Dressed up for Ed Poe

A Bag and a Beret quiz. Based on the first photo, which scenario is this blog post?

1. The post in which I birth a lunchbag handbag. A labour of love. The doctor faints, nurses weep with joy - "Madam, O joyful day! It's, it's not a boy or a girl! It's a handbag!" Celestial bells. Twinkle stars and tweeting birds orbiting my head. I cradle my newborn and immediately stuff her with chocolate bars, chips, lipstick, and my keys.

2. The post in which I scream in the countryside while balanced on a split-rail fence. I had to put in the fence to sit on and support the handbag because otherwise it looks like I've just given birth to a handbag. (In the original photo I was sitting on the stairs.)

3. The post in which I debut the latest trend, the dangling muffy-pack, a fanny pack worn at the front really low, sub-muff-line, and get swarmed by paparazzi in the woods. Walking is awkward and trying to fish out change or business cards is not only difficult but embarrassing. Restrooms? Pfff, and you thought overalls were difficult...

4. The post in which I wear a tarp.


Go to Photo 2 for the answer.

Ding ding ding ding. If you guessed No. 4, tarp, you'd be right!!!

Bwahaha! I saw this tarp hanging off the side of the truck the day after I wore this dress. This is clearly the vehicle of a tailor who does serious gardening on the side.

In reality, this is the block mesh dress, as known before I polluted my mind with all those other images that I'll think of now every. single. time. I put this on. Thank you so much, brain.

I bought this dress on an expedition to My Sister's Closet with Sheila of sheilaephemera and her partner L when they were in town celebrating their wedding anniversary. Sheila picked it out for me. I would not have given it a second glance because: 1) form-fitting; 2) see-through; 3) Kardashian-ish (say it fast five times). And now I love it so much. Thank you, Sheila!

There's a built-in cropped cami, front only, a very short sewn-in slip, and a big slit up the back. I wore black tights and lycra shorts for psychological backup, a light-knit striped top, and knee-high Converse sneakers, also from MSC.

And to finish the look I wore black eye shadow, which my eyelids are cleverly hiding. Believe me, it was there - it took for-frickin'-ever to take off because I forgot to apply my eye-shadow primer. And I'm wearing near-black lipstick called Poe, as in Edgar Allan.

It's hard to imagine how my image of that writer would be altered if he were known simply as Ed Poe. "Look, honey, there goes Ed Poe of The Pit and the Pendulum." Did you know that that story first appeared in The Gift: A Christmas and New Year's Present for 1843? Happy holidays!

In other news, Margaret Manning of Sixty and Me published a transcript of one of the interviews I did with her early last September. I did a post about the interviews HERE, my first time doing a video interview.

Well, I was immensely relieved to discover that I spoke in real sentences, at least sometimes. You are welcome to have a read HERE and post feedback. (Sorry, I can't join in because I'm not on Facebook.) This particular interview is called "Fashion over 50: Forget what others think and express your eccentricities!" Thank you, Margaret, for this transcript.

And there's lots going on here in Bagland. I'll keep you in the loop as much as I can. I hope YOU are all fine, getting done what needs to get done or at least putting it off satisfactorily with dull pencils that need sharpening. I recently bought 450 vintage pencil crayons. Divine procrastination! More divine than birthing a lunchbag handbag.

I'll link up to Patti at Not Dead Yet Style for her Visible Monday and Catherine at Not Dressed as Lamb for her #iwillwearwhatilike. See you's there.