After much deliberation, this is my outfit of choice for Patti's Visible Monday. This past week I have been enjoying wearing each and every one of my outfits so much that I have avoided taking photographs of them or translating the experience into words for fear of dulling the lingering electric edges, if that makes sense. What you see here was one of the most tame of the lot, but what I loved about it was it made me feel positively Brobdingnagian (great word! the giant people from Gulliver's Travels) or, simply, like a very, very tall tree. My trunk was in fact made of wood: Michael Kors thrifted wood platform sandals with leather uppers. The vertical stripes on both layers seemed to roll right past my head and up into the sky.
I thrifted both pieces in one go from the Wildlife Thrift Store, but I never realized at the time that I would be wearing them together. It wasn't until I had done a little closet jamming (layering clothes randomly from hanger to hanger in my closet - you should try it!), that I realized they were exactly the combo I was looking for.
Details of the outfit
- orange sleeveless maxi, thrifted, Wildlife Thrift Store, $15?
- blue tunic, thrifted, Wildlife Thrift Store, $12?
- Michael Kors sandals, thrifted, $10, Value Village (not D&G as mentioned in an earlier post)
- long string of beads, too old to remember...
- white nylon maxi slip, came with wedding-type dress, Wildlife Thrift Store
In Other News
I finished reading a very, very long book, and while I feel enlightened by the content, I must confess to feeling relieved to be done with it, so I was happy to receive this short poem emailed to me by a friend based on Shakespeare's King Lear, which is my favourite of the Bard's tragedies.
In case you don't know the story, a silly man, King Lear, asks his three daughters how much they love him. Two of them sickeningly exaggerate their love and the third says plainly how she loves him the way she has always loved him, no more, no less. The king then splits his kingdom between his two false daughters who promptly banish him to the wilds, only to be rescued by his true loving daughter, Cordelia. But what of Lear's wife? Poet W. S. Merwin asks the question in this great poem, "Lear's Wife."
Have a great week, everyone! See you over at Patti's place.
If you were a tree I think you'd be a birch tree. It moves gracefully with the wind, has an amazing black and white bark and incredibly colourful leaves in autumn!
ReplyDeleteThe colours of your outfit are so beautiful and I love the silhouette you've created! The combination of long dress and not so long tunic is brilliant, I'm going to try test that trick some day soon!
I've never hear of the poet W.S. Merwin before, but I'd love to read more. This poem is fantastic, it gave me goose bumps on my arms!
Love the colors and patterns. You are a master at layering. Makes me smile to imagine your "closet jamming" sessions. :) They seem to result in a seemingly endless supply of hits.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous bit of culture on a Monday morning, thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteYou are the coolest tree I've ever seen, I love every bit of your outfit and I've been considering a curtain very similar to your skirt all weekend, thank you for inspiring me to chop it up and make it into something wearable. x
It is always the eye that matches the clothes together.
ReplyDeleteYou have such an artistic flair, my dear friend that it is a joy to see what you will be wearing next.
Much love and inspiration.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Really, I could not even get a full view of you in my screen, but had to scroll up and down to take in such a skyscraper outfit! Oh, and now I only want to see the other ensembles not shown all the more! Alas, like King Lear wanting what I can't have...or is it what's not already before me...
ReplyDeleteLong and willowy. Really like the orange under the blue. I learn something new every Monday!
ReplyDeleteA gorgeous summer outfit with the very best accessories: poetry and intelligence!! XXOO
ReplyDeleteHOW tall are you? 7ft? You look amazing!
ReplyDeleteThe blue and orange together are inspired, and I would never have thought to put long-over-longer. You are clever!
Love the poem. I have a bit of a soft spot for King Lear, reminds me of school. Carol Ann Duffy (our Poet Laureate - yes, first woman to be given the title!) did a whole book of dramatis personae poems about wives' perspectives. (I think it's called The World's Wife) I like her stuff, you might too. xxx
Thanks for the lead on what promises to be a great read!
DeleteYou are tall as two trees, Melanie! I love this look, the lighting and the pose. I have to try closet jamming today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up and for posting the poem.
Ah, pastcaring beat me to it -- you should check out those poems by Carol Ann Duffy. The Merwin you posted really fits in with her imagined wives' perspectives. Thanks for alerting me to it.
ReplyDeletevery clever post outfit and poetry - I love the surperposition (layering) of the 2 dresses- i love doing it as well, but do not have the right dresses or i am not looking hard enough in my closet!
ReplyDeletehave a great Monday Mélanie xxxx
Ariane
Oh you beautiful bohemian forest girl, you! Love your inspiration.
ReplyDeleteConnie*
You are so tall!! Love the bit of bright color swirling around your ankles.
ReplyDeleteW.S. Merwin is one of my favorite poets.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I adore those shoes!
What a gorgeous poem - I love it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou're as tall as a spruce! I imagine you waving in the wind.
This outfit totally works for me, looks so free. I love trees, so strong and able to withstand anything that comes their way. I have two huge maple trees in my front yard and I tell you, sometimes they wave. Okay, not really, but I imagine they are waving when the wind blows. Okay, you must think I am freak now, right? :-) And the closet jamming... I didn't know it had a name, I just do that to avoid melt downs in the closet and it seems to keep them at bay. Now, for King Lear... I am bothered that he was so shallow to fall for that adoration from those fakers! This one continues to plague our society now. We have difficulty knowing who to believe and we sometimes pick the pizazz over the simple truth. Simple love is best (in my opinion). :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, the closet jamming was born of chaos for me too. I just called it jamming because it had that jazz spontaneous feeling to it. I agree about the simple love.
DeleteThank you for sharing the beautiful Merwin poem. You look incredibly tall (it's like the attack of the 50 foot woman!) and the blue of the tunic matches your eyes. Great layering!
ReplyDeleteIs closet jamming like hat jamming? Where i put a hat next to every dress I own to brainstorm new combinations? I was just doing that last night.
ReplyDeleteYour hat jamming sounds more civilized but your output is pure inspiration.
DeleteThis outfit is kind of a revelation to me. Hope I'm not overstating it! Not being an artist, I still go with the obvious color combinations. You are reminding me that I could occasionally engage in some process, similar to closet-jamming, that would involve throwing different items up against each other and seeing what happens. (I wonder if the pile of clothes awaiting laundering might provide an opportunity?) You look truly amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love how the maxi looks with the tunic!I also like the color mix.Very inspired outfit!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great ensemble- very heightened silhouette that becomes your tall and lithe figure. The colors are just perfect, no more and no less- they catch the eye without screaming for attention.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful poem. I've forgotten how to read books, no lie, and get all my lit from the interwebs. So thankyou.
Inspiring layer over layer. As I was scrolling down your tall silhouette and came upon the brilliant orange, it was such a pleasant surprise. A burst of color was there to greet me, floating above your sandals. I have been engaged in something similar to closet jamming (a great concept) in that I currently have racks of clothing on my first floor during my renovation. I have discovered interesting combos that wouldn't have shown themselves in any other way.
ReplyDeleteOh you are a million feet tall - willowy and breezy and bright and beautifully surprising! I do closet jamming too - I just didn't realise that it's a thing! I do love a thing.
ReplyDeleteSarah xxx
What an interesting poem! You've given me a new idea for my kameez! And you are indeed too tall to be taken in one glance on my laptop screen!
ReplyDeleteYou write so beautifully and I do love the long lean way about you in this. The poem is also wonderful I have never heard it but feel a bit better for reading it.
ReplyDeleteOh you are the most beautiful tree, your eyes are the colour of the sky and the orange layer is the clay of the earth.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is wonderful.
Love v
How lovely to have an outfit that makes you feel like the tallest plant on the planet (so to speak!) You are elegance personified in this one. Such a versatile character you are!
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your comments on my blog about Canada Day. Other comments also made me think about being a "transplanted" Canadian. Next post will be The Song of the Immigrant, thanks to your input with the poem, etc.
Much love from England,
Rosemary www.foreveronthecatwalkoflife.com
ooh yeees you look like a beautiful tall tree... loveeee it... the drees is amazing...
ReplyDeleteGoneril, that's it, was trying to remember yesterday. oooh if you're a fan of willy shake then see if you can watch "The Hollow Crown" from the BBC which is an amazing new adaptation of 3 of the history plays. Look it up! I love your layering, you look like you could star in Attack Of The 50ft Artist Fashion Blogger Lady. The shoes are especially gorgeous
ReplyDeleteLike your looks!
ReplyDeletevery artistique!
I'm following :D
http://bendabenda.blogspot.ca/
Your outfits really show your artistic side, and you have such a fun way of explaining / describing them. You DO look really tall - is it just the illusion of the lines or are you really on the tall side?
ReplyDeleteAlso loved the poem - the 2 sisters sound evil - although I don't remember that from the play; we had a field trip to QE to see it years (literally yonks) ago.
This is only my second visit to your blog -- and I'm hooked. Are you sure you didn't stumble upon a cake that with "Eat Me" on it?
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to jam in other people's closets and have them jam in mine (I hope that doesn't sound rude!) as a way to get out of any fashion ruts.