me of 1919 collar treatments.  The waist is maybe a little high for the period, but I think if I shorten the dress slightly and use the excess for a sash as on the coat dress, it will be quite perfect.  On the other hand, I might just wear it as is!

The shawl is a Russian Orenburg shawl I bought when I lived in Russia in 1998 and it remains a favorite of mine.  It is so delicate and beautiful, but it sheds like crazy!  

The dress is an old Eddie Bauer (I'm guessing late 1990s or early naughts, going by the style).  I borrowed the belt from my husband.  Trusty Modcloth boots.

Finally, another eshakti styling.  I have several knit dresses in this style, which I've shown here over the fall, and I'm wearing them a lot right now.  This outfit is kind of my winter uniform at the moment, as the dress is forgiving enough to my waist and yet can be styled in a variety of ways.  

Another Pavlovo-Posad scarf from my year in Moscow, plus the brown gauntlets I made in December.  It is a snowing a little today, which is why there are white streaks/specks on my pictures.

Celtic knot earrings from an etsy seller--I've worn them a lot this year.

I'm hoping that the extreme fatigue that plagues me lately will abate soon, as I'd like to remedy the deficiencies in my closet, but at least I do have some things to wear that I feel reasonably good about.

   Unfortunately, the blue sweater I blogged yesterday doesn't really fit me that well (too small/short), and I ended up changing the collar back to a straight turtleneck as the split collar mod didn't really look right.  I'm a bit disappointed and trying to decide what to do with it now.  At least I didn't waste all winter on it.

I also wanted to give a shout out to vintage blogger and sewer Stephanie, as I loved her post today about what our clothes say about us.  I often wonder if I spend too much time thinking about clothes, but especially after reading Anne Hollander's book, and now Stephanie's post, I think it is healthy to be moderately concerned with appearances.