On this, the 100th International Women’s Day, 1000 Afghan women gathered to “laugh and sing for the future”. A Saudi woman drove, in violation of national law. Canadian women marched in parades and went to rallies. There were demonstrations in Paris. Protests in the Philippines. Calls to end corruption in Bangladesh. There were other events in such nations as Australia, North Korea, and Iraq. There was even an article in the L.A. Times.
Yeah, not a lot of coverage here in the States.
So on this 100th International Women’s Day I am answering the call of several women bloggers: the call for the 10 most essential items in my closet! Clearly this is an issue of great importance — particularly considering my place in the world of Short Women — and I will not let you down.
1. Jeans that fit properly. First, they need to be the right length. Every time I see a woman with her jeans dragging on the ground I want to shake her and ask why she wasted her money on clothes that don’t fit right. Did she think she was going to grow 4 inches suddenly? I know there is a lot of disagreement about this, but I think they should come roughly to the tops of your shoes. And furthermore, you should not have to wear high heels with jeans. They’re jeans for crying out loud. As for the waist, wear what you like with these two caveats: nobody wants to see your crack; and muffin-top is never sexy.
2. Black pants, again that fit properly. Currently, slim pants are the thing. Someday maybe they won’t be. That’s fine, because you’ll wear these often enough to wear them out over the course of a few years. Khakis are great too but not as versatile; you can’t dress up khakis enough for a dinner party. Mine happen to be hip-huggers, meant to be capris but they fit me like pants, purchased at Kohls. They do not have to be expensive, just nice looking.
3. Black Skirt, roughly knee length. In a nice fabric, and a cut that flatters your body type. And oh yes, it must absolutely be machine washable. Wear it to work. Wear it to parties. Wear it to events. Wear it wherever. I have both a knee length one and a mini.
4. Underwear that is both comfortable and flattering. There’s something empowering about knowing that even your panties look gooooood. Just ask Juliette.
5. A “Yes, I’m in charge here” dress. Mine is a navy blue shirt-dress that comes just above my knees, purchased at Forever 21.
6. Turtleneck or mock turtlenecks, your choice of sleeve length, at minimum off-white and basic black. Other colors are optional and welcome. Mine are elbow length and great solo or layered. Because I am Short, I have trouble finding long sleeved shirts that aren’t actually finger-length shirts.
7. Something to layer over other things. This is an issue of personal style, and what is acceptable in your workplace. Maybe you’re a cardigan kinda person. Perhaps you prefer a sharply tailored blazer. Or maybe you re-purpose a traditional women’s dress shirt that turned out to be a little bigger that you thought it would be when you ordered it….
8. A nice-looking but comfortable machine washable dress. Or two. This is a matter of personal style, but it should be something that you wouldn’t feel funny going directly from work to a social event or picking up something at the grocery store on the way home.
9. The Shoes! Now there’s no real reason to go shoe mad. Really. But there’s some things every woman ought to have. At least basic black pumps or flats that go with the pants and skirts above, and something that coordinates with browns. Mine are leopard print! And I shouldn’t have to say you need some comfy around-town walking sort of shoes. If you do a lot of traveling, you need these to be slip-on to facilitate the Safety Dance at the airport.
10. A couple bits of distinctive but not necessarily expensive jewelry. Something that says who you are. It doesn’t have to be big and certainly shouldn’t be gaudy, but it should be something that goes with the majority of your wardrobe. A strand of genuine faux pearls? Cubic Zirconia earrings? A particular pendant or bracelet? It’s up to you.
That’s it. It’s my personal opinion so take it or leave it. Keep in mind that my fashion goals are modest: to never appear as a Glamour Magazine “Don’t”, and to be neither the best nor worst dressed woman at any formal event.
In closing: we are no longer able to hide job losses; interesting piece on teachers pay; the current health insurance debate is “like watching two rocket scientists boil a discussion of space travel down to a squabble over the angle of re-entry”; what was Playmobil thinking (I mean really, everyone knows the shoes have to come off!); um no, the actual data from that meta-study shoes shows that modern anti-depressants do work in a statistically significant way; how many of the 50 most powerful blogs do you read?; the Grand Canyon is even older than we thought; perfect storm of economic indicators and mortgage meltdown; even the FBI is investigating Countrywide; and Brilliant Jill is much more thoughtful than I am, because instead of 10 wardrobe essentials she wrote about 10 things that Yes, We Can Do.
As a fellow Short woman, I know what you mean about the sleeve length, which is why I’m so fond of 3/4 length; and I see you’ve shared the petites’ secret about wearing “misses'” capris/crops as regular-length pants (saves money on tailoring!). It sounds like your closet looks quite a bit like mine.
And true, there’s really nothing earth-shaking about this, but we can’t be serious all the time…