[LMB] OT: attire, was Misc. gender issues

[Hendon, Alison]

My favorite pants are Lands End knit sport pants.  They have pockets and
the fabric is heavy enough for our mild winter this year (in the summer
I prefer Just My Size, they are a lighter weight fabric.)  Tops - Deva
Lifewear Breeze Tunic (I have 3 so far.)  I prefer a top without buttons
in the front because I usually have to pin in between the buttons.  For
dress up - same pants, plain black top (short sleeved sweater, tank,
etc.) and fancy jacket, usually procured from Coldwater Creek on ebay or
from outlet.

Alison
-----Original Message-----
From: lois-bujold-bounces at lists.herald.co.uk
[mailto:lois-bujold-bounces at lists.herald.co.uk] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Holden
Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2006 12:16 PM
To: Discussion of the works of Lois McMaster Bujold.
Subject: Re: [LMB] OT: attire, was Misc. gender issues

I wasn't sure what to say to the issue of clothes. 
Surely it couldn't be that there's a subject on which
I have no opinion?  After all, I've been wearing
clothes all my life.

Okay, I confess, like many fans, I'm no fashion plate.
But I like to look 'good' as long as 'good' fits my
own definitions.  And there's a slight  difference
between the clothes I like to see and the ones I like
to wear. I think women in dresses often look gorgeous,
and I like it, but I don't wear dresses myself.  I've
always got more of a kick out of costuming than
wearing dressy clothes - and I'm happiest in jeans and
pullovers. Which is what most of my friends see me in.
It's fun to dress in beautiful clothes occasionally,
but I'd rather spend my money on books and comics and
movies than on clothes, so clothes get short shrift. 
I gratefully accept hand-me-downs from friends, and go
to thrift shops.

Actually, the problem with dresses isn't that I don't
like the look. I just don't like the feel.  I recently
had a lovely argument about this with a male
cross-dressing friend of mine.   He argued that
dresses were more comfortably than trousers. I argued
the opposite.  We both thought this was very funny.

> Alex Kwan wrote:
> 
> > I love shopping for clothes, when I know the
> > stores will have nice clothes that fit me. 

Theoretically, me too.  With two caveats. (1) I don't
usually like fashionable clothes, the things you see
in the stores; and (2) if I see them, I can't afford
them, because they are invariably designer's hand-made
stuff.  (There's a store in the Byward Market where I
routinely covet their $250 dyed-silk jackets.  But am
I going to spend $250 on a jacket if I should even
happen to have $250 in my pocket? Not likely. So I go
there occasionally just to state at the things.)

If I could, I would wear Chinese-style matching
jackets and trousers all the time. Or something like
the shawar kamiz, the high-necked cotton shirt/tunic
and trousers commonly worn in Pakistan and India. 
Sadly I don't know where to buy these things off the
rack in Ottawa and haven't gotten around to making
them for myself, so I stick to jeans and pullovers.

I used to make a lot of my own clothes because that
way I could have what I liked, but the time and money
involved don't make it seem worth the trouble now. (It
used to be a cheap way to get clothes, but no longer.
And it's harder now to find good fabric.)

> I have found some killer palazzo pants from Deva
> Lifeware that are the 
> perfect work pants for me [i have 7 of them, and 7
> assorted color polo shirts.]

I think I would like shopping in Hong Kong.

I like men in good suits and ties - and often look at
GQ just for the visual pleasure.  But if I were male,
I bet I'd be no less likely to wear them often than I
wear beautiful dresses now.

One of the joys of being 40 or 50 or older, I don't
feel that people care much what I wear, or judge me by
my clothes as much as they used to.

namaste,
Elizabeth

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