Cleaning Out The Closet

Earlier this month, we got a card requesting donations of clothing and such.. So like every year, I started to clean out my closet pulling out stuff that I have not worn in quite a while, worn too much, no long fit and clothes that should have been long gone. One of my favorite past time is to head go shopping for clothes. Two of my favorite places to find stuff are Loemann’s, and Nordies.

Recently Kenneth Cole ran a cover AD with Nina Poon who is a trans woman.
http://www.kennethcole.com/home/index.jsp

Nina’s Story;
http://www.kennethcole.com/content/index.jsp?page=advertising/bio4.aspx&h=550&w=898

I was pretty impressed with KC for running this AD featuring Nina. There is another transwoman, Isis, currently on America’s Next Top Model. The media release says they discovered Isis in a homeless shelter, no specifics of history has been released yet, but I suspect she is one of many, many gender different youth that has been abandoned by un-accepting family. We might learn more about Isis’s history in time. Transwomen models are not new. They have been part of the fashion scene for a while. Tula, once an 80’s Bond Girl and working model is just one of the notables in the world of fashion models. It’s not surprising that there would be some focus towards transwoman as fashion models. Some of the basic requirements for behind a serious working, “super model” height, 5’8” or taller, about 120 pounds, confident about their femininity, not much more than 20 years old and etc…. The physical requirements of height alone exclude the vast majority of women. I believe the weight requirement is too low for a host of reasons. It turns out this is what looks good on the runway and photographs well. Regardless, it’s great to see openly public transwoman become this successful in the fashion world. A page has turned in the world of fashion.

As for my closet, it turns out I have a bent towards “Designer Clothes”. Some of the “Designers” that I like; Anne Kline, Calvin Kline, Jones New York, Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan & DKNY, Nicole Miller, Elie Tahari, Malo, D&G, and… Of the clothes from Europe, I like many designers from Italy, the French tend to be a bit over the top for my taste, but the French really know how to make Lingerie that I like.

Better quality, less trendy clothes can be more timeless and durable, but quality women’s clothes cost more and this is one of the considerations that enter into my purchase choices.

Then there are the Italian / Brazil / EU shoes. It turns out another thing the Italians do really well are making and designing shoes for women. Like a lot of things, you get what you pay for in many ways.

Can’t say I’m really into purses. Many women are deep into purses and they can be a status symbol for women. I usually go for something that matches what I’m wearing.

Recently I discovered a Jovovich-Hawk dress a Loemann’s that I had to have which got me curious as to who this designer might be, It turns out, they are quite the fashion success story..

I have also learned over the years that being a tallish woman has its advantages when it comes to fashion. There are many things that simply look better on a tallish woman and I’m guessing it comes from the models that are typically 5’8” and taller. I have a number of women friends who are less than 5’4” and they tell me many times how they wished they were my height. My problem with getting many things to fit are boobage, they are just a bit bigger than what most clothes are cut for. If I go up a size, many times the proportions are wrong. The waist and bottom gets too big and it simply sits on my body wrong. Length is usually not a problem for me as nearly everything I try on ends up at about the right length. Being a current size USA 8-10 (it’s never accurate and varies by style, designer and etc), which is a very typical and common size and sought after. This can make shopping challenging due to the popularity of this size range.

There was a time when I avoided wearing heels due to my height, but even that is changing. There are social and fashion driven reasons why women wear heals the way they do. There was a study done recently that shows many professional women will put on a pair of “power heels” for an important meeting. Its one of the ways women increase their sense of power by using height.

Over the years, I have cultivated a fashion sense that fits me and what I wear has now become such an expression of me on any given day. This is one of the fun and interesting aspects of what women wear, it really is an extension of who they are in many, many ways.

Fall and winter is near and I’m going to do a few more rounds of shopping for these seasonal clothes. Gosh, I spend too much $$$$$ on clothes…