Feb 09
Sally Bjornsen

LadyDianaFlowersI have a friend who judges women on whether or not they remember where they were when Lady Di died.  She uses this as a barometer for what kind of woman you are.  If you can’t remember or don’t care my friend would instantly dismiss you as “not her kind of girl.”

Well I can take that concept a step further…I know what I was wearing when Lady Di died—a pair of burnt orange Gap jeans, a gray short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of ratty Nike Pegasus shoes, sans socks.  I was probably wearing a bad bra too; I don’t remember the brand.  Underwear? Who knows?  I had been painting my office and made a quick trip to the paint store when I heard the news.  I wish I had been more appropriately dressed for the occasion.  It was Lady Di after all.

I know it’s silly and probably a giant brain drain but like songs from the 70s I remember almost every important event in my life by the outfit I wore.  I am not just talking about clothes I wore in pictures; I am talking about clothes that I wore to my first gyno appt., my first kiss, and my first day of third grade.  The list goes on and on, it’s kind of embarrassing.

I also have a list in my brain of my top ten outfits of a lifetime.  It starts with an ensemble from third grade.  A knit pant suit with yellow and white horizontal striped bell bottoms (who knew that was ever a good look) and a solid yellow knit tunic.  And then there was the pair of footless black leggings paired with a fuchsia shaker sweater that went down to my knees—In retrospect I looked like The Big Fig Newton with a ratty perm.  Then there was the Rayon black blazer from The Limited that I wore with pleated Seattle Blues acid washed jeans, The Nicole Miller aqua and black print flapper dress with the long waist (it looked hideous on me but I loved the print).

I won’t bore you with the rest of my top ten, but here’s my point.  Apparel makes my world-go-round.  It’s part of who I am, how I approach the world and how I organize my mind.  Weird, and quite possibly shallow, I know.  Just think of all the world’s problems that have been left unsolved simply because my brain is filled with memories of polyester and wool. But, oh well, that’s me.

For the record, as I write this I am wearing a J. Crew heather gray long sleeved cotton t-shirt, a pair of strategically ripped jeans by Big Star, my Frye engineer boots with Hue stripped socks, a pair of Calvin Klein undies and a flesh colored Natori bra.

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Aug 04
Sally Bjornsen

the_endHello all, I must admit I am looking forward to going off this diet (less than a month away).  It has been a fast year.  It seems like yesterday that I was floating this idea out to my sister, who by the way,  lasted only one month. 

I am looking forward to ending this “experiment” not because I plan to gorge on frilly tops, or binge on pencil thin jeans (just say no to skinny jeans), but because I’m done.  I have learned so much on this diet, about what is important to me, what I like to wear and how much clothing used to consume my time.  That said, I am certain that I don’t look as polished as I used to, but I don’t really care about that right now.  If I worked in an office with other people that might be different but since I work alone most of the time it’s just me. 

So, “what?” you ask, will I do when I am off this diet.  Well the first thing I am going to do is buy a pair of jeans.  I am not sure what brand but what I do know is that I want a comfortable pair without holes or patches.  My most comfortable jeans, the ones I have turned to day in and day out this past year, the ones with the hippe patches are Big Star.  Naturally I will investigate that brand first, hoping to replace the pair that seriously needs to be made into a pillow or converted to dust rags.

I am also going to buy American whenever possible, (no, I’m not some weird conservative evangelist). I like the idea of buying local if possible, you know, reducing my apparel footprint while buying from people in our country who need the money. And on that note, some good news.  The brands Splendid and Michael Stars are both American made local companies (not sure if MS denim is made in the US, looking into that).  I love both these brands mostly because they make comfortable, stylish, knit apparel,  which I have discovered is what I like to wear. 

Now, I know there are a lot of you who are just starting this diet so hearing about what I am going to buy when I am off this thing is probably not helping your cause.  That said, I am interested in hearing from others who are moving off this thing to find out what they are going to do, buy, not buy, etc.  Also, if any of you know of some great American brands I am all ears.

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