A ponytail and a postponey tale

Sometime last spring, I hatched the idea for this outfit—a (newly re-hemmed!) colorful maxi skirt, a rust-orange top, and finally and most importantly, the sash made from the bottom of the skirt, to be tied around my ponytail!

 

This outfit was so cute that I couldn't bear to wear it to work from home; I had to save it for when it could be seen in person! Thus, it stayed in reserve all spring, got consigned to storage all summer, and finally resurfaced for consideration during a cold snap in September. Its colors make it a much better fall outfit anyway, but there's one problem: I'm still working from home and no one was going to see it in person!

However, I'd already delayed this outfit some 7 months, and as with all clothes I grow impatient of waiting for the right occasion to wear, I finally decided to just go for it! An outfit well done is its own reward, right?

Although it didn't factor into my decision to wear this ensemble yesterday, some contractors were visiting the house to make some adjustments to my solar array, so at least they got to admire my artwork! And a virtual meeting popped up at the last minute, so my beribboned ponytail was on hi-def display for a grand audience of four! Rarely can I say that I am grateful for a last-minute meeting, but I can say that about this one...maybe. Maybe not.

Anyway, for an outfit that I initially thought would go completely unseen, it actually got a sizeable amount of exposure. Whether or not anyone noticed it is another question entirely. But that's why I'm posting it in my blog! Visit counts, here I come!

Rompers and Roses

 

Social distancing has certainly put a damper on dressing up. A birthday grocery run is about the biggest occasion I've had to show my face in public since the pandemic began.

That is, until last Friday, when I took the opportunity to meet a friend for an afternoon of wining and dining in the great outdoor venues of downtown Silver Spring. And that meant I had to have an outfit that would compensate – in one blowout of a day – for all the months I've been putzing around in a frumpy parade of house clothes.

Now I am admittedly a pretty aspirational shopper, tending to buy clothes first and look for an occasion to wear them later, but I've shown remarkable restraint during the pandemic and haven't purchased a single impractical item...which meant that when my day to shine finally arrived, I had nothing new to wear!

Nothing new except shoes, which I always have in steady supply. I stockpiled a fair amount of dressy sandals last fall, never imagining that my feet wouldn't see anything fancier all summer than a pair of Tevas. Although I had a much more colorful selection to choose from, I had to go with the fairly uninteresting pair of white low-heeled sandals.

Simple shoes were a necessity because my choice of clothing was gaudy as can be—a romper covered in multicolor roses! I'd tricked this particular garment out with removable straps two years ago, wore it once, and then let it rest for a season. It was now ripe for one last hurrah before being sold.

Of course, in this day and age, it's no hurrah until there's a coordinating face mask to go with it, so I very quickly customized a plain cream mask with a glued-on embroidery flower—actually the same flower that once graced my now-retired velvet slip dress.

After my afternoon of romping, I removed the flower from the mask. Maybe in another 2 months, a new social occasion will present itself, and both the mask and the appliqué will be ready for decoration!