playing dress-up
Note: Polyvore was shut down in April 2018. Bummer! Doesn’t do much for this post, I’ll tell ya.
People watching is one of my favorite things – all those stories, what, why, how … and what people wear is definitely part of that. (For the record: I loved Clinton Kelly’s talk at ACRL 2011 – he was fun, he was funny, he confronted us to think seriously about change.) While my day-to-day sartorial choices often don’t attest to it, I love composing via clothing – telegraphing a mood, idea, era, palette, or thought without saying a thing just by what you choose to wear. I also like pretty things (that is to say things I find pretty) and shoot, it’s just plain fun anyway. I’m often thwarted in my imaginings by all the usuals: time, budget, feasibility, practicality (some shoes weren’t made to walk in but to look at) and by little things like lots of clothes seem not to be cut to fit me.
I haven’t felt really well for the last three weeks or so, a combination of a lingering cold and more travel than usual (with a soupçon of Too Much To Do), so I’ve been logging more hours than normal on ye olde fainting couch – the perfect opportunity to investigate Even More Ways to Waste An Afternoon On The Internet. I already spoke to you about Pinterest – today I’ve got a double-whammy: something else you can spend hours on, THEN post to Pinterest. Are you ready?
Enter polyvore, an electronic playground of delight where, without regard to any of the aforementioned factors, one can assemble looks to one’s heart’s content, to which I was introduced by my graduate assistant Emily (a fashion inspiration herself) – I’m not sure whether to (a) repeatedly thank her or (b) think up some really important data entry projects [kidding. Of course the answer is (a)]. I’ve taken a fairly fast and loose approach, cobbling together sets inspired by real (or fictional) people’s styles, building something around one item, or putting together clothes to fit a little story I have in my mind.
For a fictional life spent popping back and forth from NYC to Paris, in which I am apparently not required to do much walking nor plan to encounter any dirt (or thieves):
Or, one I’d actually definitely wear now in my real life (shout out to Emilee M, color blocker par excellence):
Whee! If I’ve inspired you to waste some time on the internet, or if you’re curious, you can see all my sets here: http://xocg.polyvore.com [**SPOILER: one was inspired by the USA series La Femme Nikita – that’s for you, sister dear.**]