Hacking away at the buddleia which will not die the other day, I sniffed something on the breeze. And following my nose, found my neighbour shearing her lavender bush. Straight into the compost bin. No no nooooo! She looked rather oddly at me as I begged for her garden waste, but handed it over all the same.
And so was born a little shoal of lavender fish. Thereby scratching my creative itch, justifying my Pinterest habit and breaking the sewing drought round these parts.
Plus my wardrobe could do with a little sprucing and pruning. And having a good smelling shoal to pop on the hangers might just inspire me to do something about it. The Changing Room helps too - a safe little corner of Flickr which encourages me to confront the reality of how I dress. In the anticipation that what we pay attention to, we tend to improve on.
Because left to my own devicies, I don't really pay much attention to the reality in the mirror. Or the mirror at all, really. One drunken student evening, my pals gave me some extra bushy eyebrows with a marker pen. They had to confess around 3pm the following day, because I still hadn't looked at my own reflection and noticed. I'd like to think that things would be different nowdays, but perhaps not.
So, what is your Autumn wardrobe crying out for? Do you think a spell in the changing room is in order?
I'm still sorry for the poor state of my winter wardrobe after putting away all the summer stuff this morning... your question is well timed...
... but where do I start?
Posted by: Monica | 16 September 2011 at 18:03
Trousers that haven't worn at the inner thigh area. Living in M&S black joggers at the moment. It's pitiful.
Posted by: Sue | 16 September 2011 at 18:54
I got changed 4 times this morning, either nothing fitted, looked right, allowed me to wear comfy shoes, I didn't have any tights etc etc. So what did I end up wearing? jeans and a white t shirt!
I have written this quote down and left it in a prominent position: decide who you are and adorn yourself accordingly... so based on todays efforts I'm a boring frump!
Posted by: janet clare | 16 September 2011 at 19:32
The changing of seasons always throws my dress sense out of whack - I usually look like a bag lady for the first month of autumn with too many layers. Love your little fish - very cute, well done for following your nose to that lavender.
Posted by: Julie | 16 September 2011 at 20:25
Your stripy fish is lovely and I wish it were mine!
Winter wardrobe ... hmm ... start from the bottom up as I need new shoes: current work shoes are summer slip ons with no grip and are dreadful in the rain or any kind of icy weather.
Posted by: Heather | 16 September 2011 at 20:49
very cute. there are lots of lavender fish in my house, although E calls them the stinky fish. ashamed to still be wearing the jeans from a long past visit to the changing room, except now they are so tattered and frayed they are almost indecent...... by Janet Clares reckoning that makes me a scruff bag....
Posted by: driftwood | 16 September 2011 at 21:07
I always wanted to dress elegantly, and I guess I thought I would just grow into it. Sadly, that hasn't happened yet. I need to get a few nice pieces instead of bagfulls at Primark.
Posted by: Amanda | 16 September 2011 at 22:17
Got THREE types of lovely heavy cotton at the discount place--Amy Butler!!! for 4.99/yd!!!--so I have the potential for three new skirts, but what I really need is nice tops, two good bras, and some nice thick tights. Off to do some shopping with Younger Son tomorrow, and he's reasonably patient. . . We'll see!
Posted by: Becky | 17 September 2011 at 02:11
Funds are a little short so I'm going to pull out some of the things from the back of the wardrobe and see what can be revamped. Ideally liopsuction to remove a couple of stone from my midrif would be on the shopping list but instead will eat more fruit!
Posted by: French Knots | 17 September 2011 at 07:52
I'm losing weight (I hope ... steroids for the RA have um rounded me out lately) and I refuse to buy clothes until the chub has gone. I may look like a bag lady before I've finished! But nonetheless I'll stick to adding just the lavender bags to my wardrobe for now ;) Love your fishy ones :D
Posted by: Annie | 17 September 2011 at 15:14
Oh dear, we're SO far from Autumn here.
I'll think about it in a couple of months.
Maybe.
Posted by: Paola | 18 September 2011 at 08:58
I need to get back in there! Especially since today I am wearing a Gap top that my mother in law gave me because she was too thin for it. (Grr.) It doesn't suit me at all - it was just free.
Posted by: The Coffee Lady | 19 September 2011 at 09:44
Love your lavender fish - well done for smelling out your neighbours clippings! I don't even want to think about what my clothes look like - too big a job to tackle. Lucy x
Posted by: lucylocket | 19 September 2011 at 11:32
This is great food for thought, Ali! I seem to be wearing what I've worn all summer - a linen shirt and jeans, only now it's teamed with a flowery scarf and very loud handknitted socks to keep the autumnal chills at bay!
xx
Posted by: Lesley | 19 September 2011 at 13:58
I'm always relieved when autumn comes round because I think it is the season that I do "best". I tend to feel most comfortable and, frankly, attractive in my semi-cosy cords and darker colours, scarves and boots.
What I do need to do is a few repairs from last year (yes, I put things away unmended) and a couple of alterations... Hopefully this weekend.
Posted by: mooncalf | 19 September 2011 at 13:59
Well done for hunting out the lavender from the neighbours and what a lovely fish, keep that sewing machine out! Last year I caught my neighbours just as they were cutting a huge lavender bush and they gave me it all! This year I didn't need to ask, they left it on our doorstep!
Two pairs of new jeans (skinny & bootcut) have been additons to my Autumn wardrobe as I have a weird habit of wearing out the left knee (and only the left!) in ALL my jeans - weird!!!
Posted by: Helen King | 19 September 2011 at 21:32
Lovely! We're heading into the warm weather and I am at a loss. This time last year I was pregnant and I honestly can't remember what I wore the summer before that. My fashion memory is (blessedly) short.
Posted by: Amelia | 20 September 2011 at 11:16
Ali, the cookbooks are yours! I'm planning to be around all weekend so if you're popping into town at any point email me and you can pick them up!
Posted by: mooncalf | 21 September 2011 at 11:34
That's a very good-looking smelling fish.
I'll give the changing room a try. I'm still mystified by my wardrobe. A friend convinced me to try on a horizontally stripy top in a charity shop. I thought Trinny and Susannah said NEVER to wear horizontal stripes and yet I did not look like a widescreen sailor. I bought it. I am confused.
Posted by: Emma (silverpebble) | 22 September 2011 at 08:18
Just popped over from PinkCat to see if you had taken her up on her challenge; lovely little fish, and I found your innerlink "what your stuff says about you" very interesting!
Posted by: Shannon | 25 September 2011 at 03:14
I'm struggling. My jeans were all falling apart by the start of summer, and try as I might, I have had no luck finding a replacement that fits (mainly because I don't like jeans too tight around the knee and I refuse to wear skinny jeans). I'm even contemplating trying to make a pair. Plus messing up my back but not losing my appetite has not helped. I'm looking forward to winter when I can just hide it all under a long wool coat.
Posted by: UK lass in US | 07 October 2011 at 17:15