Mining Gold: Day 3

Day 3/Step 3/Week 3 of the Miracle 7 Day Glamour Course covers "how to plan your wardrobe" and starts with cleaning out your closet. Hope you had a good breakfast. Then, as now, closet cleaning is a strenuous activity, and the Course warns be prepared—it could take all day.

If you've ever read anything about cleaning closets you will recognize the info: Take everything out, try it all on and (in this suggestion) end up with two piles—things you love and things you will give away. "Your room will be a mess in no time, but it's in a good cause."

> Test for your life
Does it fit into your life or is there not a chance you will really wear it? I think we keep a lot of things hanging there for sentimental reasons (though this isn't mentioned). If you are "never going to wear a blush pink velvet hostess gown", chuck it.

> Test for your looks
Try every piece on and check every point in the mirror. If it flatters, okay. Otherwise, out.

> Check the shape that it's in
This is good advice as too often we neglect to notice pilling, worn or threadbare spots, loose hems, etc. If it can be mended or fixed, okay. Otherwise, out. Don't put anything that needs work back in the closet. If you're a procrastinator and know you'll never take care of it, better to let it go.

> Make a list
This might be more than you care to start. It would probably have been a lot shorter in 1952 when no one had so many clothes as we do now. Remember those headings: city, casual, date and home clothes? List what goes under which and how many "costumes" you need (yes they call it that) to complete the group The former owner of this magazine attempted to fill in her list but gave up after one entry.

> Add accessories
Line up all your accessories—hats, gloves, shoes, jewelry, scarves. Go over each piece carefully, determine what you need to complete those outfits, add them to the list, and discard the rest.

You will notice nothing is given the chance to "mix and match". Everything needed to be an outfit, complete with particular accessories to finish the look. No one yet thought of basic pieces that could cover many occasions or that were de rigueur to have.

The next 8 pages give examples of city, casual, date and home clothes. Not a pair of pants among them.

We can be grateful no one needs that city look anymore. A pea coat, sweater, skirt and hoop earrings are timeless. Minus the cigarette, you could still wear the date look. The special dress to wear at home after work never did catch on. It's still a good idea to change your clothes, if only to cut down on laundry and dry cleaning.

City

Casual

Date

Home

Can we go shopping? Not yet. You must make another list, this one to determine if you have at least one outfit in every category. We are told it's better to have one or two outfits in each and repeat them rather than have the full component in city looks but nothing to wear on a date.

Throughout the Course those dates hang over us like ice cream sundaes. One surmises women lived for date night.

 
The next chapter is called "What are you going to use for money?" I can hardly wait.  

Mining Gold Day 2

 
Day 2/Step 2/Week 2 of the "Miracle 7 Day Glamour Course is all about "the clothes for your looks". Here you are asked to take a long, hard look at yourself for those good points and weak points. This requires a tape measure and two mirrors—full length and hand mirror. The accompanying chart to fill in asks you to assess and describe neck, shoulders, bosom, waistline, hips, legs, arms, side view and back view. The conclusion: it's not the numbers on the tape but how they relate in proportion to each other.

> Are you short? 5' 4" or less is considered short, but you will look taller if you are slim, shorter if you are stocky.
> Are you tall? 5'7" or more is considered tall and ditto from above.
> Are you top heavy? Yes, if your bust is 12 or more inches larger than your waist.
> Are you hippy? Yes, if your hips are 12 or more inches larger than your waist.

HOW TO DRESS...
 ...if you're short
Everything should be tiny. No large collars or wide belts, no matter how tiny your waist. You are the "bite-size version of femininity and can wear perky, piquant clothes other girls can't get away with".  No blouse-y tops, no contrasting colors, no bold jewelry. In other words, you cannot let your personality or personal taste get in the way of your teeny-tiny cuteness. This is 2019; please disregard.

...if you're tall
You can wear all the latest styles, the bolder and more dramatic the better—double-breasted, peplums, capes, boleros. Ditto bold accessories. Lay on the chunky jewelry, giant earrings, big prints, "handbags like pieces of luggage". Toss all your small jewelry to your little friends as you should never wear anything tiny and delicate. Now, if you tower over everyone and have the nerve to not like this, wearing horizontal lines will make you look shorter. I wonder if you can ask for your jewelry back.

...if you have hips 
Don't feel too bad; having large hips makes your waist look smaller. Being on the hippy side myself, I've always been up for any tips and tricks. Wear modified fullness over your hips to "even out" the disparity. Draw the eye to your top half by wearing brighter colors, scarfs and necklaces. Even consider adding "gentle fullness" to the bottom so it looks like the clothes and not you. You can disregard two other tips: wear a good girdle and a bigger hat.

...if you're heavy on top
Stop slinking around; this is what made Jane Russell famous! However, to de-emphasize your bosom, wear diagonal or asymmetric lines on top, like a crossed-over surplice. And don't wear anything too tight. Choose v-necks, scoop necks, off the shoulder, sweetheart neckline, just no bateau necks. Tops darker than your bottom will help as will a good corsetiere. You will never ever buy a striped fisherman t-shirt.

Hey, that's Jane

 
The next section is a checklist of all the styles in fashion on collars, necklines, shoulders, sleeves, bodices, waistlines and skirts and which types they are good for. You are asked to memorize this list (as much as pertains to you) in order to become "a real fashion expert". The problem here is too often we know what we should not wear and buy it anyway. That is not discussed.

Finally is a page on color. It took until 1980 for Carole Jackson to publish "Color Me Beautiful", still  the definitive guide to what colors look good on you. But the Miracle Course does touch on the fact that it is not just your hair and eyes that determine your best colors. You are asked to experiment with holding up all kinds of swatches to your face and letting your reflection tell you what looks best. I was happy to see this early mention of yes, redheads can wear pink. All in all, not exactly helpful, but I can see this section would take some time to complete.

Now that you are thoroughly depressed by the list of clothes and colors you cannot wear, it's time to move on to Day 3. Join me when we have both recovered.  

   

Weighing in on the September Issues

 
Someone's been on a diet this year. At 9 pounds, the Fab Five September issues (Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Marie Claire, and In Style) weigh half a pound less than they did last year. My Fab Five are Vogue (the winner by far at 596 pages and down 50 from last year), followed by Harper's Bazaar at 396. Nipping at its heels are Elle (364), followed by InStyle (324). Marie Claire wafts in at a mere 210. Vogue was the biggest loser. Elle lost a few. Everyone else pretty much stayed the same.

The number of pages in a magazine says more about the economy than the state of fashion. Those page numbers equal ad revenue, and that's what's paying for your magazine—not your subscription or the $9.99 you paid on the newsstand.

What's so interesting is fashion, style and design are as hot topics as ever. Kids as young as six can go to "fashion camp" (in LA anyways). Decorating tv shows are ubiquitous, from to-the-studs renovation to pillow-fluffing. Instagram has yet to implode from too many influencers. We still want to know "Who wore it better?"

Fashion Camp, Los Angeles

 
The choice of cover models is always telling, and this year's September models are not all that (models that is). Christy Turlington, supermodel extraordinaire is on the subscription copy of Bazaar; Alicia Keys, sans makeup as usual and looking lovely, is on the newsstand.

That's Cara Delevingne and her bare back on the fold-out cover of Marie Claire. She was a model; now she's an actress. Maybe she's both. Is the lack of clothes meant to be an editorial statement?

Angelina Jolie is on Elle and Taylor Swift on Vogue. Joan Smalls, a model, graces the cover of InStyle wearing a dress designed by Rihanna. I wonder why Rihanna isn't wearing her own dress, but maybe she's just a fashion designer now.

I have not peeked inside. Labor Day is coming, and we usually stay close to home. I will crack them open on September 1. It will be a labor of love.

Mining Gold from 1952

 
"You can be the best-dressed girl in town." Who doesn't want that? Don't even think how large is your town.

This treasure was found at a flea market. I just love when ephemera has made it through the sands of time. Why was it never chucked after the original buyer became the best-dressed gal in town? Did she give up half way through this "Miracle 7 Day Glamour Course"?

Just think—1,000 fashion hints! 1,000!! 1,000!!! All for only a quarter! This magazine promises a lot. Does it deliver? Let's see...

At first glance you might think in seven days the secrets will be yours. In truth each "day" probably takes a week to complete.

The cover model looks a bit like '50s movie star Jeanne Crain (it's not). She has one of those unfortunate early '50s short cuts that were further tortured with a permanent. Ceil Chapman dress. The interior photos are credited to Butterick Patterns and an Eighth Avenue establishment called Millers. They are pretty standard in the I-am-a-model-posing school of fashion photography.

Why is she surprised?

But we're not here to judge the hairstyles, makeup, hats, gloves, girdles and hosiery. All that aside, many of the tips are as relevant today as they were in 1952.

FIRST DAY: The Clothes for Your Life

Right off the editors say, "We don't believe in 'typical' wardrobes. We believe in individual wardrobes." It's not such a bad idea to analyze how you live your life. There's a quiz to fill out and the final thought, "It's your life—dress for it!"

There are four kinds of clothes, and you need all four—date clothes, casual clothes, home clothes and city clothes.

Date clothes must be special and make you feel dressed up. They have to be different from what you wear during the day "otherwise it doesn't feel like a date!".

Casual clothes are for informal occasions. We are told they are also referred to as sportswear, but you would never wear them for sport.

Home clothes can be anything, but they must be relaxed and they must be comfortable. It's hard to believe that dressed-up clothes were not always comfortable, but it's true.

City clothes are for those times when you need to be "dressed" rather than casual but not really "dressed up".

The editors did consider they might have a wide audience as this spread shows you what proportion of clothes you need if you're a homemaker, a schoolgirl, a career girl or work in a uniform:

I actually never thought of determining what I need in my wardrobe by how I live. Note to self: Try figuring this out.

Day one concludes with two check lists—"must-haves" and "you-can't-go-wrongs". Editing for 2019 sensibilities, they still make sense. My thoughts for today are in parens.

Must-haves:
>  1 raincoat (like for real, ie full length and waterproof, not just decorative)
>  2 umbrellas—"one to use and one to lose"
>  1 pair boots (as in rain boots or snow boots)
>  1 pair walking shoes (shoes you can really walk in) 
>  1 extra jacket—"when you don't want to lug a coat" (make that a cardigan or wrap)
>  1 housecoat, negligee or robe (in good condition—have you looked at your robe lately?)
>  1 pair slippers (see above)
>  1 apron (still need one sometimes)

You-can't-go-wrongs:
>  1 basic full length evening skirt (or tea-length. This would make a nice change from pants and could be paired with a simple jersey top or man-tailored shirt.*)
>  1 perfectly plain dress-up top (You can go practically anywhere in a dressy top and jeans today. With black pants you can go even further.)
>  1 pearl joker (classic for a reason)
>  1 black beret (Don't you think this deserves a comeback?)
>  1 black sweater (what? only one???)
>  1 black skirt (duh)

* You sure can't go wrong...

Well, how did you like Day One? Ready to move on? See you next time.

Basics are Boring

The clear-out-the-closet countdown is drawing near. Fall may not be in the air, but it's filling up the shops and my mailbox (as those September issues trickle in). Autumn is always a state of mind here in Houston, but it's hard to avoid, what with Halloween decorations already in Marshall's and trick-or-treat candy in Kroger's.

I swear they're bringing out last year's candy, but that can't be proven.

Everyone always says (a loaded statement) you need to have Good Basics to build a wardrobe. Without Basics you will never have the backbone you need, the pieces you can depend on and where being well-dressed begins. Following this declaration is always A List. And that list is boring. In fact, "basic" to me stands for Boring All Simple In Closet.

My basics are not your basics. I don't wear white t-shirts or white button-down shirts. I hate jeans. Blazers leave me blah. Athletic shoes are for the gym or trekking to Petra. Trench coats are so not "me" anymore. My little black dress is for funerals, and thank goodness it gets worn rarely.

I tried...

Let's rethink the whole Basics idea. If you need a label, call them Staples. Staples are what YOU need to get through your day (and night). Figuring out who you are is a life-long journey. It's pretty obvious we shed many skins along the way. You probably don't need much of what you wore at age 20 or maybe even last year. Consider re-evaluating your wardrobe a worthy exercise.

OK, maybe one you kind of dread too.

I now know (and this is just me) the staples in my wardrobe are black t-shirts. The shapes change over time. They used to be tight-fitting and from the GAP. Now they are looser and more like tunics from J Jill. But they are necessary to how I put things together. I love a black top with a patterned bottom or a bright color. Come autumn the black t-shirt staple turns into the black sweater. They are needed under a fun jacket or 3/4 coat (my answer to a blazer). Black pants are my "jeans". There are so many hanging in my closet I tag the hangers to know what the silhouettes are. Black flats are my footwear of choice. They run the gamut from ballet slippers to wedges to studded evening mules, but they're all black. I have a couple of raincoats I actually enjoy wearing. Not one of them is a trench.

Now we're talking...

These (and others) are the pieces I check on each season. I make sure they're in working order, not run down at the heels, not having shrunk in the closet (as those pants are wont to do). They are my basics.

For me, buying another perfect white shirt is a waste of money and a waste of the time it took to find it. You see where I'm going.

Your challenge, if you wish to take it, is to think about what you depend on. And before the season's new frippery gets you all a-flutter, make sure those pieces are the best they can be. They are fashion's foot soldiers and will take you far. 

Why History Matters

 
The mother of a teen asked me the other day what her daughter should study to become a fashion designer. She was relieved when I said, without hesitation, "history, literature, biology, English and whatever languages she feels she can grasp". My friend was relieved because her daughter believed she only needed to study sketching and sewing. Motherly advice was not convincing. Hearing it from me might make a difference. We left it that I'd be happy to speak with or email the daughter. I haven't heard from her yet, but I'm hopeful.

I'm not a fashion designer myself but have been surrounded by fashion my entire working life (even now). Before that I gravitated to fashion and fashion history out of pure love and curiosity.

We are in an alphabet soup mix of style today. There are reasons, including nostalgia and a wish to return to a "better" (simpler) time. Back in the day young working women like me did not dress as hippies (though I admired the look from afar). Counter-culture kids were not wearing preppy in the commune. We wore what we were. Though we surely would not admit it, they were uniforms as much as anything. Today, not so much. It's all fashion, that starts with "Who do I want to be today?"

> So history is really important. Dior's New Look of 1947 was in direct contrast to the restrictions of fashion during WWII.

> Literature is history written with heart. Reading Jane Austen you can almost hear the rustle of silk or feel a less than cozy rough tweed overcoat.

> Biology because you have to know what we are made of—humans, plants, animals, the earth itself.

> English because you have to to express yourself. Sometimes a picture (or fashion sketch) alone is not worth 1,000 words.

> Languages because we are a very small world that still speaks many of them.

I left out math and science because there are only 24 hours in a day, but the more you know the more you have to digest and turn into Creativity—uniquely your own.

I worry that today's designers only skim the frosting off the cake. And it's pre-made frosting at that.

Stylish Cinema: "Halston" on CNN

 
Here's a premiere you can stay home for. You don't even have to dress, though you might want to don your best disco duds. CNN will be showing the new documentary "Halston" on Sunday, August 25, at 9 PM eastern.

Directed by Frederic Tcheng, who also directed "Dior and I", "Halston" looks at the designer whose name and Studio 54 are linked forever. His work epitomized the disco era in New York City, which he loved and where he lived, surrounded by a coterie of celebrity friends and the ever-present paparazzi.

Halston was talented, charismatic and handsome. His business was a huge success, with his designs spanning the industry to include couture, ready-to-wear, fragrance, uniforms, accessories, and housewares. He didn't shy away from interviews and making appearances and believed style could be had by every woman no matter her budget.

Halston was born Roy Halston Frowick in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1932 and moved to Indiana at age 10. He graduated from the Art School of the Chicago Institute of Art and began his career as a window dresser. He started making hats (on their last legs as de rigueur accessories), soon opened his own hat shop, and became famous for designing Jackie Kennedy's inaugural pillbox in 1961.

When hats fell out of favor he moved on to clothing and opened a boutique on Madison Avenue in NYC. His designs were flattering, easy to wear, simple yet sophisticated. He loved soft, luxurious fabrics like silk and chiffon and took full advantage of a new discovery, Ultrasuede, a washable faux suede. He hated extraneous details like bows that didn't tie or buttons that didn't button. Halston also believed pants would become basic to every woman's wardrobe, which they sure as heck are. He popularized caftans and matte jersey halter dresses. Almost everything he designed is just as wearable today as it was then.

Halston and two accessories

 
Meanwhile Halston was always seen on the town, surrounded by friends and muses like Liza Minelli and popular models of the time. Designing uniforms for the hip airline Braniff in 1977 was a major plum. Publicity was huge. He went on to design uniforms for the Olympics, the Girl Scouts, Avis Rent a Car, and the New York City Police Department.

Halston and the Braniff uniforms

In 1983 Halston was excited to sign a deal with JC Penney, a most-definitely mid-market retailer, hoping to bring his designs within the affordable reach of more women. He was a pioneer in that thinking, but others felt the move "cheapened" the brand. Bergdorf Goodman was the first to drop his line and other backlash followed. In the end the collaboration with JC Penney was not a success. It damaged Halston yet paved the way for other designers to successfully make those moves in future.

At the same time the Halston business was bought and sold several tims, with Halston frustrated that he had less and less control. In 1988 he was diagnosed with AIDS and moved to San Francisco to be looked after by family until his death in 1990.

The brand has been revived sporadically without great success. The magic is still there, and his influence is ridiculously apparent in what we wear today. In our minds the name "Halston" still conjures disco balls and glamour; that's when he shone the brightest.

Bullseye at Target

See the names on the squares above? Each one represents a collaboration with Target since 1999. FYI Isaac was first. At the time his further credibility as a designer was seriously challenged. Now being tapped for a Target collaboration is considered a "made it" moment.

Some of the partnerships have caused near riots. There was nothing left but swinging hangers at my local target after the first few hours of Missoni. Others have been more "meh". I still couldn't tell you what is "Hunter".

The merriment begins September 14.

Not to be taken lightly, Target is publishing "Target: 20 Years of Design for All: How Target Revolutionized Accessible Design" with Rizzoli, available for pre-order on September 3, and something about a documentary film to come. I hope there is footage of those swinging hangers.

Can Style and Fashion Coexist?

 
The August issues of the fashion glossies are particularly thin this year. Several were combined into July/August and no heftier. If fashion were a clipper ship, we would now be in the doldrums. I am waiting for those September issues like Ahab looking for Moby Dick.

Meanwhile there's much to think about. Such as...

Style. What is it? You know it when you see it. You do know if you've got it. When we say, "She's got style" we are thinking in the positive. Conversely style can be bad style—old fashioned, outlandish, unflattering.

Fashion is fleeting. In today, out tomorrow. Fashion can also come back the day after tomorrow. Style can be something we all haven't arrived at yet.

You can be fashionable but still not stylish. If you have style you don't need to be fashionable.

You can admire and emulate someone else's style. That will give you style, but it won't be your style.

This exercise makes my head spin, but I still love to do it.

We all want style, or at least to feel good about how we look. Let's agree there's no magic formula and go from there.

The past dozen years or so fashion has tried to convince us anything goes while declaring what's in/what's out on a daily basis. We are not supposed to let celebrities influence us, yet we are bombarded by them and what they wore, only to be told they were dressed by someone else.

In order to have style you do need to care about fashion. You also have to know yourself. Then you can sit out some of fashion's dances that won't work for you. This is discipline.

I don't think discipline means limiting yourself. I will never be happy with only ten items of clothing carefully curated to take me through all my days (and nights). I own way more than that, but I think I know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em*. My life has too may possible scenarios, and I never know which "me" I may want to be today.

So why do you have problems coexisting with fashion and style? Are you stuck in a rut, wearing or (worse) buying the same stuff over and over again? Do you tell yourself fashion doesn't matter but don't quite believe that? Have you decided if you don't have a style now it's too late?

Perhaps...

> You know you should, but you always put if off for tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, and you really need to look terrific, you end up in desperation with a pair of green velvet drapes.

Tara called and wants her drapes back.

>You've been burned, perhaps by those drapes. You paid way too much for something, or you paid too little and paid the price.

> You are set in your ways. You're so sure you know what you like you don't even look to see what's possible.

> You have blinders on. You've made a deliberate decision not to let fashion in your life. You wonder if it's worth it and what you may be missing.

> You don't want to spend the money or the time or the effort. You don't want to spend the money AND the time AND the effort.

> You worry if you care about fashion you will appear shallow. Not likely, but if you follow fashion trends blindly you will be surely considered clueless.

Blinded by the bralette...

 
In conclusion, style and fashion not only coexist. You can't have one without the other.

* Thanks to Kenny Rogers and Marie Kondo.