Wednesday, June 29, 2011

she's got the look

At this point in my life, given its recent chapters and the new ones that are unfolding, I have some clear ideas about who I want to be from here on out.  I want to integrate who I am with who I'm becoming, rework and reset my goals.  A huge part of this transformation, this reclamation of self, has to involve the way I walk through the world and who I see in the mirror.  I have to ask myself, What does this new, authentic and actualized Jenn look like?  Short answer, not the way I look now.  What's my first step?  A good, old-fashioned DIY makeover! 


For a long time now, my fashion choices have stemmed from a desire to blend in.  In the workplace, at the park, I haven't wanted to stand out or make waves, I've wanted to make an impact with my personality, my words, my actions.  I've wanted to slip into the mainstream unnoticed and decide where and when to challenge people's assumptions.  It's not the worst strategy in the world, but it's backfired on me one too many times. When your look is generic and non-descript, you run the risk of escaping notice altogether, or at least having to fight for attention.  So I decided, I want make an immediate impression.  At least if someone judges me, prejudges or misjudges me, they will have noticed me.  So again, I asked myself, What does that look like?


Unsure of where to begin, I decided to start with a haircut.  My last haircut had been at eight months pregnant, and my stylist spent the entire time she was cutting my hair asking me endless quesitons about my daughter's birth at home and my forthcoming hospital birth plan, as she'd apparently spent her break watching The Business of Being Born on her iphone.  I couldn't go back to her, even if I'd liked the cut, because I knew the first question out of her would be something like, So how'd it go?


I typed "curly hair, Berkeley" into Google and found a salon on Fourth Street that got rave reviews.  First I thought, hey, I'll just call and get the first appointment with whomever, but then I stopped, visited their website, and skimmed the stylists bios.  F. said she liked when her clients were open and willing to try something new.  Bingo, I thought.  It helped that she was pierced, tattooed and had a slick, bleached out crop.  Clearly this was a woman who didn't have a problem standing out.


I pretty much gave her carte blanche to do whatever it would take to get me out of the lampshade-shaped wedge my ringlets had grown into.  Take it as short as you want to, I said.  And she said she thought I should grow it out.  Really? I said, skeptical.  But something about her inspired confidence, so I was determined to trust her vision.  During the forty-five minute appointment, in addition to an in-depth hair consultation and cut, I got a review of the local undergound/alternative scene from indie rock to burlesque to queer cinema.  Once upon a time, I was reasonably well versed in these areas, but my soon-to-be-coifed head was spinning as I struggled to keep up, often having to pretend to know bands and groups and personalities to keep the conversation flowing.  She did the entire cut with a straight razor and the result exceeded all expectations.  I was grateful, not just for the new 'do, but the overall experience, grateful that she leapt to the (wrong) conclusion, namely that I would get her and her references, grateful that she didn't know anything about kids or babies or childbirth, and didn't want to know anything about them.  Don't get me wrong, I love to talk about my children, but I want people to take for granted that I can talk about other things, too.


It was a promising start, but the most challenging phase was yet to come.  When you get a haircut, someone else is making the key decisions, and you have to live with the results, at least for a little while.  Not so with buying new clothes, at least not for someone in my tax bracket (i.e. no stylist, no personal shopper). Now, I don't follow fashion trends, unless you count following six seasons of Project Runway, but I know what I (used to) look good in, and I know what I like.  I thought if I could see my favored elements of style all together in a list, that it might suggest a complete "look."  So I started brainstorming.  My completed list included oxford shirts, watch/wallet chains, leather boots, long skirts, suit jackets, vintage prints, and well, you get the idea.  Turns out that the sum of "what I like" becomes what I imagine one would wear to a steampunk convention or as an extra on the set of Moulin Rouge -- a rock and roll Anne of Green Gables, as it were.  Not at all sure how that could translate to my day to day life, I went back to the drawing board.


I think the trouble is, beyond a good pair of jeans, I don't know how to get excited about casual clothes.  I used to love any excuse to dress up, but as I've gotten older, my opportunities to do so have become few and far between.  Admittedly, my true tastes are a bit formal for the Bay Area in 2011, at least given my student/SAHM status.  I adore dress shopping more than is probably healthy.  I've been known to get a bit crazy in vintage stores around Halloween putting together a proper period ensemble.  Give me a gala to dress for, and I don't need any guidance, but I break into hives deciding what to wear to a playdate or a backyard barbecue, and that's pretty much what my social life amounts to these days.  Bottom line, I don't know how to marry style and my lifestyle into a look that is authentic (there's that word again) and effortless.  And I'm not sure what's worse, trying too hard or my current strategy, not trying at all.


I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the issue of my body at eight weeks postpartum.   My body now is not my body as I know it or want it to be.  Granted, I've made tremendous progress since giving birth, but this doesn't serve to make the dressing room mirror any kinder.


I thought it prudent, under the circumstances, to start with that casual staple, a good pair of jeans, forgetting for the moment that, next to bathing suit shopping, jeans shopping has the potential to be the most traumatic.  I started online, as it seemed relatively painless.  Painless maybe, but so very confusing.  My needs are simple.  Dark wash, boot cut, low rise.  Some stretch wouldn't hurt.  Money's an issue, so I stay away from designer brands I know cater to toothpick tweens anyway.  So I headed virtually to the GAP.  I know I don't want anything with the descriptors skinny or straight, but how does one distinguish between Curvy, Sexy Boot, Modern Boot, Boyfriend, and all the other permutations without trying them on?  I went to Levi's website, hoping that it would be more straightforward, given the longevity of the brand and its reputation for utilitarian simplicity.  Oh, no.  At the Levi's website you need to determine something called your Curve ID.  To do this, you need to take a quiz about how pants fit you.  That's right, a quiz.  I rated something called "Supreme Curve," the highest of the curvy scores.  Well, I always was an overachiever.  But sorry, people with supreme curves don't also get to have a low rise pair of jeans, and frankly, you get too high in the rise and you know where you are: mom jean territory.  There were surprisingly few dark wash options, and online, exactly none in the size I think I am now.  So I'd have to go shopping, and not in the city, because San Francisco, though not that far away, is still too far from my nursing baby.  So it was on to the brick and mortar shopping center in Emeryville ten minutes away.


I started again at that ubiquitous chain, the GAP.  GAP started with jeans, so it stands to reason that they'd know what they're doing in that department, and since they try to cater to everyone, you'd think they'd fit most bodies/tastes.  Even so, I found ONE pair in the entire store that fit the bill.  I put them on hold and went to hit the other stores before committing, but ended up skipping most of them for one reason or another.  I couldn't go into Guess or Express or Abercrombie and Fitch, as I know I don't want to look like an ultra femme overly accessorized teenager.  I couldn't go into Ann Taylor Loft or Banana Republic or J Crew, either.  While they cater more to my age group, their clothes seem to communicate a sort of conservative pastel respectability I'd also like to stay away from.  So my last shots before the shops and my time ran out were Old Navy and H & M.  Though their clothes tend not to hold up so well, these stores tend to at least carry a variety of styles, basic pieces like jeans and t shirts, and you can get a lot for not so much money.


I stepped into Old Navy, only narrowly missing the greeter, who was encouraging people to scream for extra savings.  I guess at that point I should have run screaming from the store, but no, I was determined to give it a shot.  I made two separate trips to the dressing room, hauling huge piles of clothing each time, and with each piece I pulled on (or tried to) was progressively more horrified.  I was also becoming increasingly hungry, and the lower my blood sugar got, the more I was convinced that maternity yoga pants were and would forever be my only fashion option.


I gave up for the day, knowing I didn't have the mental or physical energy to slog through H & M, and headed to a familiar refuge, the bookstore.  The rest of my external makeover would have to wait, but I could soothe myself by starting the internal one.  At the checkout, the cashier looked over my magazine selections (namely Bust, Bitch, and Curve) and gave me a knowing smile.  You have some intelligent reads here, she quipped.  I sighed and said, Yeah, well.  I have some catching up to do.  At least I'll have something to talk about at my next hair appointment.

1 comment:

Marisol Ramos said...

Always and education to read your blog Jenn. I feel your pain about clothes, we curvy women have a hell of a time to find things that fit without going to a tailor. I am petite which add a different challenge.

I have been successful going to Talbot funny enough. they have a nice variety of bright, happy colors and prints that are good to match with jeans and pants. And the clothes fit me, so a big plus. But, pretty much everything is dry clean and that is killing me because these clothes become the most expensive clothes to maintain!

I have more luck with Banana Republic to find some good pieces (blouses) that are cotton and washable.

If you are looking for a casual look in the Bay area, what about summer dresses? I love those Indian's Rayon dresses that cost like $30 and are one size fit all. They are pretty, with nice embroidery and easy to dress up or down.

In any case, tomorrow I need to go to shopping for summer clothes. All my old stuff either to be dry clean or doesn't fit me anymore. So I will be thinking about you while shopping.

Stay strong!
your cousin,
Marisol