If you don't need groceries, you don't go to the grocery store to browse.

And if you're not in the market for a new dishwasher, you don't go to the appliance store and check out all of the available models.

But every day, millions of people who do not need a stitch of new clothing browse through mail-order catalogs (or look at emails from on-line retailers, or devour magazines that are full of advertising, and editorial content that is thinly-veiled advertising).

This, of course, wastes time (you could be in the gym...), kills lots of trees, and worst of all throws all sorts of temptation in your path.

Five minutes ago, you never even KNEW that those lime green leggings existed.  Now, in your mind, you're figuring out what ... View the Post

There are (at least) two schools of shopping...

Style #1 - the self-chosen few

After careful consideration, shopper #1 decides that she needs two new tops - either blouses, sweaters or tee shirts.  Her carefully curated and deliberated distilled wardrobe is based on two "crazy eights" of black and gray, so her ideal purchases will be patterns which include both gray and black.  This will enable her to create outfits with (for example) black pants and a gray cardigan, or a gray skirt and black blazer.

She considers what patterns she likes. She considers what fabrics and cuts she prefers. She reviews her budget.

Then, and ONLY THEN, does she venture into the shopping realm. (be it the mall, the catalogs, or the ... View the Post

This series of objects, based on the book by Dominique Loreau, certainly doesn't match what I would choose for 99 essential objects (I've never actually OWNED a laundry machine...), but it does provoke thought about what is essential to ME.

Maybe as a New Year's exercise, it would be worthwhile to consider all of the many objects around us, and try to start distinguishing between the mere "wants" of temporary, superficial gratification, and the truly "essentials" of happiness.

May 2012 bring you all of your essentials, a healthy dose of your wants, and the ability to tell the two apart!  Thanks for being here with me this year, with much love, Vivienne ... View the Post

Walking up Michigan Avenue in the winter, the intrepid adventurer encounters many sounds: traffic, car horns, sirens, the occasional argument, some laughter, and every now and then... a shriek!  I've made a study of the various shrieks of the "winter footwear challenged" segment of the human species, and I have created the following field guide to help you interpret these sounds, and perhaps even get a visual confirmation of the creature.

A.  The sound: a muffled, rhythmic gasping sound, with occasional expletives interjected. The creature in question: Post Pedicure Flip-Flopper

Visual confirmation: check the feet - bluish feet, perfect toenails, and cheap, flimsy, salon-giveaway flip flops being worn on freezing cold ... View the Post

December 27, 2011

When was the last time you truly WORE OUT a piece of clothing?  As in absolutely could not mend, darn, nor patch the thing?   This comes to my mind because, since I started the heavy-lifting seasonal job, I've demolished two pair of socks, two bras (don't ask...) and - best of all - I took off a tee shirt after work one evening and it completely fell to pieces in my hands.  It was as if every piece of thread in every seam decided simultaneously to just give up the ghost and quit.  It was almost magical...     But I don't remember this happening all that often in my adult life.  But when I was a child, I clearly remember wearing clothes until they were either passed on to ... View the Post