This and Hat

To those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to you.  To the rest, happy Friday!

I spent the holiday as I do every year, with family in the East Village, and apart from my mother's absence, it was the same as it always is: delicious food, great conversation, warm hospitality.  My mother is coming along slowly -- some days are better than others; today she skipped physical therapy because she said she felt woozy.  She has a full week of rehab ahead of her so hopefully she'll rally.  Michael's dad joined us again this year for the holiday and he has become part of the family tradition.

In the spirit of Black Friday, I went fabric shipping after visiting my mother today and returned home with some beautiful indigo denim. I  haven't sewn with denim in years and I may put the wool melton aside for now.  As you know, I've had trouble with my coat pattern and I'm not sure if it's me or not: see the big gap in the undercollar below?  That's how far off the collar was from fitting the neckline.  I cut it down the middle so I could measure how much more collar/collar stand I'd need.



In other news, I found this cute striped wool watch cap (below) on eBay earlier in the week and it arrived today.   I love presents, especially when life is stressful.  As you can see, I am slowly morphing into a Japanese male fashionista from Free and Easy magazine. 



And how about my glasses?  I discovered a marvelous vintage and vintage-inspired eyeglass frame store in the East Village called Fabulous Fanny's -- no personal connection or kickback for the endorsement, if only.  A woman I know who sells her line of reading glasses there told me about it, and I swung by last week en route to the hospital.  These are kind of a modern take on a more traditional 1920's style.  The brand is Kala and they're made in the USA, which is always a bonus from my perspective.



I don't wear glasses other than to sew with, so these are strictly for fashion, which is OK by me though I know to some it's akin to walking with crutches just for the fun of it.  Eyeglass frames contribute something to a person's face (and overall appearance) that a pretend wooden leg does not.  This is especially true when, like me, you don't have much hair on your head.  I think of it more like having a fake tan.  Tan skin (for the fair-skinned) is the way our skin protects itself from burning, and it was once a sign of someone who had to work in the fields.  Coco Chanel made it a status symbol (a sign of a life of leisure).  So is a fake tan an affront to those who still have to labor in the fields?  Perhaps it is.  

Anyway, I love my glasses and if you want a fake tan because you think you look better with one, you won't hear any criticism from me.  

And that's about it.  Not sure what I'll do with all my denim: probably a monochromatic outfit that might include a vest and/or jacket.  I have the whole winter to work with wool and to figure out just what went wrong with that balmacaan coat pattern.

Have a great day, everybody!

PS - If you can think of a better metaphor for wearing glasses when you don't need them to see with, please share it.