Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Anthropologie and Me



I’ll admit it. I love Anthropologie. Yes, it is a crazy expensive place to shop, but if you only need a few pieces to fill in your already pretty full wardrobe, you can count on Anthropologie clothing to be exceptional quality that will last a good long time eliminating the need to replace your clothes year after year. The little details, like clasps inside the dresses to keep your bra straps for showing, make each piece a work of art.

Really, I can’t justify buying clothes at Anthro most of the time, even when it is on sale. Before this Christmas, I could literally count the number of Anthroplogie pieces that I owned on one hand (not counting headbands and barrettes of course!). But thanks to some awesome Christmas presents and some Christmas cash from my grandparents, my collection is growing piece by piece. On Monday I wore a mustard sweater with over sized pockets, ($38 dollars on sale) navy wrap top (a hand me down from a friend) and burgundy cords (around $35 dollars on sale form $115) all from Anthropologie. I pared this outfit with some navy heals form a Nordstrom’s Rack sale years ago, and a beaded necklace also from Nordstrom’s Rack. Yes, I am a fancy, fancy lady.

Although I can’t shop there all of the time, I often enjoy going into the well-lit, lovely store simply for inspiration. For someone who sews, looking at lovely, well designed clothes up close can really get the juices flowing. I love when I create a piece and think, “this looks like it came from Anthropologie.” I never copy anything directly, but a lot of the dresses are made in simple shapes I already have patterns to match.

Lately, I have been sewing a lot of lovely pieces that fall into this category. I have been focusing on using beautiful materials and working hard to create well-made pieces that will last for a good long time. Part of that effort includes taking good care of your clothes, meaning not washing them too often, hanging them or folding them to store depending on the material, hanging clothes to dry rather than putting them through the dryer, and carefully following the care instructions. If you are someone who invests in beautiful pieces, it is worth taking the time to care for them properly. There is no point in buying clothes at any price range, or spending money and time to make items, if you are not going to take care of them.

Lastly, look how long my hair is going into the new year!!!  This is crazy long for me.  I can't wait to try out a million hairstyles this year that I haven't been able to do since my early 20's.

Happy new year everyone!  I hope it is a beautiful one.  :)