What an honour!! Writing a guest post for Inside Out Style

A blind chick writing about fashion on her own blog is unlikely enough, but what are the odds of being asked to do a guest post for one of the web’s best style bloggers? That’s exactly what happened when Australian image consultant Imogen Lamport of Inside Out Style approached me about contributing to her Stylish Thoughts series. I was stunned and flattered in equal measure and naturally agreed to do it. You can read the results right here.

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Live by Request: Developing my style identity

Today’s post comes courtesy of Julie, who posed an interesting query in the Suggestion Box

I’m very curious to know how you have developed your style persona?
How did you know you prefer modern classic clothes and develop your old Hollywood look?

Most people I know developed their style identity through observing people, whether they were friends, family members, movie stars or just wworkaday folks going about their business. It’s natural to take a fancy to a look and decide to emulate it. If I tried to go that route, though, I’d have to embrace stripes in a big way, since my days would be spent doing jail time on groping charges. Tactile cues take the place of visual ones for me, and my sartorial choices stem directly from what I find pleasing under my hands. Except for that vital substitution, though, I suspect my style identity evolution followed much the same course as most people’s.

I’m not sure exactly how someone develops a sense of aesthetics or how they come to conclude that look A appeals to them more than look B. I only know that such preferences start to take root with most of us pretty early on. That was the case for me. some of my earliest recollections involve tracing shapes in books, handling household items and generally starting to furnish my mental picture gallery with images of how the world around me looked. The items I kept coming back to time and again were the ones that I could imagine clearly in my mind after feeling them. The vision I had in my infancy may have left me with some capacity to retain mental imagery, because that’s what I’ve done all my life. When I think of, say, an apple, I have two levels of recollection. One is to recall the exact shape of the fruit in my hand, the texture of its skin etc. The other is to actually picture how it would look sittig before me on a table. The image is based largely on the details I ascertained with my hands, as well as bits of information dropped by sighted friends (the mental picture will change whether the apple is red or green). The clearer my tactile impressions and the more detailed the visual descriptions, the more vivid my mental image becomes. This doesn’t matter in the least for apples, since they all wind up looking the same anyway, but the mental picture process is integral to my style evolution.

Essentially, I don’t feel comfortable wearing things that I can’t picture clearly in my head. My mental gallery is expanding all the time, pushing my stylistic boundaries as it does so, but when you get right down to it, I still struggle to embrace looks that fall outside of my tactile comfort zone. By definition, tailored, classic clothing with clearly defined lines are much more pleasing under my hands simply because they’re structured in a way that makes it easy to note garment details. They contour my body, which of course gives me an excellent idea of their shape. They lack excessive embellishments, which frequently feel distracting under the hand and compete with the flow of an outfit in my experience. The details I can make out, such as necklines, sleeve styling, collar type, pocket placement and the like, are important features to take note of in any garment and are particularly easy to pick out on garments with clean lines. And of course, many classic garments tend to be made in higher-quality fabrics, which can lure me in on their merits alone. I grew up with classic garments in the closets of all my family members and developed a discerning touch when it came to the types of details noted above. Classic was my comfort zone, and I had to reach adulthood before I developed any degree of curiosity about looks beyond this admittedly narrow scope.

Nowadays I’ve branched out considerably. I’ve come to enjoy and even sport looks you wouldn’t have found anywhere near my body in the past. Just as sighted fashionistas adjust their eye to knew looks, I’ve gained tactile familiarity with moto styling, slim-legged silhouettes, billowy blouses, empire tops, ruched dresses, handkerchief hems and even colour-blocking. All of these elements have crept into my style as I tried to keep myself from getting bored with my wardrobe and maintain a current vibe with my sighted friends and coworkers. Even so, it’s those mental images formed early in life that remain my benchmarks for fashion decisions. I have a turquoise bib necklace that I enjoy wearing, but still prefer my chunky or multilayered pearl necklaces best because they’re easier to picture. The jacket that warms my heart most at the moment is a tailored black blazer with interestingly-shaped buttons, easily styled cuffs and a subtle ruffle trim that elevate it from the status of a true basic. My leather moto jacket, which comes out to play at least three times a week, still can’t dislodge that more classic blazer from atop my favourites list, simply because the touch-friendly details make it that much more enjoyable to wear. In a similar vein, I’m slower to adopt of-the-moment patterns because they rarely appear in a form that I can touch. Is it any wonder that, when I first embraced animal print, I acquired a zebra dress with raised stripes over a leopard blouse whose design could not be felt?

I don’t know how accurate Julie’s incredibly kind description of my look may be, but I do know my style has a decidedly classic bent. I’m ok with this so long as I keep finding ways to stay current and have fun with the whole process. Hopefully I’ve done something to explain why my wardrobe and image have shaped up the way they have.

Stil classic after all these years

Thanks for the great question, Julie! If any others want to follow her lead, I’d love to see more comments in the suggestion box. I’m not shy about questions, so if there’s a topic you’d be interested to see me cover or even something you’ve always wanted to ask a blind chick, fire away!

My favourite dress silhouette...with requisite modern touches

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Ode to fantastic customer service

When I rhapsodized about my personal magic brands, I focused on the cut and fit of their merchandise and the way they felt like they’d been made to order for my figure. I completely neglected one key element of any brand worth it’s salt — strong customer service. Take it from me, blind shoppers make extraordinary demands on retail staff, and those who are able to rise to the occasion immediately earn my respect. Every now and then, however, someone proves to be so exceptional that they deserve to be singled out and praised to the skies.

I recently had such an experience at Laura Canada, one of my aforementioned magic brands. I’ve been pretty lucky with their sales staff in the past, but one of their employees recently blew me away with her combination of personal charm, style savvy and exceptional understanding of my own individual fashion quirks. Below is a letter I wrote to head office that sums up what she did and how the results turned out. I am only making slight variations to the text, since I don’t imagine she’d want her full name and exact work location broadcast on a random blog. 🙂

Hello,

I was given your name when I contacted the Laura _____ location to sing the praises of Stephanie, one of their sales associates. The manager informed me that commendations were best directed to head office, and in this case I am happy to comply.

I am a long-time Laura customer who has been consistently impressed by the high quality and current styles available at various locations. My shopping needs are complicated, however, since I am totaly blind and require sighted assistance to keep me informed about such key details as colour and fit. I have been frequenting the ____ location for several years, but not until recently have I found a sales associate who is able to give me consistently excellent advice. That person is Stephanie.

Every time I come into the store, Stephanie takes the time to walk me through all relevant sections and describe the various offerings in the sort of detail I need. This approach may seem tedious and time-consuming, but Stephanie’s patience and positivity never fail her as I pump her for as much information as possible and scour the store for exactly the right pieces. Stephanie has helped me close gaps in my everyday summer wardrobe on two occasions. Her sharp eye and honest feedback led me to select a variety of pieces, but her coup de grace took place this past weekend.

I was in search of cocktail-wear that would be suitable for the various weddings I will be attending in the next few months. Based on my previous positive experiences with her, I called Stephanie to ask specifically about your selection of formal, knee-length dresses. She obviously remembered details about my size and style preferences, as she immediately urged me to come into the store. She informed me that a certain blue frock, with a v-neck and ruffle detailing over one shoulder, looked like exactly the type of dress she could see me wearing. She remembered my pentient for clean lines and vibrant colours and further recalled that most shades of blue tended to flatter my skin and hair. She also recollected my size and checked to make sure the store had it in stock.

I had already acquired a cocktail dress that I felt would do the trick and had not planned to come into the store, but I changed my mind based exclusively on Stephanie’s urging. It was one of the best fashion decisions I ever made. The blue cocktail dress she singled out turned out to be exactly what I was looking for in every detail. I purchased it on the spot, wore it to a wedding the very next day and spent the entire evening fielding complements on how it looked on me.

As you can see, she was right on target

This is certainly a testament to your styling team, but even more so to Stephanie’s customer service skills. Her ability to remember details about her customers and zero in on styles that work for them is truly exceptional and deserves the highest commendation. Equally praiseworthy is her sales technique, which has been effective without ever becoming intrusive. She has been a delight to deal with on every occasion and is now one of my main reasons for shopping at Laura.

Kindly share this note with Stephanie herself, as well as her bosses at the _____ location and anyone else at head office who monitors employee performance. I would like to spread the word of what a winner you have hired in her.

Should you have any further questions or need any more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me either by email or by phone.

Many thanks for your wonderful products and the superior customer service provided by first-rate employees like Stephanie.

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Magic Brands

CAVEAT: Sorry for the sideways pictures in this post. We don’t know what’s going on, but we’re working on fixing it!

I’m not always a big one for brand loyalty. I couldn’t care less whether my peanut butter sandwich contains Kraft or Smuckers jam, I’ve been known to have both Royale and Cottonelle tissues on my night table, and my clothes have been washed with everything from Tide Liquid Fresh to Sunlight Powder and a lot of things in between. But every now and then I stumble upon a brand that hits all the right notes and inspires lifelong loyalty in this fickle customer.

I don’t know about you, but nothing psychs me up more than stumbling onto my personal magic fashion brands. You know how it goes. You walk into a store, grab a handful of items, then alternate between gasps of shock and squeels of joy as piece after piece slips onto your body and settles into a glove-like fit. Styles you thought were incompatible with your body type settle effortlessly over your problem areas. Colours that make you radiant and that are nowhere to be found in lesser stores populate the shelves. Those accessories you’d dreamed of for months and despaired of ever finding are positioned right by the counter as a casual afterthought. You want to scoop up armfuls of clothes en route to the cash screaming “budget be damned, I’ll take it all!”

Everyone has these individual fashion meccas, and I currently have two — one on either side of the border, no less.
The Halogen brand from U.S. retail giant Nordstrom. has recently blown me away with the quality and fit of their relatively affordable pieces, while closer to home the offerings at Laura Canada feel like they’ve been designed and cut specifically for my body.

Busty girls everywhere can attest to the fact that woven tops and jackets are notoriously hard to fit, particularly if you throw a defined waist into the equasion. If it closes at the chest, it looks like your torso went on a camping trip and pitched a tent. If it fits through the lower body, you’re likely to be recruited by the next Hooter’s manager you come across. So imagine my delight when I recently ordered two Halogen jackets from the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. Not only did they fit perfectly, but they felt great and fulfilled my number one criterion for styling myself!

It fits!!

And so does this!! Please ignore bottoms 🙂

Woven tops, particularly those with button closures, pose similar challenges for the well-endowed. Enter Laura Canada with their great offering of crisp, high-quality summer tops that actually make me feel polished and appropriate. The sleeveless blue impressed me so much that I promptly duplicated it in white! The selection of bottoms was equally exciting for a tall girl like me who struggles to find capris, or clams as I’ve taken to calling them, that hit me at the right point between my knee cap and the widest part of my calf (the secret is to buy them in petites). .

Pant length and pattern and fit, oh my!

More proper clam length? And a woven top in a signature colour that fits right? Yes please!

These are just the basics of what my two current magic brands can do! More on their myriad wonders in another post.

So what are the brands that make your heart skip a beat and your credit card cry out for mercy? How about on the other end of the spectrum…are there brands or stores that consistently fail to deliver the goods for your body and style?

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When in doubt, listen to Aretha!

There are dozens of reasons why people try to dress well and are willing to put effort into devising appropriate outfits for a variety of occasions. Most of my reasons are directly informed by my blindness, and dozens of others were discussed in depth over on YouLookFab in a fascinating thread on why people want to look their best. One of the common themes emerging from that thread is one that resonated strongly with me, but seems to miss the mark with a lot of others I’ve encountered lately. Is the notion of showing respect through clothing choices going out of style? Based on a few recent experiences, I’ve got to wonder if more people shouldn’t crank the Queen of Soul’s classic anthem for the spelling impaired while getting dressed!

I’ve attended a number of weddings already this summer, and those occasions have clearly demonstrated the wide array of fashion standards people apply to these occasions. I personally believe weddings require you to put your best foot forward as a mark of respect to the bride and groom. With some luck, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime day for them. They have spent hours working through guest lists, logistical arrangements and endless other details in an effort to make the day as special as possible. Regardless of the vibe or venue, most couples have also dedicated significant financial resources to their special day. To me, it’s imperative to dress in a way that acknowledges both the significance of the event and the extraordinary efforts required to make it happen. To my way of thinking, turning up in jeans would send the message that this occasion is no more important than a get-together at a local bar. Unless the bride and groom have specifically indicated that they’re going for a casual vibe, I’m going to arrive in a cocktail dress and heels with my hair done and my evening makeup in place. I take my cue from the venue to some degree, but I happen to believe this type of dress code is applicable regardless of the location. Just because the festivities aren’t being held at a posh venue doesn’t mean they didn’t require a significant financial commitment. Dressing up for a wedding is just a fundamental mark of respect in my book. My boyfriend is of like mind and insists on wearing suits to all but beachfront weddings. But based on what we’ve seen at the first two weddings of the season, our approach is far from universal.

My boyfriend took it upon himself to do some people watching and made some discoveries that left our collective jaws agape. Men wearing golf shirts? Check. Women in dresses more suitable for poolside barbecues? Uh-huh. None-too-dressy capri pants? Mm-hmm. Jeans on both genders? You bet. Even flip flops were in evidence. The real winner had to be the woman who turned up at a beautiful waterfront yacht club sporting denim cutoffs and a spaghetti-strap tank top. I realize that some people are trying to contrive a dressy appearance from within narrow budgets and limited wardrobes, but you can’t convince me that shorts and a tank were the best she could do. There are bargans to be had, and even making the effort to pick up a simple pencil skirt and blouse on sale would show greater appreciation for the bride and groom. It’s a privilege to be invited to a wedding, not a right. The outfits my boyfriend spotted didn’t reflect that fact at all.

In general it seemed easier for women to miss the mark with their clothing options, probably because we have such a vast array of fashion options at our disposal. But men were by no means exonerated. My boyfriend was particularly affronted by adults wearing juvenile-looking ties that were either tied too short or featured patterns you’d expect to see on a six-year-old at his first formal function. He contends that only collared dress-shirts fit the bill for occasions like this, while acknowledging that jackets may be a bit hot at certain outdoor venues. I’m personally delighted by his sartorial standards and was thrilled when he wore his suit despite some relatives’ assertions that “khakkis and a golf shirt would be just fine.” Our outfit choices were directly proportional to the amount of effort the bride and groom put into their wedding day, and we could therefore enjoy the weddings confident in the knowledge that we were paying them the respect they deserved. We were by no means the only ones who chose to dress up, but even if we were, I don’t think either of us plan to change our approach any time soon.

The situation is a little merkier when you enter the realm of what I’ll call hybrid dress codes. I usually balk a little when I see things like “cocktail casual” or “biker chic,” since that involves striking a sometimes tricky balance. My personal strategy is to err slightly on the dressier side of the scale in question. The outfit I wore to a recent “cocktail casual” party, for instance, featured one of my smarter-looking day dresses that got sassed up with cocktail-worthy accessories. According to my fellow party-goers, that strategy served me well and my ensemble fit right in.

A wedding held at a more casual venue still calls for a dressier getup

When wedding bells ring, this is the kind of thing we wear

What do you think. Are my boyfriend and I old-fashioned in our approach to things like weddings? What’s your strategy for occasions like the ones I’ve described? And what do you think of hybrid dress codes…are they liberating or maddening?

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Making the Dress — too boring for reality tv, but good enough for me!

I suppose it’s inevitable as you march through your 20’s that you’ll hit that summer where just about everyone you know decides to get hitched. For me, it’s Summer 2010 — everyone and their brother is running, not walking, down the isle! With no fewer than four weddings to attend in a two-month span, I knew it was time to give my outfit some serious thought — the couples involved all make unprecedented commitments of time and money for these affairs, and it’s only respectful to put your best foot forward (a rant for another entry, perhaps)? 🙂

While I am an unabashed girly girl and love getting all dolled up, nothing brings out my body image issues faster than formalwear. So I decided to spare myself the indignity and demoralization of fruitless shopping sprees and painstaking alterations and splurge a little…I decided to get a dress custom-made.

The first part of the process was easy for me — I knew exactly who I wanted to hire for this job. My local tailor employs a delightful seamstress named Tania who has an academic background in fashion design, prodigious skills with a needle and the all-important ability to make style choices based on her clients’ needs rather than her own preferences. I had only tapped into her talents once before when I needed a very specific type of top to match a skirt and was most impressed with the results.

Nice work, Tania!

I came to her with a fairly good idea of what I wanted — I envisioned a turquoise dress, since it’s a colour that’s both on-trend right now and a classic for my complexion. I figured it would also be a good four-season colour, looking appropriately summery in hot weather and introducing a dash of colour to winter gatherings. The amazing ladies at the YouLookFab forum, who I involved from the start, were in total agreement about the colour and even had numerous suggestions about the ideal style.

Much as I loved their suggestions, I decided to let Tania have the most input in the dress — this was her baby and I had enough confidence in her to give her, if not carte blanche, then at least carte creme.

She agreed that turquoise would be a good colour, but produced three options for me to show my “fashion consultants” and be absolutely sure. The turquoise received unanimous approval over the bright blue and emerald green options.

With colour instructions and style suggestions in hand, Tania went out to acquire fabric, which she fortunately got for a song during a store clearance event. She chose a semi-sheer turquoise silk and a slightly more green lining. The effect of the two layered together, she assured me, was a saturated turquoise shade that would play well with my paler skin and dark hair.

I was promised the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts

Tania took my measurements at my first fitting and had constructed a very basic skirt and top by the second one. Using those prototypes she refined her measurements and could focus on the mor interesting stylistic elements. She went for a double-layer of silk in the skirt, creating an overlay effect that comprises about three-quarters of the dress. I loved the breezy feel of it and ok’ed that without hesitation. To maintain the same effect on the top she proposed the innovation of a halter detail, something I had never sported before as a result of my general curviness. While wearing the skirt and top separates, she passed a piece of fabric over the appropriate places to show me what she had in mind. I could feel that the halter formed the same type of overlay that was already incorporated in the skirt and liked the idea of maintaining symmetry between the two halves. . I had been insisting on some sort of sleeve to cover my less-than-ideal arms, and she assured me she could make the two potentially conflicting design elements work together. So I let her go ahead with the halter, slip on one sleeve and take a picture so I could get some feedback.

I told you it wasn't complete! 🙂

The picture I posted over on YLF generated some intense discussion, from which I took away the message that the halter detail and the elbow sleeve were working at cross-purposes. The ladies unanimously felt the drama of the halter was compromised by the sleeve. When I called Tania to ask her opinion, she said she too felt the sleeve needed adjustment and proposed a shorter one using just the semi-sheer silk fabric. This struck me as a reasonable compromise. By the time I came back in she had prepared the sleeve at the right length, stitched most components together and moved the halter in a little bit to make the bodice more streamlined.

Getting there...

I was perfectly cool with this adjusted version and gave her the goahead to finish it up, which meant just putting in last-minute touches (including fabulous keepers that snap around my bra straps and hold them in place — a particularly useful feature with such a low neckline)! The length and lightness of the sleeve gave me the tactile elusion of going bare-shouldered while still providing the coverage I wanted…SCORE!

My styling dilemmas are too boring to be relived, either in my brain or in writing, so I will wrap this up by showing you the final product as it appeared at one of the weddings. The light fabric and low shoulder and necklines were exactly right for the balmy breezes and scorching sunshine in which the ceremony took place, and I suspect I was one of the most comfortable people in the area. The fact that it was custom-made meant it felt absolutely perfect on my body, and the comments I got suggest that Tania created another winner.

Voila!

The process had its stressful moments (at least for a chronic overthinker like me), and it doesn’t come cheap, but overall it was one I wouldn’t hesitate to repeat again. Sure it’s as complex and calculated as the creation of your average 90’s boy band, but the combination of lovely fabric, unique styling and perfect fit ensures it will have a long and hopefully successful career as my go-to cocktail outfit (longer than O-Town’s, anyway). 🙂 It won’t even need to do a chair dance in three years to keep itself in the spotlight!

Thanks to one and all who offered input on this new wardrobe favourite..and special kudos to the amazing Tania, if she ever reads this!

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Live by Request: Behind the scenes with a blind shopper

I’m just going to pretend the last post went up recently rather than an obscenely long time ago and delve right back into the business of blogging. My long absence will be explained, if obliquely, in later posts. 🙂 Thanks for your patience!!

Today’s post comes courtesy of reader and fashion blogger Marianna, who is wearing and writing fabulous things over at Absolutely Apple (go check her out at once)! Here’s what she asked me to do:

I’d be interested in reading more about your retail experience… can you share some examples of great  sales associates?

Without further ado, allow me to take you behind the scenes during this weekend’s accessory-shopping Extravaganza!

Yesterday I marched myself down to The Bay, i.e. Canada’s answer to Macy’s, in an effort to kit myself out for the myriad weddings I have to attend this summer. The turquoise cocktail dress is being assembled by a seamstress as we speak, so my job was to attend to the accessories needed to take my outfit to the next level. I’d already dealt with shoes by haunting a store that actually caters to people with yetti feet like mine. The silver sandals I found should serve me well for interminable cocktail hours, dancing, and other such wedding-esque goodness. My goal yesterday was to score a multilayered peral necklace, an appropriate evening clutch and a pair of versatile everyday summer sandals, preferrably in pewter metallic (my new go-to footwear shade).

Shopping on your own as a blind person takes planning if you expect to have any success. To that end, I called the Bay’s Guest Services desk Saturday morning, explained my situation and asked if someone would be free to accompany me through the store in search of my purchases. I need the help not so much for navigating the palacial flagship location, though that certainly helps, but more to help me sort the merchandise wheat from the chaff. Items like jewelry tend to be kept behind glass counters and away from prying little fingers like mine, and while I can size up the main style points of things like bags and shoes, functional eyes are still needed to fill me in on features like colour, price etc. The obliging folks at Guest Services got back to me promptly and informed me that they had found a staff member who would be free to help me out at 3:30. I suppose they would have dug someone up if I’d just arrived unannounced, but I know from experience that they appreciate having notice.

The staff member they found turned out to be Godi (sp?), a delightful 24-year-old sales associate plucked from men’s denim and thrust into an afternoon of unbridled femininity. She turned out to be fabulous, catching on quickly to my style preferences even though they appeared to differ somewhat from her own and being endlessly patient with her picky new customer.

Our first task was to find a necklace that struck the balance between understated elegance and evening glamour. I’ve developed a passion for pearls and decided a multistrand necklace would set things off nicely. Accordingly, Godi and I raided the jewelry counters, dragging another sales associate along with us, and unearthed several possibilities. Godi then made a strong case for future canonization by agreeing to snap pictures of me wearing these necklaces, which I could then forward on to my “Magnificent Mobile-Shopping Mavens” (TM), aka Marianna and Maya from the YouLookFab community.

Godi first selected a necklace that my friends ruled to be a little too blingy:

The next selection won an aesthetic thumbs up, but was rejected out of hand by me because it felt too cheap and flimsy. 🙂 Yes, sadly I am one of those who will pass up a bargain in favour of quality.

An option that was just a tad more me

Godi and I indulged our inner girly streaks with the next two floral-inspired necklaces, which were both vetoed by my reliable friends (one too dainty, the other too cute).

caption id=”attachment_107″ align=”alignleft” width=”300″ caption=”I guess I shouldn\’t steal thunder from

Not gonna lie, I thought this looked pretty and elegant, but my girls help keep me modern

“Guess I shouldn’t steal thunder from the bride\’s bouquet”]In the end, though, our efforts paid off when a sales associate unearthed this Ralph Lauren piece. The few silver pearls gave me the sought-after touch of evening sparkle, plus the tactile interest I can rarely resist, and it got the green light from real-life and virtual helpers alike.

We have a winner!

With pearls safely in hand, we proceeded to the handbag department where I expected to be thoroughly overwhelmed with an outrageous selection. Alas, it wasn’t to be. I could count the number of clutches on one hand, and most of them weren’t my scene anyway. Fortunately we did find one reasonably-priced winner, a sleak silver satin bag that will fill a gap in my cocktail wardrobe. Kindly ignore the red one I’m also holding in the pic below. I loved it even more than the silver, but the shade was too dark for my purposes (I’m told a brighter red would work best with my dress).

With that accomplished, Godi and I proceeded to the shoe department, where an amusing misunderstanding soon gave way to the most frustrating part of the day. I don’t think she heard me when I talked about searching out every-day sandals, because she started directing me to various silver pumps, stilleto sandals and other evening shoes. Once she got on the same page as me, however, she soon realized why I hate shoe shopping so much. Ridiculously wide feet + very strong opinions about what I’m looking for = a hellish shopping experience. But being the pro she was, she listened carefully to my style preferences and trotted out a better selection of viable options in five minutes than bona fide shoe salespeople had shown me in three days. Silver or pewter metallic shoes with low vamps and moderate heels are a tall order for some, apparently. Designers, I’m talkin’ to you!

Unfortunately for Godi, her brilliance didn’t bare fruit immediately, since most of what she showed me proved too narrow for my snowshoe-esque peds. She’s a trooper, though, and stuck with it for half an hour until she came across these.

Imagine my shock and delight when they actually fit in the size above what I normally take? And imagine my further joy when the salesman, upon discovering they didn’t have that size in stock, ran to a neighbouring location in another shopping mall to get them for me? That’s the kind of customer service money can’t buy!

By now Godi and I felt like firm friends (never question the tie that binds you to someone who actively tries to help you put shoes on), and we chatted about our respective jobs, her family back in Jamaica, her singing aspirations and her planned course of study. But her bosses would have been proud to note that she wasn’t just passing idle time — she spotted a bag that she rightly guessed I would love and talked me into buying it. Gorgeous leather, lovely styling, a sale price and a silver tongue proved irresistable.

Some impulse purchases are worth it, no?

Obviously I felt the need to put these new pieces into action asap, and here are most of them in a real–life context.

A good day's work should be celebrated without delay!

By this time I’m sure Godi was delighted to receive a grateful hug, pop me in the back of a cab and see the back of me for a long time. But not as glad as I was to have lucked out with such a patient, fun and savvy sales associate!

Marianna, hope this answers your question!

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Easy pickups

No, not me! 🙂

I’ve mentioned in the past that some fashion purchases are easier to make than others. Among the easiest for me are those accessories so dear to most feminine hearts, shoes and handbags. There’s some rich irony at work — I hate shoe shopping with a passion because of my absurdly wide, size 10 feet, but have a very strong track record when it comes to picking out flattering, fashionable styles on my own. I’m sure it’s because shoes are so very tactile. Put your hands on a favourite pair of shoes and you can instantly feel whether it’s clunky or dainty, the shape of the toe, the height of the heel, the style and amount of ornamentation, the height of the vamp and all those other saliant, shoe-tastic details. I personally favour clean lines, moderate, stable heels and designs that aren’t too embellished. If I feel tons of straps and a towering heel the width of my eyelash, I’ve passed it by faster than you can say Jimmy Choo. The only wildcard is colour, and again here my preferences are classic. I fell into a black rut for awhile, but even as I branch out I prefer to find more neutral options that go with a variety of outfits. A natural reaction, I guess, for someone who finds the shoe-shopping process demoralizing at times. Metallics are my hew of choice right now, usually in pewter or silver to coordinate better with my jewelry. Red and white are other colours that appear in my disorganized pile…I mean wardrobe. Of course the real deciding factor is comfort, and that depends entirely on feel. If my foot is buldging out of a shoe or feels pinched, I know immediately and reject the item out of hand. The shoes I bought the other day illustrate my methods and preferences perfectly. I was on the hunt for silver ballet flats, ideally with a bit of a wedge for maximum versatility. It took about two minutes to identify the pair that fit my aesthetic criteria (sans wedge) and half that time to realize the comfort factors were all in place, too.

A lot of the same factors come into play when choosing bags, which I find a much more enjoyable occupation. I’m more willing to experiment here, but my love of clean lines, high-quality fabrics and interesting textures almost always carries the day. Rather than fit, I focus on how a bag feels on my body (where it hits once on my shouldder, the shape under my hand, etc). Excessive ornamentation turns me off here too, and I tend to lose interest if a bag is either under or overly structured. My boyfriend probably thinks I should pay more attention to whether or not a bag will stay on my shoulder once it’s put there, and indeed that is starting to influence my thinking and probably explains my most recent purchase — a small cross-body bag in gorgeous quilted black leather with a silver chain strap.

New shoes and bag in action

How about you? What fashion-related items can you pick out easily and still feel good about the next day? 🙂

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Adventures in Style: Follicle Follies

I’ve talked before about my need to rely on others for some aspects of my style. The process has worked fairly well on the whole, but every now and then the approach leads to some hilarious misadventures. Take yesterday, for example.

I’ve been going to the same hair stylist literally my entire life. I was introduced to her as a baby in a basket, received my first toddler trim at her hands and continued to frequent her unpretentious, reasonably-priced salon from the time I was old enough to make my own style decisions. I felt more comfortable in a mom-and-pop operation than in a fancy shop; I felt someone who knew me since childhood and understood my major style influence was a lot more likely to listen to my requests. She’s also come to understand my occasional hnervousness about trying new hair styles, realizing that concepts like this are particularly hard for me to grasp. Hair is one area where my sense of touch is pretty much useless. There isn’t much correlation between the way faces and hair feel and they way the look to others (a face that sighted people described as heart-shaped just feels kind of angular to me, for instance). Hair cuts are the same way — other than length and very general shape, I can’t tell them apart, nor can I figure out which style would suit a particular face shape. My hairdresser gets this and has gained my confidence over time. I now let her take the odd risk with my hair secure in the knowledge that she’ll never knowingly stear me wrong. She’s not great at describing the work she does, but she’s excellent at making choices that suit me down to the ground.

So when she and her equally-trustworthy assistant suggested I should branch out and get a few highlights, I figured I’d give it a shot. I know full well my hair could use some additional textural interest, and the growing number of grey strands doesn’t need to come to the world’s attention quite yet. 🙂

Me moments before leaving for my hair appointment

Despite my confidence in my stylists, ,however, my leariness was in full force yesterday when I went for my appointment. No matter how much I trust my style advisors, I still get nervous about branching out in major ways. It’s especially bad with hair, since I can’t just pop it off and swap it out for something more flattering if I’m not digging it. When I got to the salon, I emphasized time and again that I wanted the highlights to be subtle, unobtrusive, natural-looking etc. My stylist assured me that’s exactly the effect she was going for — something akin to the look you get when you spend a lot of time in the sun. Unfortunately, my nervousness spooked her, causing her to be extra cautious. When the colouring was done, the highlights barely showed at all!! 🙂

Me returning from my hair appointment...with the exact same colouring

My poor stylist was a lot more upset about this than I was. If there’s going to be a snafu, I’d far rather have it be less obvious than more so! That said, I felt all kinds of guilty for freaking her out with my own uncertainty, wasting a bunch of her time and leaving her disappointed with the results. I would have happily paid full price, but felt even more guilty when she didn’t charge me for the highlights at all! After the judgment she’s shown over the years, I should have had a bit more confidence in her ability to get the colouring right. But therein lies the balancing act challenge, which occasionally leads to amusing results like this one. Next time, I promised her carte blanche on my head…we’ll see how that goes!

For the record, the pictures above also showcase occasions when my reliance on others paid off. The cream straight-leg pants, black tunic and black patent ballet flats were items I chose myself based on fabrication, fit and feel, but the multi-strand turquoise necklace and short brown leather jacket were items selected for me by others. The black mock-croc guess handbag in the second shot was also picked by me (I told you I’m a sucker for great texture)!

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Dressing in the Dark, Part 4: So What’s the Point?

To stop blathering on about this subject, of course? 🙂

Thanks for sticking with me through this rather lengthy series despite warnings that it may get complicated! Your questions have given me fodder for some future posts, and I’ve loved hearing your input on this topic.

After wading through my previous posts, you may well wonder why I bother to try and develop a fashion sense of my own. Why should I care about such an ostensibly visual subject? Why go through the effort of devising strategies for something I’ll never fully understand? My answers are probably the same as those given by other style-conscious ladies, but as with so many things in my life, my blindness has informed my perspective. In this instance, my motives have made me something of an outsider in the blind community, with which I’m absolutely fine.

A person’s appearance and presentation are often a reflection of that individual’s personality. In my case, my quest for style reflects a variety of things; my interest in aesthetics, my desire to project a polished, confident appearance, and my fierce desire to fit into the sighted world. I learned early on that my interactions with sighted peers were strongly influenced by the way I looked, more specifically by my manner of dressing. If sporting unfashionable garb, I was far more likely to receive unsolicited offers of help walking down the street, to be spoken to in an unnaturally loud voice or simply to be treated as an anomaly. The discomfort that some people unfortunately feel towards disabilities can be reinforced in a variety of ways, and I firmly believe a sloppy appearance does nothing but further emphasize my “difference” from those around me. When I take time to pull myself together, on the other hand, I am tacitly accepting the terms of the world in which I have chosen to live — a world in which, rightly or wrongly, appearance matters. If I expect sighted people to treat me as a respected equal, I’d better be willing to meet them half way and learn to operate within a set of environmental norms that may not make inherent sense to me. Those norms include learning how to dress appropriately for the whole spectrum of life situations. My desire to distance myself from blind stereotypes has admittedly had a great deal with my decision to set my personal style bar higher. To me, looking good entails more than simply wearing clothes that are clean and don’t clash. Compiling a flattering, versatile and current wardrobe reaffirms my commitment to the lifestyle I have chosen and helps define the interactions I want in my life. It also suits my fastidious personality, appeals to my general interest in visual matters and has the capacity to bolster my wavering confidence. Plus, despite the occasional hassles and inevitable frustrations, fashion is fun, at least for me!

I strongly suspect I’ve fully tapped the existing well of interest for this subject, but if by any chance you’re wanting to know more about any aspect of what I’ve discussed, just let me know!

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