Number Seventy-five

Summer is almost officially here and with that comes sandals.  I have to laugh at Nina when she makes the statement, "Every woman must own at least 2 pairs of sandals, one for day and one for night."  Nina honey, I own a sandal for every day, every night, every outfit, and every activity.  Two pairs? I scoff that idea - 20 pairs is more like it.

In most of The One Hundred items, Ms. Garcia lists a 'closest obsession'.  In the sandal category she references Jack Rogers Navajo Sandals.  I had never heard of Jack Rogers or his Navajo sandals and as you know by now, I immediately did a Google search and found the sandals.  With that first Google search I also discovered that Jackie Kennedy wore Navajo sandals and thus my obsession began.  The sandals are pricey ($100 and up) so I began looking on eBay.  There are many pairs available on eBay but a used pair sells for just about the same price as a new pair.  So I decided on one of my recent trips to the big city I would just treat myself to a new pair.

You can only buy Jack Rogers sandals at upscale stores so with my sisters' blessing, we head out to Nordstroms.  No luck.  (Here's a secret, the salesman at Nordstroms had no idea what I was talking about.  Shame on him!!!)  On a second trip, to the big city, my sister Brenda had called Saks to see if they had the sandals and we were in luck.  Well...I thought we were in luck.

Have you ever thought about something so much and then when you finally get it, it is the biggest disappointment?  Well, the Jack Rogers Navajo sandals was that experience.  I don't know what it was, but they just were not "all that".  I saved myself $100 and was able to treat my sisters to a trip to the cosmetics counter.  Since then, I've purchased two different pairs of sandals to bring my grand total to...oh whose counting.  And, a little secret, I still look on eBay everyday for Jack Rogers just in case a great deal comes around.

Sandals are wonderful.  They just make your feet so pretty and sexy.  Nina says and I have to agree 150%, sandals must fit, and your feet MUST be pedicured - MUST, MUST, MUST.  But for the love of God, have more than 2 pairs.  Geez, you need at least 5 pairs of Havaiana flip-flops for one season.

Number seventy-five - sandals.  Thirty-three down - sixty-seven to go.

Number Thirteen

The brooch.  (Does it rhyme with roach or hooch?)  Nina sums it up, "The brooch is often associated with grandma."  But wait, is it?  Well, it was before I started reading this dang book.  Oh yeah, and the CBS Sunday Morning segment on Madeline Albright's pin collection.  (You MUST check this out.  http://photo.newsweek.com/content/photo/2009/9/photos-madeleine-albrights-pin-diplomacy-her-famous-jewelry.html)  I would give just about anything for the bee brooch.  Okay, I'm rambling because really, these two things really have given me an appreciation for brooches and not in a grandmother sort of way.

Actually, long before I read The One Hundred I had collected a brooch or two.  I found a beautiful yellow daisy in a thrift store that reminded me of a pin that my mother or one of my sisters had so I bought it.  Never wore it, but it was in my jewelry box.  In fact, just a few weeks ago, I gave that pin to my sister Charlene because it matched an outfit she had purchased beautifully.  In another shopping trip to a thrift store, I found a gorgeous black and white flower pin for a mere four dollars that can be worn with several outfits.  (ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS look in the jewelry cases at thrift stores!  There are gems - literally and figuratively - in them.)  I digress...

In The One Hundred there is an adorable drawing (the drawings in the book are absolutely charming) of a girl wearing a white t-shirt and a BIG brooch.  I've envied this drawing from the first time I opened the book.  Well today I set out to get a new haircut and I wanted to look my best in case my hairstyle failed horribly.  So...I put on my make-up, red lipstick, white t-shirt, and a whimsical, blue rhinestone, starfish brooch.  I felt so good I really didn't care how my hair turned out.  Guess what, I received two compliments on the brooch - a couple on the hair too, but the brooch is the moral of the story.

As Nina says, brooches are not just for grandma, winter coats and blazer lapels.  I concur.  They are fun, and can be worn with just about anything and again, as Nina says, can be worn in your hair, on a handbag, or and evening gown.

Like so many other things, you have to just do it.  Just pin that brooch of grandma's on and walk out the door.  Trust me, you'll get a compliment or two and you'll probably also help someone with a trip down memory lane.

Number thirteen - brooch.  Thirty-two down - sixty-eight to go.

Number Forty-four

On paper it seems so simple, but in reality, at least for me, khaki pants are the holy grail of fashion items. Pants of any kind are difficult for me but there's something especially difficult about khakis.  I dream about the perfect khakis.  I would estimate that I've tried on hundreds of pairs...since April; and bought only 3 pairs.  Am I happy with my purchases?  Well, two of the pairs I purchased were today so the jury's still out.  As an FYI, if I find a pair of pants that fits me, I buy them in every color.  I use this same philosophy when it comes to bras and jeans.

Here's a story about one pair of khakis I purchased a few months ago.  I had made the decision that instead of trying to buy a pair of pants on sale and then give them to Goodwill 6 months later because they didn't fit, I would buy a pair of full-price pants.  That's a big deal for me - seriously.  So, off I go.  I literally tried on 12 pairs of khakis.  I finally found a pair, purchased them, washed them,had them hemmed, had them hemmed a second time (I have no idea what that was about), washed them again, was so excited that I could finally wear them and guess what, they were too big.  Somewhere between the time I tried them on to the time I finally got to wear them I must have gained a pound or lost a pound and now the pants don't fit.  Story of my damn life.  Pants are either too big or too little and I ALWAYS have to have them hemmed.  I've even spent $40 to have waistbands altered because the crotch of the pants falls to my knees.   Now that I've written this, I'm thinking price doesn't have anything to do with the pants not fitting.  Anyway...

Needless to say, I have khakis - one pair is too big and the other two that I purchased today will probably go through some mystery makeover between now and the time that I actually wear them.   I guess I figure if I get to wear them once before the pants take on a life of their own and transform into a different size and length, then I've gotten my money's worth.   I do love them though and will always seek out the perfect pair - especially in summer with a nice white t-shirt and cute sandals.

Number Forty-four - khakis.  Thirty-one down, sixty-nine to go.

Number Seventy-eight

Silk scarves; beautiful silk screened scarves that one wears.  Nina sums it up so beautifully when she talks about the women of Paris wearing scarves in many different ways.  Not that I've ever been to Paris, but I get what she's trying to say.  I've always thought of scarves as being in or out of style.  Thus the reason why I have a drawer full of scarves that I break out every 10 years or so.  No more!  I shall start wearing the scarves and of course, purchasing more.

Here's the good thing about scarves.  They don't take up much room, they are beautiful, they have purpose, and they can be purchased at second hand stores for very little money.  Okay, the most beautiful silk scarf ever, the Hermes can't be purchased at a second hand store, but you get the message.  Just today I purchased two beautiful silk scarves for $4 at a thrift store.  One depicts adorable scenes of 1950'esq nightclubs and jazz clubs.  I don't know that I'll ever wear it, but dang it's cute.  The long and the short of it is I have tons of scarves just for the sake of having scarves.  I do not have the coveted Hermes scarf (VERY big price tag, but amazing history), but my husband has purchased beautiful scarves for me over the years from all over the world.  (It's kinda surprising now that I think about it.)

I think part of the reason why I don't wear them more often is people seem to stare when you wear a scarf - at least in my town.  Today for example, I had on a beautiful scarf and as I walked through Target I could feel the eyes on me.   I decided however that this will no longer prevent me from wearing scarves.  They are beautiful.  They can make an outfit and can make you feel oh so pretty.

Number seventy-eight - silk scarf.  Thirty down, seventy to go.

The Obsession

I thought maybe writing about my obsession with The One Hundred might help stifle some of my shopping but as we all know, it's made it worse.  Not only am I obsessed with getting most of the items in The One Hundred, I'm starting to watch movies and see what items the actors have and how they have them put together.

Tonight, for example, as I was flipping through channels on the boob-tube, I saw Sex and the City (The Movie) was on.  I've only seen it 10 or 15 times and yet I was compelled, once again, to push the yellow button on the remote and join the ladies in a 2 hour fantasy about love, infidelity, friendship, letting go, forgiveness, fashion and New York City. As I was watched, I noticed several items in The One Hundred.  Items that I of course don't own, will never be able to afford and will never look good in. (At least not as good as they do.)  Nonetheless, in one scene, Carrie Bradshaw is watching a movie in her pajamas and pearls with a fur wrap.  The thought of wearing pearls, with your pajamas, and a fur wrap (yes fur) overcame me and I began to re-think not only my stand on fur but my stand on wearing pearls with pajamas.  I'm serious.  For a brief moment I almost got up and put my pearls on AND, I'm contemplating looking for a faux fur wrap that I could wear while watching old movies this winter.

Another movie that makes me long for fashion items is Giant.  Giant is in my list of top ten favorite movies.  I own it and if it's on, I stop everything and watch it - all 3 and half hours of it.  I love the movie as a whole, but I also love the fashion.  Each time I watch it I notice some item I must have; the turquoise bracelet that Lutz (the youngest daughter of Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor) wears in one scene is my most recent obsession.  I look for it in every jewelry counter I come by.

I think it's time to admit, that my obsession is a bit more than an obsession.

Nonetheless, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.  Recreate a look from a corny chick flick, seek out items worn by long lost movie stars, obsess over books that tell you what you should own in order to be stylish and last, but not least, shop.  You never know, in my so called obsession, I just might find the perfect man's white shirt and just like Carrie Bradshaw, wearing my pearls with my p.j.'s might make me feel a little less lonely

Number Eighty-two

I'm not sure what the true definition of a stiletto is, but for me, it's a shoe with a high, spike heel that I would usually classify as lingerie.  Why?  Because stiletto's are S E X Y!!!! Really, they should be sold in the lingerie department and Nina suggests in order to walk better in them, you need to, "Practice, Practice, Practice."  Think about it, if you wore them as lingerie, you wouldn't have to walk very far, or very long.  Enough dirty talk.

I have owned stiletto's in my life and they really do make you feel so tall and thin and classy and...SEXY!  And, you do have to practice walking in them.  I'm not sure I have a pair in my current shoe collection but I do plan on owning a pair or two again in my life.  I recently went on a shopping trip with my sister's and we made a stop in the Saks shoe department.  (By the way, I've only been in Saks maybe five times in my life and I used to work at the mall where it's located.  I'm not sure my sister's have been in Saks in the last 30 years.) I was in heaven.  They, on the other hand, were both shocked and I dare say on some level disgusted by the inventory of $500 Manolo Blahnik's or Chanel flip-flops.  (Yes, Chanel, rubber flip-flops for $500. Even I was a bit disgusted by that.) The look on their faces as they flipped over the signature red soles of Christian Louboutin stiletto's starting at $800 was priceless.  (One of my sister's said, "Really?  You need to be an acrobat to walk in those things.")  Mind you, at the same time my sister was saying this, a customer walked up and asked the adorable and very un-pretentious sales girl, "Do you any any new Louboutin's?"  As if she already owned everything that was on display.  My sister and I looked at each other and just smiled.

I must admit, I wanted very badly to buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik's and I know that someday I will.  I know, I know, I live in Farmington, New Mexico and it's ridiculous to spend $500 on a pair of shoes, but just think how fabulous they'll look with my lingerie, suit.

Number Eighty-two - stilettos.  Twenty-nine down, seventy-one to go.

Number Twenty-two

Converse.  Can you believe it?  Converse shoes are part of The One Hundred.  I couldn't quite believe it myself when I read it.  I have many, many memories of Converse All-Stars.  Let's go way back to my youth when I was in 7th grade at Emerson.  Emerson grade school was a school that was/is in inner city Phoenix.  All of my siblings attended this school as did my Mom.  When I went to school there, it was the stereotypical inner city school; different ethnicity's, kids from broken homes, poor kids that lived in south phoenix and kids with juvenile records who longed to become members of the 9th Street Locos gang.  Part of the look of the gang members were Dickie's chinos, white t-shirts, and Converse All-Stars.

I had no desire to be a part of the gang, but I had a desire to fit in and that meant looking like everyone else.  I wanted a pair of Converse so bad that I remember going to sporting goods section at K-Mart (yes, they were sold at K-Mart then), and would just stand there holding them.  My mom refused to buy them for me and I never seemed to save enough money.  My only hope was the knock-off pair at some now long forgotten shoe store in the mall.  Instead of having the customary Converse logo on the heal, it had the name of the fake shoe instead.  But, I had an idea.  I could peal the fake name off the back and no one would be the wiser.  WRONG.  I wore my fake Converse to school and immediately someone said, "Oh my God, Michelle bought fake Converse and tried to fake us by taking off the fake label."  In typical 7th grader fashion, I thought my life was over, ran to the bathroom and cried vowing to never return to school again.  By lunch, everyone knew, and by the time the school day ended, everyone  had moved on to something else.  (Probably someone getting the paddle by Mrs. Williams.  Yes, students got paddled in those days.)

Ever since that experience, I haven't had a great desire to wear or own Converse.  The One Hundred resurrected my love for them.  I know, Converse has made a resurrection over the past several years and everyone and their dog owns a pair.  So, in my obsession with The One Hundred, I set out to purchase my first real pair of Converse All-Stars.  I couldn't decide between white or navy and after some consultation from my co-worker Jennifer, I decided on navy. (Sorry but those silly neon colors are just wrong.)  Because the sizing is different (remember, you're buying men's shoes), I couldn't decided between the larger size 5 or the smaller size 4.  I went with the 4 and decided to not wear socks.  Woo!  Did my feet hurt and sweat AND smell!  But boy did I feel cute.  Yes, cute.  Not chic or sexy, but C U T E.  Smelly feet and all.

I finally have an authentic pair of Converse All-Stars.  I do love them and yes, I'm happy they are the real deal.  Before I close this chapter though, I have to give a shout out to my brother-in-law Dale Davis who has been wearing black Converse All-Stars for...well, for as long as I've known him and that's pretty much my whole life.  All I can say is, "If the shoe fits."

Number Twenty-two - Converse.  Twenty-eight down, seventy-two to go.