Posts tagged clothes
Inconspicuous nonconsumption
Jun 28th
20th century success was a highly visible, material affair, consisting of houses, cars, yachts, clothes, jewellery etc. We are now coming to terms with the finite resources left on the planet we have so efficiently depleted, and have to learn to consume less in a more efficient manner.
21st century success is going to be less visible, both in its origins and its results. I know people running profitable businesses with customers or a tribe of followers all over the world and yet even their neighbours have no idea what they’re doing. The contemporary success story might equally be the person living in the modest terraced house, driving the ten year old car. Success is going internal, dependent on how you feel about yourself and your contribution to the world.
What makes you feel fulfilled and successful? Does it have anything to do with your possessions?
C-c-cold at the computer
Dec 18th
Unlike the east of the country, here in the South West we’ve had no snow, but it’s been the first seriously cold day of the winter. Which means I have wrapped myself up in my home working winter wardrobe of fleece, down waistcoat, thick tights, jeans and sheepskin boots. And amazingly for me, I haven’t felt particularly cold at all, even though I’ve spent all day sitting at the keyboard.
We are lucky in that the room we work in is the warmest in the house. In previous houses I always seemed to end up with the coldest, but here the sun streams in during the morning and the heat seems to be retained. It’s also directly above the sitting room where the woodburner is and so gets the warmth from the chimney breast when the fire is lit in the evenings.
Lots of home workers complain about getting cold and I think lots of us feel uneasy about having the central heating on when we’re the only one in the house all day. For me, the sheepskin boots have been the key – warm feet keep the rest of me warm, it seems.
It’s not frivolous to be interested in fashion
Jun 22nd
If you’ve had a look at the Books for Homeworkers page you’ll already know I like the novels of Linda Grant. I’m presently re-reading her latest book, The Thoughtful Dresser
There’s fascinating information about key designers, a spot-on analysis of how to shop and why it’s good to browse without intending to buy anything, and the staggering story of how a girl managed to survive the German death camps and go on to become a fashion leader in Canada, her adopted home.
I particularly liked Grant’s theory that the constant changes of fashion, rather than being a capitalist plot to get empty-headed women to keep spending, actually reflect our unconscious knowledge that we are always changing and cannot live in the past. That strikes a chord with me because I find I ‘grow out of’ clothes, not in the physical sense, but because putting them on reminds me of the person I was when I wore them, and I can’t or don’t want to be that person any more.
And yet every so often there comes along a wonderful garment or pair of shoes that somehow continues to be so ‘us’, no matter how long we wear it, that we keep it till it’s in shreds and try forever to replace it.
I can’t recommend this book enough and I’m sure it will influence how I think about clothes in the future.
Turning Japanese
Apr 21st
I’m not much of a shopper, but I do like to check out shops I don’t see locally, and going to London provides ample opportunity to do that. And even as a minimal shopper it’s wonderful to find a shop where you love the ethos and the design and would happily buy just about anything they stock. A chain I’ve always enjoyed mooching about in is Muji, the Japanese company that sells well-designed, functional products with no branding and – hurray! – at reasonable prices.
I’ve always loved the clever things they come up with that you’d never think of until you find them in a Muji shop. They have all kinds of bottles, tubes and pots to decant toiletries into for holidays, ingenious, irresistible stationery and covetable kitchenware of oriental simplicity. This time there were some fabulous steel desks and shelves perfect for homeworking, well-designed laptop bags and the usual extensive range of storage drawers, boxes and trolleys.
They do clothes too and I found another stripey T shirt to add to my collection, and made a mental note to come back on my next trip to the city. If you can’t visit in person, you can check out www.muji.co.uk for yourself.
What To Wear?
Feb 18th
One of the best aspects about working from home is that you can wear whatever you like. That often means less investment in expensive work clothes and smaller drycleaning bills – what’s not to like?
But inevitably from time to time there are occasions when you do need to dress up a bit more, to meet clients or attend a networking event, for example. If you’ve only recently started to work at home you probably have plenty of suitable outfits to choose from. But the longer you’re home-based, or if you only have these occasions very rarely, it can become a real dilemma to know what to wear.
I recently saw a section in the local Marks & Spencer I’ve never noticed before – ‘Careerwear’. A great idea but disappointingly it was dominated by a sea of black and grey garments. It’s vital to look businesslike and professional (and I devote a chapter of my book to simple ways of keeping up an impeccable image in all respects) but it’s also good to display a bit of personality.
As an ambassador for working from home I’m still trying to find the right balance between looking convincing and not looking corporate.
Work from Home Essential No.1 – Warm Feet
Feb 14th
Do you spend long periods sitting at a workbench or desk, getting more and more chilled? I’ve tried all sorts of solutions over the last few winters – thermal socks, scarves, wrapping myself in a blanket, body warmers, gloves, and sometimes all of the above at once – but nothing was really that effective.
But this year I have discovered sheepskin boots
Even during the recent snowfalls, my feet have been toasty all day, whether I am sitting at the computer or standing on the ceramic tiles in the kitchen. And warm feet for this homeworker mean warm body, warmer hands, and a much nicer disposition. I still wouldn’t dream of wearing them out of the house, but as homeworking attire they are lifechanging.
