Fun Filled

Here's a skirt-based outfit that made the grade for the walk to work. The skirt is dense and holds its shape well; thus there's no need for a slip, either for opacity or to prevent the skirt from clinging to my legs. To me that makes a world of difference, because half slips make an outfit feel like they're in need of constant adjustment. You've got multiple waistbands to deal with, and then you have to make sure the slip isn't hanging out at the bottom of your skirt hem or twisting around in some awkward way. I want to start experimenting with full slips under a skirt and top, because I think that might be a better option. There are so many things you never notice about outfits until you have to walk a long way in them.

I've had a fun-filled couple of days. On Thursday night Mark and I attended the annual holiday party at Anchor Brewing Company, where we ate delicious food, sampled the new Christmas Ale, and even got some VIP access into the distillery and the rooftop bar (thanks to my fabulous inside connection). Reporters from the Celebrator and 7x7 Magazine were in attendance, so who knows, Mark and I might even end up in their pages.

On Friday I had the pleasure of finally meeting Lisa, aka LPC, in person for lunch downtown. She is vibrant and intelligent and a delight to talk to; I felt like I'd known her for years. For all her talk of being a Sturdy Gal, I suspect she has a big streak of Arty Cousin lurking just below the surface, so I'm looking forward to going shopping together and seeing how much of that comes out.

On Saturday Mark and I attended my company holiday party at Foreign Cinema here in the city. I wore my Valentino dress with Wolford tights and Miu Miu shoes, a combination I've been wanting to put together for quite awhile. And yes, I was too lazy to take photos.

I'm headed off on my trip to Germany and France today; see you next week!

Jacket: thrifted
Skirt: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Boots: Ecco
Necklace: Wendy Brandes

Goodbye Norma Jean

Over the weekend I made a major decision: it was time to do away with my Monroe piercing (although apparently mine was technically a Madonna piercing, but whatever). The reason is that I'd started to notice a wrinkle that the piercing was causing; the tug of the post when I talked and smiled was creating a vertical line from the piercing to the upper margin of my lip, which doesn't follow the natural creases that talking and smiling produce on their own. I knew that in another year or so the crease would start to look odd and unnatural among my other lines, so I figured if I took the piercing out now I could stop, and maybe even reverse, the damage. I'd had the piercing for almost 6 years.

Getting your face pierced is an odd thing, because unlike the ears or nose, there's a lot of active tissue there that has to reconcile itself with a foreign object being placed in its midst. As it turns out, the face doesn't really appreciate having a metal rod rammed through it. It reacts initially with fairly exaggerated swelling, so much so that an extra long post has to be put in at first to accommodate the bulging tissue. When things finally settle down, the real healing can begin.

A pierced face heals begrudgingly, slowly admitting defeat and shrinking back to its normal dimensions, though it remains ready at the attack for several months, always prepared to spring forth into violent rebellion at the slightest disruption. Finally after about 6 months it seems to become resigned to its fate, and almost never protests after that. The back of the piercing settles into the soft tissue in the back of the lip, and it's nearly a part of you. Nearly.

Once the offending object is removed however, the face seems to regain its confidence, as well as a renewed sense of diplomacy. It nary makes a fuss, preferring to write the whole thing off as a minor misunderstanding. It's as if it's saying, "Well, thank heavens you've come to your senses. Let's put that little episode behind us." Not 24 hours after I removed the metal post, I could no longer squirt water out of the hole it left behind (a talent I'm somewhat sad to lose); 2 days in I could barely feel the depression that the back of the post left on the inside of my lip; after 4 days even the hole on the outside is starting to close in on itself. Soon it will resemble what it was meant to mimic in the first place: a beauty mark, albeit a very small one.

I loved the look of the piercing but I knew from the start that its time was limited. I have a few more outfit photos to post from before I took it out, but you may have a tough time discerning the first photos where it's gone. Unless you see me up close, it has always been a fairly subtle accessory.

There's one person I know will celebrate the departure of my Monroe piercing: my mom. Moms never seem to love any modification of their offspring's physical being, I find. I suppose they feel that when they made their sons and daughters, they were already perfect.

Top: Asos
Belt: Oscar de la Renta
Bangles: Amrita Singh
Skirt: Anthropologie
Tights: Hue
Shoes: BCBGirls