Good afternoon, Tuesday. I'm home sick (yes, again) and just got back from the doctor- sinuses again and got the z pack and hope it will work. There's something extra gnarly about being sick in hot weather, so I'm just kicking back and trying not to think about all the work at the office and just get some rest.
Yesterday on my way somewhere I picked up Mark Bittman's "VB6"- a book about eating vegan before 6 pm to lose weight and cure most health woes. I'm down with that- it's a great way for non-committal types like moi to compromise and not feel too restricted or deprived. Though I'm not much of a meat eater anyway, the strategy makes a lot of sense to me. During the day don't eat a lot of bullshit so for dinner you can kind of eat what you want, within reason of course. I was frequenting my local juice joint for a while (too expensive to do every day) and drinking their drinks and eating their salads for lunch- I definitely felt better and less bloated and my skin was glowy for sure. The whole daytime vegan thing feels fairly intuitive to me, but so does double cream brie just about anytime, so who am I to say? Oh, well. I'm off topic, because the book I was more excited to find was "The Hundred Dresses: The Most Iconic Styles of Our Time" by Erin McKean with lovely illustrations by Donna Mehalko.
As a girl who can find a dress to suit any mood, I adore this book. I have always loved the ease of a dress- how wearing just one piece can feel so comfortable, sexy, sleek and perfect- I love a flowy dress in the summertime almost more than I love summertime itself. And a black dress or silk print dress with thick tights in the colder months is a great way to capture that ease, even though it's cold outside. In another life, I'll have a shop right here in Brooklyn that sells five basic dress shapes a season- I love what Horses Atelier is doing of late and I'd love a shop that sells basic dresses for any occasion (a wrap, an a line sheath, a tunic, a slip, a kimono dress), all under the watchful eye of my little Khan, who also enjoys how a dress allows for maximum leg licking on his part. See, there's nothing better. Oh, and this is a piece that is really all ours, girls. We can wear the pants, but can men really wear the dress? They can, but not with particularly fabulous results). The dress is our G-d given right and the provenance of estrogen. Long may it live.
The book is a history of the most famous dresses of our time- everything from the Laura Ingalls to the wrap dress to the Audrey and back again. Sure, there's a few clunkers on the list but it's still a fabulous little tome to read when you need a little fun. No matter what kind of woman you are (and I know there's a few who will never wear a dress- my sister hates them for instance and a very chic woman in my office is in the same camp), there is a dress for you and one you can relate to or have worn in this lovely little book. As I try to kick my latest malady, I'm thoroughly enjoying looking at this book- fashion is always the best medicine, and there's not much a new dress can't fix, this much I know. I do, however, agree with Lesley Blume's book review of "The Hundred Dresses" in a piece for the WSJ where she says, and I quote, "ever allow a dress to do all of the talking for you. After all, you're supposed to be wearing the dress, not the other way around". So very true.
Cause that's what's up this daytime vegan in a dress kind of Tuesday in the 718. Love, love, and lots of dresses. XO