I gave you a couple of weeks off from my daily report on the 100 day dress challenge. I’m actually at Day 31 today, but am posting the picture from a couple of days ago. Sporting my ultra thin wool scarf, I feel like a movie star about to jump into her convertible MG sports car, don her designer sunglasses, and whiz around mountain turns without disturbing one strand of my precious locks! In reality, I’m just going to the grocery store on a windy, cold day in Monterey.

Still, that’s the thing about simplicity. We see something and think that if we have it, we will ‘be’ or ‘experience’ what the ‘thing’ represents. In truth, we probably already have something that will do the job if re-purposed, and we can take flights of fancy in our imagination without spending a cent...or further cluttering up our life. Even in my same 100 day dress, I can imagine I’m heading out for an adventure worthy of a Hollywood set, rather than combing the produce aisle for endive lettuce. Actually, it makes the search for lettuce a little more interesting...


#wool and

Today, I’m wearing just the dress adorned with a bright multicolored shawl/scarf that I knitted a year or so ago. It doesn’t take much to create an entirely new look. When the basic canvas is classic and well made, a piece of jewelry, a scarf, or a jacket can seemingly bring the basic canvas to life. And should the person be seen in the same canvas for 4 days in a row, by the same group of people, it’s unlikely the canvas will be remembered. It’s more likely the jewelry, the scarf, or the jacket will be remembered.

From a fashion/tailoring perspective, this is why I tend to favor monochromatic classics — they’re practically undetectable! But take a chic and fashionable outfit — say a pair of marine blue slacks with a yellow cold-shoulder top, tied together with a mesh belt that sports a gold mermaid buckle. If that outfit is worn 4 days in a row, I can almost guarantee it will be remembered! Yet, one well made piece can be worn over and over, and a multitude of looks can be created, with just a few well chosen accessories. The bonus is that it takes so little effort and is completely free of decision fatigue.

Case in point: my one lovely dress has shown up now on this blog for 14 days. I wonder if you remember (without looking) what I was actually wearing on Day 4, or Day 9, or even Day 12? I imagine that if anything comes to mind it will be my purple beret, my pink scarf, my shawl collared jacket, or my jade necklace — rather than the dress itself. And, you’ve actually been interested enough to pay attention to my clothes these past 2 weeks! But in the normal run of a day we really aren’t all that interested in what others are wearing.

You may not think you’d want to wear the same dress for 100 days, but you might try wearing the same two or three outfits over the course of a couple of weeks and see if anyone notices! You might be surprised — even a bit dismayed — but you will definitely see that you don’t need as many clothes as you think you do! You might even find yourself stealthily sidling up to simplicity!

I think I’ll wear the same things the next 14 days, that I wore the last 14. But, I’ll check back in here, from time to time, to let you know how things are going with the 1 dress, 100 day challenge!


​#wooland

A Hong Kong touch today!

As many of you know, I have a tailoring business and my tailors are in Hong Kong. I’m there relatively frequently (well — was — before the pandemic). On one of my trips, I picked up this jade necklace for a song and a dance ($12 USD) at a street hawkers stand that I frequent; usually for gift bags and other small items. The owner knows me now and she gave me the little bracelet as a gift. Together they add quite an Asian flair to my frock, don’t you think?

Because I have so few things; whenever I use something, whether it’s a cup or a pen or a bowl or a necklace, I have a story to go with it. Actually, that’s true for all of us. We can remember something about how we acquired specific things in our life and the people who participated in it in some way. What makes it different for a minimalist, is that their few items stand out and the stories speak, because there’s so little competition. Imagine a closet with 8 pairs of jeans, and a closet with 1 pair. It’s difficult to isolate and focus on the stories of 8 pairs all at once. But, with one pair, the story is speaking the moment the closet door is opened.

I realize minimalism isn’t for everyone. And, I’m not a crusader for it. I’m simply walking my own path and sharing it with you. Today, I just want you to think about the stories that go with what you own...because it’s the stories, not the things...that make a life.

Paris is popping!

Many of you know that I love Paris and berets. The berets came first, however! I’ve had several over the years and this morning I was feeling ‘Paris peckish,’ so I donned my purple beret along with a silk pink scarf given to me by my grandson. If only California weren’t in lockdown, I might have grabbed a woven basket and sauntered through a market picking peaches to have with a morning croissant!

When we hear the words simplicity and minimalism, we tend to think deprivation. Forcing ourselves to do without those things that we really want to have. It seems a dull, drab, colorless existence. We think whites, grays, and beiges— along with boredom! But, nothing could be further from the truth. Simplicity is about having a simple canvas on which to introduce color so that color can be fully seen and appreciated.

The one lovely dress is just such a canvas. Because it’s simple and uncluttered, by pattern and dramatic color of its own, the pink scarf and purple beret aren’t missed. The eye is immediately drawn to them. A little pop of color not only makes the dress interesting; but triggers an imaginative trip to colorful Paris itself!

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As much as I love my delightful dress, I do miss my Indian sarees and shalwar kameez outfits! So, today, I added some saree material as a scarf. A little glittering of gold never hurt a girl, after all!

That said, simplicity isn’t always easy. Sometimes it hurts. The gold in my scarf today triggered a memory of a tiny gold clock in a little velvet bag. Many years ago, my now deceased father had been commissioned to build and staff the first ‘free’ printing press in Albania. All of the printing presses and equipment had to be shipped through Zurich. So, he spent a fair amount of time there. When he returned from one of his trips he gave me that tiny gold clock in the little velvet bag. I was thrilled and promptly put it on my desk.

Fast forward to this morning. The glittering gold in my scarf reminded me of the clock and I realized that somewhere in my many moves, material purges, and minimalism experiments, I had lost track of the clock. A tear slipped down my cheek as I realized that something special had somehow been shuffled out of my life — no doubt, in the name of simplicity.

​After acknowledging my pain and sadness, another thought came to me. I may no longer have the tiny gold clock in the little velvet bag, but I have my memory of it. And that — well, that — really, is enough.

One flaw of my nearly perfect dress is its boatneck that leaves my skin exposed. In my climate I need a turtleneck not a boatneck! So, just when I was thinking of buying an everyday cardigan to be a steady companion to the dress, I was thrilled to find this smashing poncho in my mailbox! A Christmas gift from dear friends, it is the perfect solution to my boatneck problem! It’s almost the exact color of the dress, has a fluid and funky drape, (you know by now how much I love frippery) and is topped with a turtleneck! The very thing I needed!

When we choose to have less, we are often surprised by the sheer magnanimity of God and the universe. What we need seems magically to appear, at just the moment that we need it. When we have too much, we often miss those moments of blessing because the gift heaven is trying to give us just gets mushed up with everything else. If we clear some space, if we choose to minimize, miracles appear everywhere.