Waiting for Frankenstorm

We here on the East Coast of the US are awaiting the arrival of Frankenstorm Sandy, part hurricane, part ??? There may be snow. *sigh*

Meanwhile, I'm trying to decide on what planet I would want to wear this.

Mannequin wearing an outfit that makes my eyes tear.

 I've also eaten way too much Halloween candy. I really need to stop buying it because it's so addicting. These pumpkins came in a pack of candy corn.

Halloween Candy

Feeling: blah (tired of nasty weather)


~~~o0o~~~

Not By Chocolate Alone

Even chocoholics need socks, too.

My order from Sock Dreams arrived yesterday.

Feeling: warm and fuzzy

~~~o0o~~~

Adventures in Shopping

The shopping gods smiled at me when I went to Macy's yesterday after picking up the 2 weeks' worth of comics waiting for me at the comics shop. And.... ta da! .... I got jeans. Two pairs, different colors of blue but same style: Style & Co's Easy Fit stretch denim petite jeans. They fit like a dream. I got some nice tops, too, different brands, but getting those jeans (they fit just below the waist) is such a relief as I had to get rid of most of the pairs I had that became too big.

Feeling: not bad

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: shopping

Quick Bits

Periodic Table of Elephants.

Easiest way to find jeans that fit, since I can't find smaller sizes for the ones I have that are too big because they've been discontinued: Shrink 'em. Shrinking jeans to the right size is an art, not a science. I never put jeans in the dryer, but I put 2 of the too large ones in on low heat and they're fine now. They might stretch and get too big again, but right now, I've got jeans to wear, just not for work because these are old, faded jeans that I love.

Feeling: okay

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: miscellany

The Joy of Socks

My order from Sock Dreams came today. Joy abounds. I love socks almost as much as I love shoes. I love them. They have free shipping in the US and they ship promptly. I placed the order Sunday night.

As usual, I had a lot of tidbits to post, now can't think of any. Next time, maybe.

Feeling: almost human

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: socks

Closet Maintenance 101

I am so f'in tired. Only 6 hours between pills does not make for a nice, sound sleep.

So yesterday, I tried on all the pants, jeans, and skirts in my closet. I'd done this 5 months ago. Most things fit, and a couple of skirts were too small but I kept them because I love them. Yesterday, pretty much everything was too big. My new black summer skirt? Too big. My expensive, dressy jeans? My black jeans? Too big. The good news is that the too tight skirts now fit. However, lots of shopping is in my future and I hope I keep the weight off because I'm getting rid of the too-big clothes. And replacements of the winter weight items will likely need to wait til the fall. But I'm down nearly 20 pounds -- and I'd like to take off another 5-7 lbs -- which is super. And I like a good excuse to shop.

Feeling: happy

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: closets

Adventures in Shopping

And the wisdom to be gained from the shopping experience.

Usually, I try on the next season's clothes in my closet *before* going shopping, but on impulse after my morning physical therapy session for my shoulder, because I had taken the day off, I decided to go to Macy's (not the best way to spend the first day of Rosh Hashanah, but necessary). I'd gained some weight over the summer since I haven't been to the gym since falling in July, and figured I could always use some new pants and/or sweaters. And I did find a nice pair of corduroy jeans (after trying on 12 pairs) and one sweater top. And more than ever, a few pearls of wisdom proved true.

All clothes of the same size are not created equal. This leads directly into the corollaries:

1. Clothes of the same type are not sized the same from company to company.
2. Clothes of the same type but different style and/or fabric are not sized the same within the same company.

I'd read a couple of years ago how clothing manufacturers were sizing things down a size to make women shoppers feel better about the size they were wearing. So, a pair of Misses Size 12 jeans were really size 14 and so on. This is born out by my size 12 jeans at home, although tight now, still fitting better than the size 14s I tried on today.

Two corduroy jeans by the same company -- Style & Co. -- in the same color, and same size, but different styles, did not fit the same way. In fact, one was so nice and comfy, I bought them. The other pair wouldn't zip up.

Other shopping laws:

• If you love it, it won't fit.
• If it does fit, it won't be comfortable.
• Always, always, always try to sit in pants or skirts before buying.
• If you love it, and it fits, and is comfortable, it won't be available/in stock in the color you really want.
  

And then, for fun, I tried on a pair of shoes that looked comfy and were a brand I hadn't heard of: J-41. Let me say this, they were comfy. The cushioning of the inner sole was divine. And my toes had wiggle room. Unfortunately, as is often the case with many comfy brands, the arch was too high and in the wrong spot, and actually hurt, which was an odd sensation for my feet, being both comfy and hurting simultaneously. But if nice arch support works for you, you might want to give them a try. For women, only, I believe. Sorry, guys.

So, after 2 hours in the store, I had one pair of cord jeans and one thin sweater top to show for my efforts, and I came home and cleaned out my closet, trying on all my pants and jeans. Two pairs of jeans are going. If I lose enough weight where they would've been comfortable again, I'll just replace them. I don't have enough room to keep storing clothes in the hopes I might fit into them again someday. Two years have gone by since I last wore those two pairs.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: shopping

New Boots! New Boots!

I ordered them directly from Crocs (and a pair of shoes is still outstanding) and it took nearly 3 weeks for them to arrive, but they're here and they're wonderful. And they're RED.

And given the wet weather here in NYC lately (not to mention, though I will, the cold), they will be put to use soon, I'm sure.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: boots

There Be Socks Here

Got my latest order from Sock Dreams. Given how sucky today was, they were nice to come home to.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: clothes

Clothes on My Back

That title is the best play on words I could come up with. Probably because I'm exhausted from today's 1 1/2 in Macy's, hunting for something to wear to my niece's Bat Mitzvah in a few weeks. The invitation said Black Tie, so I can't really get away wearing one of my short, dressy party-type skirts. And it must be my sister's idea, because I doubt a 13-year-old kid really cares. At least, my nephew's Bar Mitzvah 2 years ago was Black Tie optional. And hubby needs to rent a tux like he needs a hole in the head and I had to buy clothes that aren't cheap that I more than likely will never wear again.

So, I could not get a dress to fit to save my life, the old "one size on top and another on the bottom. Did get a long skirt I can shorten a bit so I don't trip by doubling the stretchy waistband. It's velvet. But I so need to lose weight. 15 pounds. It shouldn't be so hard, right? Not that it would solve the problem. I've been two sizes pretty much since puberty.

Meanwhile, these Shark Socks are way cool. Definitely on the must have list.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
Technorati Tags: clothes, shopping

The Perfect Skirt

Yes, the perfect skirt does exist. Well, one such skirt is now in my closet. It's long enough to cover my knees. It's got 2 deep pockets that actually button closed, good for carrying my wallet and keys. It's a nice shade of brown (blue or black would've been better, but I can't be that fussy). It was reasonably priced. And it fit! I found this gem at H&M after leaving the gym this afternoon.

Other things happened today, but they pale in the face of this great find.

Feeling:

~~~o0o~~~
wardrobe

Update and Hoisery

The workday is about over and I thought I'd celebrate with a photo of my tights drawer. There are also drawers for pantyhose and socks. Lots of draws for socks. The blue fuzzies that are second from the bottom on the right are knee highs and below them are plush ankle socks.

And in 5 minutes or so, I'm off for a 3-day weekend, which I'll commence by stopping by Best Buy to see if they have the Serenity DVD. I already got my comics, so I have my reading material for the weekend.

It's been fairly quiet today, like a Friday. I was expecting it to be a lot busier after the transit strike, but I'm not complaining. Almost caught up with all the things that piled up over the last 3 days.

Feeling:

socks

Hoisery Update and Other Important News

Got my latest order from Sock Dreams. The fuzzy blue stripes pair are knee highs! So soft. Of course, I had to try them on. And it's hard to see, but the fat black striped socks are also fuzzy and the other color is sorta teal.

In other news, there be Dark Chocolate M&Ms here. My amazing hubby found them on eBay for me and now I have 16 big bags of those chocolicious yummies.

Found an interesting photo site, sort of meme-ish: Ph.otogra.ph.

Okay, I give in. I've seen this blog mentioned a few times now, most recently on Boing Boing, and well, it is irresistable. Yes, it's the Cute Overload blog.

With winter knocking on our door, here's a Build a Snowman site. Found on The Presurfer. Here's my snow vampire.


In more mundane, real-life news, we're awaiting word on the MTA negotiations. Will there be a bus and subway strike tonight at midnight, or won't there be? Life is so full of drama.



socks
links
M&Ms

New Clothes

There's a special feeling I associate with new clothes. Not quite the same as new school supplies, the feeling of freshness and renewal a new school term would bring (along with some vague terror), but close enough. New clothes make everything new. They smell different. They haven't be tainted by sweat or detergent after many washings. Their colors are bright and shiny. The fit, if sized properly, can give you a sense of purpose.

Old clothes, though, become comfortable and familiar, even safe, even when they get ratty. They become a part of you, sometimes in a frighteningly short time, seemingly molding to your body as if a part of you, moving with you, breathing with you.

New clothes can keep you alert, aware, energized. When I wear a new outfit I think looks good, I wonder if people are watching and admiring the coolness of me. When I wear old clothes, I worry that I've got a hole somewhere unwanted and people are watching and snickering behind my back.

I'm thinking a new outfit for my blog is similar. Though I had the old template for Cyber Chocolate for only a mere year, it had become familiar and comfortable. Sure, I swapped out backgrounds, aiming for a seasonal approach to my changes of color and pattern. I moved things around a bit, filled up the sidebar with chocolicious goodness. But at its heart, Cyber Chocolate remained pretty much the same, a worn brown and black loafer.

And now I've got a spiffy new ensemble for my chocolicious blog. I've been tweaking a bit, moving things around the sidebar, adding things back, taking things out. But the design is what it is and will remain until or unless I decide to get a new template. No more background changes (I'm pretty sure about that; I'm not even sure if or how I would do that with this template, and anyway, it wouldn't look right). No more playing here when I'm bored.

I can't seem to be able to stop looking at this blog, marvelling over Cat's wonderful design, revelling in the newness of it, its crisp beauty, its chocolicious yumminess. I feel like the belle of the ball, all of a sudden, eager to go out and show off the new party dress.

I'm sure, however, that the time will come, sooner probably than later, when this look will become familiar, when Cyber Chocolate's pretty dress will be comfortably worn. When the novelty of its difference will fade. I might get bored and want another new look. Or I might decide to keep it on til all the threads fall apart as newer browsers can no longer read its code.

Til then, here be Cyber Chocolate. I hope you're enjoying your visit, and the view. Hmmmm.... time to surf on BlogExplosion and get some extra hits. And those of you on Bloglines, please click on over and let me know what you think. I want to show off Cat's (she of BlogTogs) marvelous design.

Cowboy Boots

These are my current cowboy boots. There is also a pair of black shoe boots with a silver buckle on the side, but they didn't fit in with the taller boots. And yes, I think I want at least one other pair. And I kinda resent that cowboy boots have become so popular. I've had them for years, but now I'll look like I'm following the fashion crowd. feh

[Added: And of course, I forgot a pair, my short, two-tone, Justins which were on the other side of the closet. They have a pattern on the lower part and I'm too lazy to pull out the camera and take another photo. And of course, I can't find them on the website.]

Turned out to be a nice, if hot day, not quite as humid as I'd feared. Nice and clear, blue sky nice. Gym was successful. Did 40 minutes on the treadmill and the scale says I actually took off one of the pounds I'd put on. If I can just lose one pound a week, in 10 weeks, I'll meet my main goal. Then I can try for another 5.

Tried on some nice shoes at the Clarks store and was shocked that none of them fit right. In fact, if the left was comfy, the right was too big. And some of them weren't sufficiently cushioned for my taste. So I actually tried on a half dozen pairs of shoes and didn't buy any.

A week from Friday is CC's first anniversary. I'm still entertaining ideas for the big celebration.

Clothes Comments

Wow. My entry on the woes of buying practical yet stylish clothes that are reasonably priced sure elicited a reaction, the only entry with comments here, I believe. I appreciate the helpful suggestions, but I wasn't looking for any. :) I was ranting.

What I want is for the clothing manufacturers to wise up and realize there's no reason to eschew practicality in favor of style. I see no reason to wear something I don't like just because it fits or because it has pockets (and I'm not the only one who wants pockets; I know others who want them, too). Pockets would "ruin" the line of the skirt. Bull. I have skirts with pockets and they look great.

I'm tired of being able to find all sorts of practical yet stylish clothes one season, and then not again for 3-4 years. I'm tired of having few choices and then sometimes having some of those yanked away (I really hope LL Bean brings back those long, pocketed, corderoy skirts this winter--they weren't selling them this past winter). And I'm tired of having one manufacturers size 10 or 12 fit me perfectly and the same size(s) from another not coming close to fitting.

The solution lies with the designers and manufacturers, when they stop trying to make women jump through fashion hoops. And the women who willingly jump through those hoops are partly to blame, for perpetuating the nonsense. Sure, I like seeing fresh new designs each year, but I also don't want to have to redo my wardrobe to stay in style or to be stuck not being able to replace worn clothes until the fashion cycle returns to something I both like and can wear.

And sorry, but I don't want my whole wardrobe, or most of it, to come from LL Bean, Land's End, Eddie Bauer, or any of the other catalogue shops. I know people who dress almost exclusively with clothes from one or two of them and everything they wear looks the same except for color. I crave more variety than that. And after 30 years of this, I'm really tired of it.

At least after I retire, in 7 years, I'll be able to just stick with jeans. That will be such a relief.

Clothes Rant: Response to Comments

This comment started to get so long, I figured I should just make it an entry.

I do get clothes from LL Bean. Mostly their wonderful jeans, including the flannel lined ones. Their selection of skirts with pockets is very limited and they aren't quite sized right for me. Usually, the waist is too tight. Last winter, when I wanted to get another skirt like the one I'd gotten the year before, it wasn't in their catalog. I have a history of bad luck with mail order and prefer to try clothes on first. I need to see how high the skirts will hike up when I sit. I don't want to get arrested. And I actually love to shop. I love trying on clothes. I just need something worth trying on. :)

I also had this problem when I was in my 20s--I started carrying my wallet in my pocket when I was in college, but I wore jeans then. Once I started work, the hunt for the perfect skirts began. It's been a never ending battle. Pocketbooks and purses are things I need to hold in my hand, which means trouble--I've lost plenty of things I have to hold, including handbags. I put them down, then forget about them. Shoulder bags are what I use, but they can be easily picked. Pickpockets just about never think a woman's got her wallet in her front pocket. This is a reality of big city life, and I've never lost a wallet or my keys because they're always on my person, but I know folks who have lost both to pickpockets.

I don't have any interest in getting clothes custom made. There should be no reason for it. Though I did once have a friend put pockets in a skirt for me. It never fit right after that. There is nothing wrong with wanting clothing makers to make stylish practical clothes. They complain that sales are down. Maybe sales would go up if they catered to the practical woman who wants some style.

I personally don't like the clothes made by LL Bean and the other mail order places. I'm lucky I can find anything other than jeans in LL Bean's catalog. Their clothes look so ordinary and alike to me. No oomph. Calvin Klein used to make wonderful denim skirts--I have three (2 blue, one faded black, all long)--but since he sold the business, the skirts have barely covered my butt when I've tried them on--without my trying to sit--so I can't buy them, even though they otherwise fit great.

I am not the only person with this complaint. My friends and I have been complaining--okay, bitching and moaning--about it for close to 30 years. Every so often, there's a good clothing season and I go nuts, buying up as much as I can afford. The problem is, I had to get rid of a lot of skirts a few years ago because they no longer fit. With my new middle age spread (even with a fairly slim waist) and the weight (only 10 pounds, but it's a stubborn 10 pounds) I gained before my thyroid problem was treated, I finally had to admit, after not wearing those skirts (and some beloved jeans) for 3 years, that I would never fit into them again.

Women come in all sizes amd shapes and we all deserve nice, stylish, fashionable clothes. There's no reason the Liz Claybourne denim skirts I saw yesterday--length to just below the knee, nicely flared--couldn't also have pockets. We boomers are a growing population and we've got a lot of discretionary cash. You'd think the manufacturers and designers would want to cater to those of us who no longer or never had the body of a skinny little thing.

A while back, the GAP tried to change its look. It started to fiddle with the style of its clothes to compete more with companies like Wet Seal that cater to the teens and 20-somethings. Well, it backfired. Sales went down and they had to retreat from their great plan and go back to the basics. Except for the last year or so, that's meant short skirts that barely cover the butt. Well, at least the kids will buy that. But there are women my age and older buying up their sweaters and blouses. It's just their skirts we can't wear.

Let's Talk Women's Clothes: A Rant

Specifically, women's skirts.

I made my first foray of the fall clothing season yesterday by taking a quick look in Macy's. What I saw, or rather, what I didn't see, does not bode well for my chance to spark the local economy by spending money this fall, because if this is how the rest of the season will be, the only things I'll be buying is maybe another pair of boots and a sweater or two.

I need skirts. I, however, do not need, nor can I wear the things hanging on racks in the guise of skirts. I do not like suit type skirts. They tend to not fit me right. I do not like skirts that don't sit on the waist. Most of what I've been seeing in the past year or two are skirts that sit on mid-hip. I have no clue why they don't fall down.

I am a practical dresser. For over twenty years, I haven't carried my keys or a wallet in my shoulder bag. I carry it in a pocket of skirts or pants. In recent years, though, finding a skirt with a pocket large enough and sturdy enough to carry a wallet comfortably is almost impossible. From what I saw yesterday, this might be the year "almost" gets dropped out of that statement.

And if I'm fortunate to find a skirt with a decent pocket or two, they are the size of belts on steroids. I'm sorry. Even when I was a teen, I couldn't wear skirts that short. Along with making me a woman, puberty also gave me thighs. The heavy thighs of my father's mother's side of the family, a group of zoftig women if ever you saw any. Above the waist, I take after my mother's thinner, more proportioned female family members, which means I've been mostly two sizes--the above the waist size and the below the waist size which has meant it's nearly impossible for me to get dresses to fit without serious alterations. Which is why I mostly wear skirts and tops. Bringing me back to my current dilemma (not that dresses have pockets or decent pockets, either). Pockets. And decorative pockets that would hardly hold a folded tissue don't count.

I can still fit into the fashionable Misses clothes. I don't want to shop in the women's section. I try to dress suitably for my age, but I'll be damned if I have to go to the formless styles that make a woman look four times her age. And finding pockets in those skirts is just as difficult.

Is it too much to ask that someone make practical clothes for women who work but still want a sporty look?