Thursday, September 8, 2011

Then Came Irene ...

I have a lot of black clothes. A lot. I don't know why that is — I don't think of myself as a dark and gloomy person, which is what I associate black clothes with (ever since I watched the "Fades to Black" episode of Roseanne, where Darlene stopped playing basketball and started wearing all black).

tank — (Cost Co)
skirt — Express (Express)
boots — Haley by Faded Glory (thrifted)

And I can't even claim that this affection for brown and black clothes is because bright colors don't look good on me. I found that out when I wore pink and blue here. It was probably because I just wanted to blend into the background and not stand out. These days, however, I am finding that it's not all that bad to be noticed, and it's actually kind of fun to get the hairy eyeballs.


So, here's a way to wear black and STAND OUT at the same time! The trick is to wear boots with a tank top — together, the two are completely and totally incongruous.

One caveat about this outfit ... I liked it, but I have to say that I'm worried that I'm too much of an old lady to wear it ... how depressing is that? Just when you're old enough to have some fun, you're too old to enjoy it.


This outfit is actually my entry for Megan and Keely's "Old Favorite" Remix Challenge, in which we were challenged to take a favorite piece of clothing and wear it somewhat differently than we had before.


My skirt is my "old favorite." It's a simple cotton blend, with a drawstring waist (which lets me slide it up and down on my hips to adjust the length). I've had this skirt for ages. In fact, I liked it so much when I got it that I went out and bought another one — just like it. Yeah. I actually have two of these skirts. It seems kind of silly when I think about it now.

I haven't been blogging that long, but I've still worn this skirt a number of times, in a number of ways, and in different seasons (winter, spring, and summer).


I had the best of intentions to finish Kayla's 21-Day Challenge, and then move on to Megan and Keely's Remix Challenge for this week. But what is it they say? "The best laid schemes of mice and men"? or is it "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" (and by the way, I had no idea that this quote is attributed to John Lennon)? maybe it's even "Life's a b*tch, and then you die." 

Or wait -- I've got it!
When it rains it pours! And I mean that literally.*
  
Regardless of the quote, first Irene and now Lee have wreaked havoc, to say the least, on my life and put a damper on my plans to do much of anything but go into crisis management mode. I had (and yes, HAD is now the operative word) this beautifully finished and carpeted basement. I have been getting ready to move, so I have been packing up things that I don't need and storing the boxes in my basement, because I thought they would be safe and out of the way. In the 15 or so years that I have lived in this house, I have never had a drop of water in the basement.

Well that was before Irene decided to make her ugly way up the coast and dumped over 10 inches of rain overnight (and this was on top of the 6 inches of rain we got in one day the week before).


Now, I have moldy walls ...


wet carpeting, and soaked and disintegrated boxes ...  (I'm sparing you the picture of my mountain of boxes that are now on my porch, getting even wetter ... )


And of course nothing is covered by insurance, because it's an act of God. or whatever. Honestly, I just wanted to cry, which I did a lot of. But I have also been hauling a helluva lot of boxes back up the d*mn steps, trying to salvage what I can, and get everything dried out. And that is a lost cause since Lee has decided to add insult to injury as he makes his s-l-o-o-o-w and ponderous way, dumping rain and more rain, on the waterlogged Northeast.

Between the rain, the extra work, the damage to my basement, and the expense that it will entail to repair said damage, my heart has just not been into dressing for the occasion, taking pictures, and blogging ... Hopefully, with this post, I'll be able to get back on track a bit.

*Everything in my house right now is damp. My clothes are damp. My bed is damp. My floors are damp. My papers are damp. My doors are so swollen from the rain that I can barely shut them.Yeah. I'm pretty miserable.


Head on over to Megan Mae Daily to check out how ladies are remixing their clothes. 


16 comments:

  1. Black clothes aren't gloomy; they're often very fashionable and expressive. This outfit works because of the unexpected juxtapositioning of disparate elements; their color is unimportant. I like outfits like this 'cause they're creative and interesting. Nice work!

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  2. @Shybiker. Thanks. You don't think that I am too old to wear such things? I get worried about such things.

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  3. Oh Kari, I'm so sorry! I've had a flooded house....its so awful. I was worried about you when you stopped posting. Tried to email by following the 'email me' links and only wound up as a 'follower' on my own blog.

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  4. Hi Kari - you look awesome in all-black and with the boots = killer! Not too old, not by a long shot. So sorry about the flooded basement and wet belongings, that is just so distressing to have to deal with. It is good to see you back in blog-world!

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  5. Oh man.. sorry about your rain damage. I have a lot of black too! I try to wear bright accessories with it to throw some color in. This looks great on you.. I don't buy the age barrier!

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  6. Kari, first things first - I'm so sorry about your water situation, we too have been water logged, but not the the extent that you have been. My heart is sad for what a tough year this has been for you. On a good note, it looks like tomorrow the sun is actually going to shine, so there's that at least. ( hugs).

    Now, on to the age issue. I'm 46 (shhhh, don't tell anyone) and I wear what I damn well please. No one is going to tell me I'm too old to wear something that I look good in. Who makes these crazy rules anyway? You look bad-ass in that. So don't you dare cave to some silly notion that age is a limiting factor for anything.

    There, now don't we all feel better?!

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  7. I love black because it fits my mental image of myself as a tough, savvy, sharp, no-one-messes-with-me New Yorker. When I wear all black, it feels like I'm just that much cooler than everyone else. Plus I always wanted to be a punk rocker. (Like I said, mental self-image. Let's leave aside the reality of my life right now: a ranch house in rural New England, self-employed, stressed, owner of a long-haired tan dog who sheds too much, and parent of a fifteen-year-old who thinks SHE'S just that much cooler. But hey, no one messes with me, ever.)

    I love that outfit. I don't have the belt or the boots, but if I did, I would totally be wearing that tomorrow.

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  8. Sorry that you are dealing with storm damage. I like the boots and tank top combo a lot.

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  9. Oh, K, I am so sorry about your basement. That sucks. In our last house the basement used to flood every winter, but sometimes it flood really badly and we'd lose some things and it was so frustrating.

    I have a lot of black clothes too, actually, and I love color. Black is just easy sometimes.

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  10. so sorry about your flooding. Such a bummer. I know its a lot of work; we usually have it but escaped this time.
    You ARE totally bad-ass in this outfit. And if you feel good in it--WEAR IT GIRLFRIEND!

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  11. You're never too old to wear black. If you think age means you can't wear what you want - go check out: http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/ Some seriously fashionable individuals.

    I think you're too cute in your all black look. I'm so sorry to hear about your home. That sucks so bad. I hope you're able to handle everything. Be careful with mold. It scares me so bad because my mom almost died from living somewhere that had mold in the walls (got into her lungs).

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  12. Oh, Kari, I'm so sorry about the damage you are dealing with. I think I put on my black boots and start kicking things and shouting unmentionable things.

    Repeat: You are NOT too old to wear this outfit. You are NOT too old to wear this outfit!

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  13. Hi Kari, so sorry for you! we had a lot of rain in Montreal but nothing like some other places.
    You look very good in black and very sassy with these boots!

    Thanks for your comments!

    Ariane xxxx

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  14. So sorry to hear about the mold & rain damage, Kari! But on a positive note, I love the black outfit. I wear a lot of black too. A lot! I've convinced myself it's high style, not gloomy!
    xx

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  15. Hey, Kari, hope the cleanup's going okay and you're not seriously overstressed. I saw this old New Yorker cartoon the other day and thought you might need a smile: http://www.cartoonbank.com/2004/we-try-to-think-of-the-mold-as-green-space/invt/127195/

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  16. I have to literally force myself not to wear black, sometimes. I own a lot of it, and I'm not even sorry. I love to punch it up with color, but still ... I just love black!

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

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Thanks for reading. Honest opinions and constructive criticism are always welcome.

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