Endless Vacation

Has it really been almost a month since I've posted? Damn! I've been feeling unmotivated and depressed. Maybe it's the hot weather. Summer makes us more aware of where we are vs. where we would like to be, and the difference is rarely pleasing. You'd like to be on a beach in a long dress, barefoot with a glass of champagne in your hand. Instead your makeup is sliding down your face in the odorous steam bath that is the public transportation system. Why do summer vacations end along with our school days? Who's the asshole who thought of this?

Most of the time the worst thing a person can do is think about them self too much. Particularly when you start thinking of what you once dreamed your life would be and start comparing it to where your life has ended up. The more talented and original the person is, the more disappointments, rejections, unfair breaks and missed opportunities they are likely to have experienced; and the understandable result is often a battle against bitterness and resentment. When real tragedy rears its head in our lives we forget about these more subtle, chronic pains; but in the course of uneventful day-to-day existence (which is really the 'good times', such as they are) these disappointments are always in the back of the mind. We need to be distracted and redirected by beauty, drama, color, and sensation. These things inspire us and hopefully provide the spark that reignites what makes us unique, creative, and expressive. Where there's life there's hope. Once the expression starts, the mind's eye is trained on what's in front of it, and those nagging bitter neurotic feelings of self pity are shoved back into the basement where they belong.

When feeling uninspired, uninterested, or otherwise 'un', it's helpful to focus on little things. Creating the life you want for yourself is a big, messy, time consuming project with all kinds of conflicting factors- many of which are beyond your control. It takes time and a great deal of tenacity as well as luck. But creating an outfit/look that expresses your vision of that life is completely within your control and can be done in minutes, every morning. When you get dressed you are taking an action. It's up to you how you want to direct that action. Most of the time comfort is everything, but there are many ways to comfort ones self. There's physical ease, of course, but there's also emotional well-being, aesthetic sustenance, and creative exhilaration. Let's say you want to spend the afternoon writing poetry while sipping espresso in a Mediterranean seaside cafe, and perhaps taking a leisurely stroll on the golden sands. Chances are you won't be able to pull that off today. But you CAN dress for it!  A pair of darling strappy metallic sandals, a breezy bohemian summer frock, an artistic-looking summer chapeau, a piece or two of interesting conversation jewelry like this mermaid necklace, and of course a fine moleskin journal to write down your lyrical musings (and a crafty summer satchel to carry it in - along with a baguette and a bottle of wine to sustain you on your idyllic wanderings) - at least some of these things are very likely in your possession already.

One of the earliest things we learn is to process visual information, extracting ideas and emotions from things we see. Visual cues have a constant subliminal effect on the mind, even when your thoughts are occupied elsewhere. You've no doubt read that colors can make us feel happy, sentimental, hungry, etc. Clothing that evokes positive feelings and thoughts makes you feel positive and feel more kindly towards yourself, and this in turn points you in a more constructive direction. At the very least it's fun. If you want to take it further you will get even more results. Pack your lunch in a picnic basket, drink seltzer water from a champagne glass, brush your teeth with exotic foreign toothpaste (there's a website where you can create customized kits of travel size beauty products) - these are all things you have to do anyway (eat, drink, groom), so you may as well use them to enhance your inner vacation. You get the picture. I'd love to hear more ideas on how to transform mundane daily activities into part of your creative life.

I've seen a lot of cute girls lately who seem ready to hop a train for the land of summer fun any minute (even though it's the middle of the work week and lunch alfresco is probably the most exotic port of call on the agenda). You can do leisurely beach fun in long dresses with almost-bare feet and flowers in the hair; wild rock n roll fun in cut off short shorts with summer boots, stacks of arm candy, feathers in the hair and shredded-looking or animal print tops; country club fun in tennis skirts and Lacoste cardigans (you can go on an adventure just by learning how to knot a silk scarf like a blue-blooded lady). Right now, we would probably all feel better wearing resort wear. Here are some of my favorites from the resort collections.

Now I'm out of my slump, and it's about time. I'm going to get a super cute pedicure and visit my collection of gorgeous platform wedge sandals, which is about to grow by one when I acquire these! Grab your most glamorous shades and let's meet for a mojito, and we shall be the cutest girls anyone has seen all day!