Comments on: 11. Awareness, Style and a Dress!

By: Susan Tiner

Susan Tiner — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:02:30 +0000

Mater, you have my sympathy — we always get sticker shock after vacations!

As for direction, I plan to write more about that next week.

Rest up and relax :-).

By: Susan Tiner

Susan Tiner — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:00:31 +0000

Paula, you must feel good about being able to work within a budget! I wish it were true that style has nothing to do with money, but I think it's difficult for some people to achieve style inexpensively. You and Terri are both quite slim and, as far as I can tell, well proportioned, but some of us are neither and also have unique fit issues, in my case both a broad back and wide shoe size. Sewing can solve the clothing fit issues, but it takes time, especially when one's daughter wants Mom to sew things for her too :-). The wide shoe size is a terrible thing to deal with -- the choices are extremely limited. I just read in The Power of Style that Diana Vreeland had her shoes custom-made. Now that is a luxury I wish I could afford!

By: materfamilias

materfamilias — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:02:14 +0000

I’m not ready to answer this big question right now, what with unpacking and dealing with jet lag and sorting through accumulated mail, etc., but it’s certainly a relevant one to think about as the travel charges dominate this month’s credit card statement. I’m also interested in your efforts to focus the direction of your blog, something I’ve been thinking of doing for myself. Your new duds look book practical and stylish . . . and that dress is going to be lovely!

By: Paula

Paula — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:40:56 +0000

On balancing style and personal finance–I have always been able to work within a budget–and style has nothing to do with money. From clothes to artwork, there is always something beautiful to be had on the cheap. And it was my motivation for sewing too!

Love the way the dress is coming along and that wisteria is a masterpeice.

By: Susan Tiner

Susan Tiner — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:55:21 +0000

It’s interesting that you see wanting something you can’t afford as a combination guilt and resentment/greed. This is probably not uncommon but for me the question is more one of balancing asceticism and aestheticism. I tend towards asceticism — do not want things I cannot afford. Like you, I love the things I love, yet they tend to be external objects, not clothes. I seem to be missing a fundamental desire most women have for beautiful clothes or perhaps it got wrung out of me after so many years of taking a minimalist approach. It’s not that I don’t love clothes as I enjoyed dressing my children and love admiring clothes on other women and men in my life.

As for taste matching financial abilities I see what you mean about those matching because both stem from who you are as a person and yet what I was getting at in balancing style and financial goals has more to do with priorities than abilities. Having enough money to afford one’s taste is certainly preferable to not having enough and yet it doesn’t automatically mean that taste in home decor and clothes should take priority over other financial goals.

For me, and I think also for Martin (my unmarried partner), the house and gardens are the highest priority, followed by the kitchen and cooking, then music, reading and sewing. That’s just in terms of stuff. We value time above all. Looking well has its place, but doesn’t seem to be a high priority.

And yet we love quality, fit and design — this drives the sewing interest!

I am going to ponder your thoughts about clothing having a intimate relationship with oneself.

By: editor

editor — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:25:33 +0000

well, i may be the gal you posted that last question for. i’m lusting after a very small handful of items that amount to…an awful lot. a prohibitive amount really.
i love the things that i love, whether it’s an $8 vase that is perfect, or a $16 linen dish towel that makes me happy, or a homemade knit-and-fulled pen cup, a homemade skirt, $30 jeans, or $xxx shoes. my point is, my taste is not always out of line with my budget, but sometimes it is. i love objects that are just right, that speak to me, and then can also turn around and express something that is in me. my passion for a shirt or a shoe is no different than my feelings for my sewing machine (ancient singer featherweight), an enamel bread box, a needlepoint pillow, etc.
it feels very special to find clothing that meets all of my criteria (quality, fit, design), which makes me a little vulnerable when the “buy” impulse is tempered by sticker shock. unlike the other objects i have, clothing has a more intimate relationship with me – it goes out with me during the day, unlike my rosewood candlesticks. it goes on my body, so i’m touching it, and it me, all day, unlike a favorite pen. because of this, i do, in turn, value it above most other objects.
how do i balance then, wanting something i can’t afford? it’s a combo of guilt and resentment/greed, and we wait and see which side wins in the end, or if either side wins before the item is sold out.
but this issue is rare because for the most part i have taste that does match my financial abilities, which really makes sense, if my financial abilities are the result of who i am, just as much as my taste is.

By: Susan Tiner

Susan Tiner — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:57:58 +0000

The sun medallion sounds pretty. I tend not to like decorative elements on my tops. Not sure why. I like variation in texture though.

I know what you mean about making style a priority. It’s hard, but I see some positive benefits.

Microfiber is the most amazing invention since sliced bread!

It’s hard to make time to fuss with WordPress plug-ins. I’m amazed I got the comment luv working and also figured out the gravatars!

By: savvysavingbytes

savvysavingbytes — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 16:29:09 +0000

These days “balancing personal finance and style” is not high on my list of priorities, which can be shown in my latest clothing purchase — a black t-shirt from Goodwill that cost a monster $2.69. Actually though it does have style – it’s Italian with that wonderfully soft European cotton and on the front — a sun medallion in gold and silver thread.

I bought a black microfiber raincoat ages ago and its an AMAZING fabric. You can pummel it to death and it still looks brand-new fresh.

I see you have the luv plug-in for current posts. Was thinking about adding that once I get around to also adding the code for followup comments via e-mail, but I’m a true slow poke (and chicken) in the code department.

By: Susan Tiner

Susan Tiner — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:03:36 +0000

Kerry, I so relate.

Before this new quest, I didn’t care at all about style, but did care about dressing appropriately, and well, competitively for work. I dressed and acted like I meant business!

I’ll never forget my original Adobe interview, for which I dressed, thinking I probably ought to dress down, as I had done for my typical work day at General Electric, Corporate Research and Development — not an interview suit (though I did often wear formal suits) but a tasteful dress, pantyhose and heels — and was told, after the hire handshake, that I needed to lose that “back East corporate formality.”

That was 1990. I got with the T-shirts and jeans program pronto!

So, I get your point totally, and besides, you’ve got little kids. In those days — of raising little kids — I was just glad to survive most days let alone look good. The thing is, you’re still young and gorgeous — you may not think so but you are. Once you get into my age territory, the phrase “making an effort” takes on a whole new level of meaning.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 23:50:38 +0000

I wouldn’t have been able to put it into words before I read it just now, but I totally agree with Anna’s description.

The way I balance personal finance and style right now is to dress in super-cheap stuff and not really give a crap about style. I’m home 95% of the time, though, and the other 5% I’m at preschool dropoff, Walgreen’s, or Trader Joe’s. So nobody cares.