Tuesday, May 4, 2010

defined by sparkle?

so today . . . i got the laundry folded. did you know that it takes twice as long to fold two week's worth of laundry than it does to fold one? i'm not kidding you--it's true!

i've been working on cleaning out my closet--i mean really cleaning it out. i can't work on it for more than a couple of hours at a time or i cease to be ruthless. and i am not really all that ruthless to begin with. but tonight, when i was making room for black sleeveless top #12, i thought to myself, "my clothes are really boring." this is a strong statement from a woman who has outlawed the word boring both at home and at school (just like my mother before me!)

i started to suspect this a few weeks ago, when we experienced "the great earthquake scare." as part of my earthquake preparations, i put 98% of my jewelry collection into very sturdy containers and packed them in a safe place. (you see how cleverly i kept from disclosing exactly where my jewels now rest? that's because i know some of you . . . ) i kept out just a few things that would be easy to replace or that have no sentimental value to me. but now, my clothes all look the same.

this is partly by design. my thinking is this--clothes wear out (or get ruined or go out of style or cease to fit,) but jewelry is forever :) so as my jewelry collection has slowly grown over the years, i am a major bargain shopper when it comes to my clothes. if it costs much more than $10 or $15 on sale, odds are that it is not coming home with me. and that works for me, because i will certainly have a necklace or bracelet that will make my cheap outfit look totally awesome!

but now that my jewels are all in hiding, my daily wardrobe for work pretty much consists of two outfits--either a knit dress with a cardigan sweater, or a skirt with a tank top and a cardigan sweater. (i like cardigan sweaters, ok?!?!) oh, and tights. i have these items in numerous colors, (with an unusually large concentration in black, brown and white,) but no matter how i mix them up, i pretty much look the same every day.

i guess that is ok. i am comfortable. i am clean. i am classic.

i am boring.

i need my big turquoise necklace or my interchangeable cuff bracelet or my gold dangly earrings to turn my clothes into an outfit. i need my mom's jaguar pin to keep my jacket from looking ho-hum. i've been trying to fill the gap with scarves, but most of my scarves don't sparkle at all!

and there it is. i am missing my sparkle.

my sparkle is what makes me unique. i wear sparkle more than anyone else i know--i even wear it when i am at home alone all day. it is beautiful, it is interesting, and it tells a story. i can look at my collection and see when i was in the gemstone phase and when i was in the 'it has to be real gold' phase and when i was in the 'bigger is better' phase. i can look at my collection and remember holidays when sparkly gifts were received and vacations where all other souveniers were rejected until the perfect piece of jewelry was found. i look at my collection and see the "if i have to move to california" ring and the july jewels and my grandma's faux pearls. i look at my collection and remember summer days when my mom said, "we should clean out my jewelry box" and i said, "yes, we should!" because i knew anything she was getting rid of would find a home with me. if it sparkles, i think it should be mine!

so i think i am going to have to liberate some more of my jewelry--because at this point, my only other option is going to be buying tops with stitched on beads and sequins. i know they are out there--i was at new york & co last weekend. but they will probably have to be hand washed and line dried, which means they will spend a good portion of their time in the laundry room waiting for my attention.

and i am guessing they will cost more than $10 . . .

3 comments:

Wendy said...

Miller- your closet is boring because it is ridiculously organized! Let me at it and it and there will be new sparkle to your life!!! Love ya!

mom said...

I don't know where your jewelry is but life is short. Get it out and wear it. Get one of those tall rolling carts with drawers at Costco, fill is with the jewels and put it by the escape door. On your way out, grab the cart and roll it out behind you. You can have the jaguar pin. I have never worn it....Life is too short to live in fear. Another thing you can do is bring it all up here. I'll be sure to guard it for you...lol

Jewelielyn said...

hahaha! oh mom . . . first of all, i already have the jaguar pin :) and i won't keep my jewels in earthquake quarantine much longer.
and wendy . . . oh sheesh! i can just imagine . . . :)