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Fashion and Film Collide: Day Five
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Day Five: Perhaps I am overcompensating for yesterday’s more laid-back look by donning a tweed blazer, but I felt obligated. After all, it’s best to leave people with a memory of a polished you, not a frazzled you. I could have worn jeans again to celebrate Friday but I resisted. I also avoided the silky black camisole and hot stilettos I had saved for my final farewell. Thus, I borrowed almost everything I have on today. My younger sister Helen and my mother tie for the “most charitable heart” award. The tweed blazer by Forever 21 belongs to my sister Helen. She snagged it at Richmond’s Really, Really Free Market for…free. As soon as I saw it in her closet during my most recent visit home, I knew I had to wear the blazer before I returned to campus. Today’s my opportunity. I was actually surprised that it fit me because it looks so tiny on the hanger. Either I lost weight or I’m slenderer than I thought. Or perhaps it has nothing to do with my figure at all; it is a very well tailored piece. The blazer’s metallic threads are my favorite feature but its close fit appeals to me, as well. I can thank my mother for the deep green mineral necklace I’m donning today. I was rifling through one of her jewelry boxes this morning when I spotted it; I had worn it before, but not for a couple of years. I knotted the necklace at the end because it was too long for the blazer and I wanted it to be fully visible. For lack of a better word, the piece strikes me as very “indigenous,” similar to one of the pieces a contestant in “Miss Navajo” wears. (I watched that documentary for the first time this week at National Geographic. It revolves around a teenage Native American girl who competes for the Navajo tribe’s beauty and talent pageant. If you’ve watched the documentary, however, you know that the Navajo concept of a pageant greatly differs from that of mainstream America’s. I recommend seeing it if you have the chance.) My orange, burgundy, and green paisley blouse belongs to my mother. It does not bear a brand name tag, only one stating that it was made in Thailand. I found it for her at Fantastic Thrift in Richmond for $0.99.There are entire racks bursting with $0.99 shirts, blouses, sweaters, and even jeans there. The blouse suits my mother’s golden complexion and auburn hair. I would not wear the blouse alone because it’s too loose for my taste, but it looks fine with the blazer to rein it in. Under the blouse, I have on a solid-colored Gap shirt. I put it on because I didn’t want to button the orange blouse up higher (I like exposing my collarbone) and it’s a cold day. As simple as it is, the shirt is actually one of my favorite pieces in my whole wardrobe. I wish I owned five of them, not even in different colors. I tend to wear plenty of earth tones mixed with berry or jewel tones, so this shirt works perfectly with many of my outfits. The black corduroys by Tommy Hilfiger also belong to Helen. She does not remember where she bought them, only that she got them secondhand. The pants fit close to my body without being vulgarly tight, thankfully. I love corduroys but always have trouble finding ones that fit properly. Most of them billow awkwardly around the thighs and give me a wedgie. Of course, it could also be that most of the ones I try on are from the 1990s and hanging on sales racks at Goodwill. But I would rather ignore that fact. If you can’t find decent clothes over a series of trips to Goodwill, you’ll be hard-pressed to find the “right” clothes anywhere. Generally, thrift stores definitely are more eclectic than department stores because they carry clothes from a variety of closets. My mother has owned these boots by Serrell for as long as I can remember. They’re sort of like mini Uggs but warmer and sturdier. I decided to wear them when I spotted flurries in the sky this morning. When I stepped out of the house, though, I realized that none of the snow stuck. At least the boots kept my feet warm when my sister Nina and I visited the Smithsonian National Zoo this afternoon. Sadly, my externship and my spring break have come to an end. I pack tomorrow and leave for campus on Sunday morning. Fortunately I spent my week at home the best way possible, writing about fashion and film. Come back tomorrow to read my reflection essay about this project, “Fashion and Film Collide.”
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