Le Black Dress Is Not About Fashion

Now it doesn't look like much.  Just a plain dress.  And it is not the right size, which I realized when I actually put it on without unzipping it.  Le Dress is going back to Coldwater Creek.  The funny, spooky, part is the salesperson ordered me the Medium instead of the Large and I had to call twice to get it changed. And she was right.  The medium would have been perfect.  The large is too large.

Diane doesn't buy this fashion list of clothing.  Well, I don't "buy" into super expensive "fashion" clothing either but I do wish the things in my closet were actually "Good Things", meaning things I actually could wear.  To places and events.  Le Black Dress was purchased as something I will be needing more often as the years pass.  A black dress for funerals.  A dress to wear to the symphony (if I ever go).  A dress to wear to a business cocktail party.  It will just be there in the closet (waiting) and I will reach in and pull it out and wear it.  No wondering "what will I wear", I will just wear "it" and be done with thinking about clothing.  I  can add a jacket or a cardigan or a thin see thru blouse over the dress.  It can be rolled up and packed in my carry on for every (future) trip I make, in case I need it.

 The TRICK here is that everything fits perfectly.  FITS PERFECTLY.  And my black dress does not.

As in everything, the list of ten times is only a list of items.  It's up to you to make it your own.

As I said, my uniform right now is the woodsy green cords (which fit perfectly), the white LS tees and one or the other grey sweater with a shawl collar.   I throw on the down vest with or without the golden yellow scarf.  I can go shopping, run errands or go to a restaurant with my husband.  I look and feel perfectly dressed.  And that is what the Ten Essential Items is all about.

In a few weeks my uniform might be the stainless steel grey jeans with a matching grey sweater and a white cotton shirt.  Or the black jeans with a black tunic sweater over a white tee.  I could add the black tweed vest to either.  Or the black pencil skirt with black tights and either of the sweaters.

The trick here is that I have these three or four wardrobe outfits ready and waiting.  I can practically empty the rest of the closet right now, as I won't be wearing anything else for the next three months. This makes my life so simple and stress free.

I may even adopt the really odd French practice of removing an item from the closet when I buy something new.  One new pair of pants in, one old pair of pants, out.  At this point, I need to be removing a whole lot more than one thing each time I buy something new.  I have to be brutal and get rid of everything I actually never wear (because it goes with nothing) or (doesn't fit).  So very difficult.