The Mother of Invention

I forgot to tell you about one more thing I did this week.

It's amazing what one can do with a $7 bottle of hair dye and five minutes of haphazard scissoring.

To say that money's tight right now would be a grave understatement. It isn't just homemade hair cuts and bottled blonde; I would possibly maim, though probably not kill, for a decent meal right now. Some hearty protein, a few leafy greens, and maybe something chocolate at the end of it. If a glass of wine was involved, so be it.

A side effect of my near-empty wallet is a wardrobe that's badly in need of an upgrade. I've been scouring thrift shops and the backs of drawers, accepting hand-me-downs from friends; pairing the old with the very old, cinching a belt on top, and calling it new again. Getting creative is half the fun, anyway.

But even the most loyal pieces must eventually join that Big Laundry Hamper in the Sky. And so today, I finally said au revoir to a tired grey sweater I bought in Paris two summers ago.

Saying that I bought it in Paris makes it sound very chic, but it isn't. It came from Monoprix, which is the Parisian equivalent of Kmart. It's served me well this past year and a half, but I must have worn it a thousand and one times and its prime had long since passed.

So today, in a flash of inspiration, I grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped it straight down the middle. Now, my lazy old sweater is a shiny new cardigan-- and from Paris, no less. Practically vintage.

I paired it with an on-sale top my mother bought me from Target and the necklace of my dreams, treasure-hunted yesterday at the thrift store down the block. Underneath is a black&white striped dress I've had for years and a pair of black leggings I'm horrified to tell you are from Walmart. They were four dollars, y'all.




Leaving the house today, I was so utterly pleased with my own creative invention that I failed to don a scarf or a winter hat. The past few days have been snowy, but pleasant, so this didn't seem like cause for alarm.

But today? Not so pleasant.

Today? Twenty-seven degrees below zero, with wind chill.

I'm sorry to report that near-death by hypothermia is considerably less pleasant than one might imagine, so for the walk home, I knew that going sans scarf was not an option. I brainstormed for a moment-- could I fashion something out of paper towels? Maybe I could somehow bunch up the hood of my coat?

Then: inspiration. I took off my newly altered cardigan and altered it yet again-- into a scarf.


Warm and fashionable? I'll drink to that.

As long as you're buying.

==

If you're a member of Twenty-Something Bloggers, this is a friendly reminder that it's award nomination time. You can read more and cast your vote here. There's a lot of good shit out there, y'all.

In further exciting news, I promised another contest when we hit 200 subscribers and we are frighteningly close. If you haven't yet taken the leap, now's a good time to strap on your parachute.

And that's all the housekeeping I have for today. Happy Solstice, darlings. The days are only getting brighter from here.