Connections

I read a newspaper article about a crane whisperer. He nurses wounded cranes back to health, he speaks to them, he goes for walks with them, he teaches them to fly. Some cranes have stayed with him for a year, some for a decade. At this time of year, the cranes he has released back to the wilderness years and years ago stop by at the man's farm to dance with their old friend. They call him in the mist in the mornings, because they want to see him before they migrate. The man walks out to hang out with the cranes, dances with them for a few moments, and then says goodbye, as the cranes spread their wings and fly to the south for winter. This type of stuff makes me wonder what the hell I am doing with my life, and why the hell I care about my meaningless outfits.

I guess I care because us human beings crave for connections, be it with friends, loved ones, relatives or animals... or a bunch of strangers in the internet.

Jump, jump!

Ever since I got myself that crazy pair of MC Hammer-ish harem jeans a couple of weeks back, I have been obsessed with them. When I saw this image in the September issue of the Italian Marie Claire, I have been thinking about harem-style jumpsuits non-stop.

Earlier this week I stopped by at the Only concept store, and found this wonderful piece of clothing. After a careful 2-minute-long consideration I realised that I didn't even care if I could pull this off or not.

The best part is that not only is it a crazy harem jumpsuit, but it also works as crazy harem trousers!

I also tried on these jeans at the Diesel store:

They were the most wonderful jeans I have ever seen, but they cost 580 euros! For the time being, my Only ones will have to suffice (not that they are jeans, but oh well, one can't have everything).

Complaints

I had almost forgetten how much I dislike this time of the year. I can deal with the rain, I can accept the fact that the gorgeous golden and red leaves turn into smelly mush overnight. But I can't, I cannot, deal with the darkness. This blog does not like the darkness either: it is too dark in the mornings to take outfit photos, and no matter how early I get off work and hurry home, I have to turn on the lights to take a picture.

Not to mention how difficult it is to come up with cool but rational outfits for these current miserable weather conditions. Raincoat and wellies, anyone..? Today's outfit pictures are staged, because I didn't actually wear these outfits today. I opted for something more practical and boring which did not deserve to have its picture taken. I love these shoes... I am more or less happy that I did not wear them today, because the rain would have ruined them.

I adore my new sweater, too. I can't exactly remember why I chose to not wear it this morning though... it might have been something called 'morning brainlessness'. (It is a condition that seems to torment many, especially during the slightly depressing months of October and November. The symptoms: lack of dress-sense in the mornings due to extreme tiredness.)

Hmm, I think MacGyver here needs to have a haircut. The appointment is booked already, but my hairdresser is so ridiculously busy that I have to wait for almost three weeks to see her!

Getting it right

Considering that my last post was about me feeling that I didn't know how to define my style because I am all over the place with it, I am going to have to confess something. This outfit here is proof that I am not completely at a loss. I felt so comfortable (both physically and mentally) in this outfit all day yesterday. I do get it right sometimes!

On Quantity

"Do you have a lot of clothes?", Lina asked me the other day. "Umm... yes... I do... or what do you mean, a lot?", I replied. "Well, do you have a lot?", she specified. Off I went to explain the amount of space I have reserved for my clothes, and as I was doing so, I realised how ridiculous I sounded. I am sure compared to Mariah Carey I don't have many clothes at all, but as my current situation stands, and my double-doored wardrobe, two chests of drawers, a walk-in-closet and two other closets are not enough, I guess I do have a lot of clothes.

Today I started to think that perhaps I have been hoarding clothes because I have trouble defining my style. I try all sorts of styles, and even though I find my experiments awarding, they don't necessarily say much about me. Then take someone like Lina, for example: She confesses that she does not have many clothes, but she has one of the most distinct styles I have ever come across. Whatever she wears, she looks exactly as she should. She never looks out of place in her clothes. Her style compliments her personality in a way that I find astounding. She was photographed for the street style section of Helsingin Sanomat about a year ago, wearing random things she had just thrown on in about 10 seconds because she had to run across the street to meet a friend. Give me 10 seconds to decide what to wear, and I will suffer a nervous breakdown.

If I had to choose, say, 10 key pieces that define my wardrobe or my style, I would be at a loss. Perhaps this is the reason why it always takes me days to pack if I go out of town. I just don't know what I will feel like wearing on a given day. On the one hand, this is very exciting because I get to be creative and play with different sides of my personality, but on the other, it is very consuming, both on my mental state as well as my wallet. I think I do struggle with my sense of style more than most. I have not figured out yet what this says about me as a person.

On Quality

I met up with my old high-school friends this past weekend. I found myself to be the only one who was not married, and the only one who did not dress like a 'normal' 30-year-old would. We ended up talking about relationships and marriage, as well as the clothes we wear, and as usual, I was the one who had the inner urge to blurt out the question everyone is always dying to ask when it comes to the bigger questions in life: how does one know anything for sure? How does one know whether one is supposed to marry a high-school sweetheart? How does one know whether one should spend 50 euros on a H&M coat or 500 on a unique designer piece? I think it all comes down to quality, and quality is a state of mind more than anything.

I would often like to think that I don't actively value things. I hate making comparisons between things that never quite seem comparable at all. I prefer to think that I am impulsive, and go where ever life takes me, or what 'feels right'. But when it comes to important things in life, there is a process one must go through in order to achieve an illusion of certainty. Otherwise we just drift. There are times when life seems more meaninful if one stops for a little, to put in the effort to make sure that there are things that one actively wants or doesn't want.

The answer is, I think: we never know anything for sure, but it is not about luck either. We just have to judge our wants and needs, and then decide, and through dedication and inner strength we create meanings for ourselves. With carelessness comes bad judgement, with dedication, true quality. We should be able to ask for perfection. We should never settle for something that does not feel like the real thing. It really should be just as simple as that, because there is perfection out there.

When we make choices, the end results should be just as refined and perfect, both inside and out, as the seams of this YSL Rive Gauche blouse.

OH NO! I DIDN'T WEAR PINK!

This is so typical of me. The wonderful, unique Vasiliisa had challenged me to wear pink today in order to raise awareness for breast cancer, and like a total fool I only read about the challenge just now..! This is what one gets for being too caught up with work and not having enough time to visit one's own blog. Shame on me!

How crazy are these jeans?! They are way beyond MC Hammer, even. I bought the jeans and the gray scarf at the new Only concept store they have just opened in Helsinki. I tend to associate Only with moody teenagers, but this new store is quite nice, and the staff were very friendly indeed.