From style intervention’d to joining Imogen Lamport’s Stylish Thoughts series

Though I hate to remove my tongue from my cheek for long, I can say with all seriousness that I was extremely honored when Australian stylist and blogger Imogen Lamport recently asked me to participate in her series on personal style, Stylish Thoughts.

I just hope any of Imogen’s regular readers who venture here from my guest post don’t need smelling salts.

EXPLORERS WELCOME

Now sure—my friend may have started something 6 or so years ago when she challenged my “black, baggy, and covered in cat hair” look. But it was Imogen’s no-nonsense, thorough, free-to-all-with-a-web-browser suggestions that helped lead me in a different direction. And it’s Imogen’s humble nature and comprehensive advice that keeps me coming back to Inside Out Style for more.

[Plus she’s a little obsessed with people wearing color/colour that makes them glow, which wins her extra points from me!]

From her wealth of information about dressing my H/Rectangle shape to her use of real-life body shapes to help explain proportion and silhouette to her perspective on how to incorporate trends that flatter, I have many a favorite Imogen post.

My advice to those so inclined? Go find yours!

Well who ELSE am I going to tell? or, my moment in the “Style Blogs of the Week” sun

As more of a Dear Diary blogger than one who writes with an audience’s needs in mind, I’m always a bit shocked to get a public or behind-the-scenes compliment. But damned if something (my Grandma’s-Wamsutta-bedding print top?) didn’t hypnotize Chrissy over at Become.com’s “Pocket Change” blog into naming Building a Colorful Life as one of their Style Blogs of the Week.

Since I had no idea Pocket Change existed, I had to spend some time poking around on the loaded-with-content site to make sure it wasn’t a fetish joint.

Because really—if there’s a category called “style bloggers,” and there’s a category called “people who every so often write about closet wardrobe audits and rather bizarre (and at times borderline obsessive) relationships with random items in their closet” where am I more likely to belong?

BUT IT’S LEGIT

AND THE INTERFACE IS PLEASANT (AMEN)

So I agreed to be featured.

Between my photo collage and short Q&A with Chrissy, I tried forewarn/forearm Pocket Change readers:

But of course the house policy is strictly read at one’s own risk….

Associated Posts (Left to right, top row to bottom row)

A closet barnacle’s latest chapter aka the Blue Lagoon Dress gets down to business

Gratuitous Color Shot #2: What immortal hand or eye

Stacked

Book Lover’s Halter Top

Numeration

Sarong Song Dress [pt 2]

Criss-Cross

She snags seashells far from the seashore

Bedecked and bedazzled

Deja Pseu at Une femme d’un certain age kindly passed along a blogger-to-blogger award. While I’m pretending to find her bestowal charmingly delightful, I REALLY take it as a shocking near-admission that she enjoys mindless distraction along the lines of Kardashian clan exploits and tabloid tattling. Given that my topics are just this side of zoom lens exposés and babydaddy scandals, I certainly appreciate how my readers class the joint up!

Of course I read Pseu all the time, because her fluid, thought-provoking essays make me feel like a bluestocking instead of a ripped gym sock. Let me hasten to add that while she may seem like she spends all her free time reading literary journals and anthropological treatises and subversive-then-and-now books like My Mother, My Self, she also ties a mean scarf.

Not that I can do her online tutorials proud, however. I’m afraid I get excited when I figure out that I can jazzhands up my wardrobe by wearing an UNTIED scarf with a monochromatic, Ribbed For My Pleasure merino-and-cords* outfit:

Velvet burnout scarf--a gift from Ms Madeline--worn in a way that mitigates my Rectangled physique and keeps me from Duncaning to death

Yeah, I'm a little scarf-impaired, given that it took me 2 years to figure out I could sling this around my neck OR shoulders OR hips (the latter requires a knot, alas)

Anyway, Pseu allowed me to pick from one of two awards; both required sharing 7 things about myself. Operating under the assumption that one doesn’t need to take the award name literally—and rather liking the way the color scheme went with my photos—I chose the following:

Plus the other option had some spelling shenanigans I just couldn’t handle. [WHAT? I said I was loose around here, not that I was a Cirque Du Soleil soloist.]

7 Not-So-Secret Factoids:

1. Green beans are on my dead-to-me list.

2. I was nicknamed “Grace” as a child. It was my first introduction to irony.

3. In theory I alternate between productivity and procrastination, but in reality the dice are loaded.

4. I aspire to be a mix of surfer grrrl, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Prince.

5. Despite having no desire to sew, I’m reading lots of sewing blogs lately. Favorites include:

• Diary of a Sewing Fanatic
• Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing
• The Selfish Seamstress

6. Eternally Team Aniston, even if she is a blonde.

7. I raged against the so-called “Math is Hard” Barbie, but find math really…unfortunate.

* It’s come to my attention that there some cord haters out there, but I like to pretend I’m channeling stripe-loving Joanne Woodward in mine. No matter that I wear thinwale, like Paul, because they’re less bulky.

I bet Sally Field doesn’t run with scissors

Struggler at Struggling to be Stylish kindly passed along a blogger-to-blogger award:

Problem is, in accepting the award one is supposed to fulfill various requirements. Requirements I will, depending on how lax one’s point of view is, either bend or ignore. That probably disqualifies me from receiving future awards of this type, huh?

I swear I considered recusing myself from sticking ole Honest Scrap on this vehicle, but I find the icon graphically pleasing and kind of enjoy seeing it here.

Poor Struggler, choosing a lame and oppositionally-defiant duck as an awardee!

10 Honest Things About Myself (in Addition to What’s Above):

1. I grew up on murder mysteries and 70s-era novels about suburban infidelity. In retrospect, 5th grade may have been a little young to start reading the latter.

2. Approximately twice a year, I’m a morning person.

3. I’m rarely an early adopter…and after 10+ years of online forums, I haven’t really transitioned into being a blog reader. Partially because my old computer crashed when I visited all the pretty, image-heavy ones. But I’m getting there.

4. I live in a modest 1905 fixer, and after years of fixing–or avoiding fixing–I’m burnt out on decor and yard stuff. Which is bad because there’s a LOT more to do!

[Ironically, We Now Interrupt This Post so that I can go stand on the roof and hold the Silent Paint Remover, which enables Mr Vix’s window-scraping.]

~ returning ~

5. See #3 and #4 above, then check out the decor-and-more-related blogs of 3 very talented women I have “known” for years via online forums:

• Linda at Lime in the Coconut
• Lisa at Small Space Style
• Decor8or at Serendipity

(I’m probably missing a few bloggers from this group that I actually mean to include, but hopefully they’ll let me know!)

6. I find Facebook completely overwhelming and tend to avoid it. Also I think the interface is uglier than a tarantula’s butt. YEAH I SAID IT

7. Per my profile, I am getting more shallow as I age, not less shallow.

8. I can neither whistle nor blow bubbles with gum; this horrifies my grandmother. [Who tried and failed to teach me how to do both.] By the way, I’m sorely tempted to add a VULGAR postscript to this but won’t.

9. I have a “thing” about tagging people for stuff and can’t do it. Yes, I know it’s crazy and a tagee probably wouldn’t think I was imposing. But. Anyway: think about visiting Struggler and those bloggers above. And the ones on my sidebar. Especially Bingo, since she is on hiatus BUT SHOULDN’T BE.

10. Related to #9: Lists like these paralyze me and I can never think of a damn thing to say that’s remotely interesting. For an admitted narcissist, that’s a real heartstring-puller.