As the first few days of 2012 have come and gone, I have
been thinking about the direction this year is taking. More accurately the direction I want it
to go. For clarity sake, no, I did
not make any resolutions. And,
yes, I did partake in some bubbly at the stroke of midnight. A toast to the year ahead: A year of
quality.
Maybe I am getting older, maybe my tastes have changed,
maybe it is just maturity sinking in, or maybe it is a need to simplify. The holidays can be a time of
unwarranted stress, shiny objects and hangovers. January signifies a new beginning. A mark in time, a turning point when putting my finger on my
personal goals seems critical to my mental and physical survival. The ultimate goal: To incite beauty in
daily life. A beauty that is
elegant and refined, but most importantly simple and clean.
With those ideals in mind, 2012 will be the year of finer
fabrics, home cooking, ink drawings, quality ingredients, and Parisian style
baguettes. That’s right you heard
me: Gluten is totally a part of this year. I want less to be more. And I want to enforce the
sophistication of less.
Downsize. Less possessions
cluttering the apartment and the brimming closets. In place of the mess, I want worthwhile endeavors,
productive, creative and pleasurable.
Savoring the nap of a beautiful sweater, the aroma of an Americano, the
luxury of a manicure and the art of spending quality time in dreamland. Asleep or awake, I want to make the
action valuable.
A year ago I was delighted to see the influence of the 70s
pushed forward on the runway and the street. I am ever so grateful to the powers that be for high-waisted
pants, silk blouses and Peter Pan inspired collars. Yet, the over styling, the gigantic wedges (cute but
impractical for a gal who lives life on foot), dolman style sleeves, the amount
of sequins and hardware strikes me as frivolous. Frankly, it bores me.
Gaudy has become dull. It
weakens the integrity of a piece.
I am entering the realm of over decorating snobbery. The toggles that look like disheveled
teeth, the feathers, the ruffles, and the fringe. My god, the fringe. This has to be stopped. Turning little princesses into
something that jumped out of a cake covered in silly string is no way to look
at life. Just let the knit top be
a knit top. Concentrate the design
on the drape of the fabric, the cut of the silhouette, the integrity of the
construction.
At home, my closet is ready for an overhaul. Ok, overhaul is too strong a verb --
but a makeover. Nothing extremely drastic, just a streamlining and minimizing
of my color pallet. The time has come
to do away with those items that are unflattering, unfeminine, those ones that
never looked good with my complexion, but being a young and demanding slave to
fashion I gobbled up at various retailers around town. The shoes that give me blisters, those
are gone too. Versatile pieces
with strong construction and neutral or achromatic colors will remain. I’m focusing on the accessories. Silk scarves, handbags, hats, glasses,
the right necklace, or earrings, can help differentiate an ensemble from day to
night. The excess junk that keeps
rolling around the bottom of my purse -- that also has to go. Life, simplified.
Images (from left to right, top to bottom): outdoor shower from say la vee, Renee Perle Photo from nivaldo de lima, washing her hair print from ioffer, canvas tote bag diy project from design sponge, picardie glass from style hive
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