NYT on the twinset

I'm a big fan of the twinset concept, though I note in current closet that I'don't own one. Maybe I've never owned one?? So maybe I'm not a fan. Or maybe they are too hard to find in thrift stores? Or I'm too cheap to buy cashmere (like this Talbots number below)?

Or the Lands End cotton sweater palette never got me excited?

Well, for whatever reason, I'm twin set-less, but still intrigued/tempted, so was glad to see this little nugget in the back page of the NYT Sunday fashion magazine. (I can't get the cool accompanying picture to post, sadly.)

A Double Whammy | The quiet twin set, a British classic, packs a one-two punch.

O.K., so it’s a classic. Some would call it, like the tuxedo jacket or the little black dress, one of fashion’s most iconic pieces. It came to light in the 1940s when, because of the war and burgeoning modern life, items like the floor-length tea gown became less of an option. But it was in the ’50s that the twin set met its moment. Think of any movie or TV show set back then. Did every woman really, truly wear it every day? I find it hard to believe because here’s the truth: yeah, they work if you’re Grace Kelly or January Jones. If your shoulders are narrow and your waist even smaller and you have the sort of radiant beauty that transforms something inherently plain into the epitome of chic. (Tilda Swinton, check! Dame Judi Dench, check! The Duchess of Devonshire, check!) But if you’re a mere mortal like me, wearing a cardigan over a matching short-sleeve sweater risks making you looking like an elderly aunt from the pages of P. G. Wodehouse. Which makes me all the more envious of all those utterly unflappable, self-confident beauties, who don a twin set (like the Pringle of Scotland one at left) and look implacably terrific. DAISY GARNETT

So - are you a fan? Do you own 12 or none? Do you agree with Daisy Garnett that it takes a certain type? (If you're interested, eBay has ~1600 twinsets for sale....)

Meanwhile - stay tuned: The neighborhood clothing swap starts in 6 hours. Apparently ~15 women are coming. Should be interesting...

Gleanings

A quick catch up post for yesterday, with a longer one to follow later today on the closet purge.

So, I'm fascinated by everyone's comments (if you haven't read through them, do!) and wanted to note some highlights:

1. Almost everyone loathes shopping, at least in bricks and mortar stores, but is also pretty happy to purge.

2. Melinda and others who could pinpoint your exact clothing purchases last year from Quicken: I'm very impressed. Those of you who track purchases that well -- is there a target clothing budget ( not a Target clothing budget, that's something else entirely) or do you just get what you want/need and see where you are at the end of the year?

3. Strong pro and con feelings about used clothing  - see Gay's comment about the dead skin cells. Blech. See Carroll's comments on the pro side. Also on the pro side, my friend confessed offline that she just clipped a coupon for a thrift store. Awesome.

4.  Dinner guest #1 last night reported that she had just gone to some very high end stores with a friend, has seen what's available at that price point/quality/style, and she wants in!   (DG#1 is also not eating sugar right now and finds this easier than not buying clothes. The causal direction between these preferences and her impressive physique is not clear to me...)

5. Dinner guest #2: Her husband buys a lot of her nice clothes for her. Wow. He knows her sizes, shops at places with excellent salespeople who can help assemble outfits, etc. She does end up returning a lot of it, but still. Wow.  DG#2's husband discussed his suit shopping habits a bit: He goes to the same place here in Philly, works with the same salesman each time. This salesman actually contacts him when new designs are available that he might like. DG#2 and I agreed that this kind of "push" sales strategy would not appeal to us. At. all.

6. New J.Jill catalog arrived yesterday. Thanks to Erin for interesting info about J.Jill president supporting W -- I didn't know that. Dinner guest #1 thought J. Jill was or is owned by Talbots? (I'll do some research).

6.Here's a game I play on my way into work, covering most of the length of Locust Walk,  the main pedestrian thoroughfare @ Penn: I try to scope out each female walking towards me, and quickly decide if there is anything she is wearing that I would happily trade for something I am wearing. The decision has to be fast enough that I can keep track of the numerator and the denominator, i.e., 6 of the 19 women I just passed were wearing something I liked better than what I had on. Note that this game is  best played wearing sunglasses for maximum social acceptability.

Yesterday's outfit: My favorite peacock blue Gap stretch cable knit sweater. (Great sweater, though I recently saw a picture of myself wearing it and frankly my boobs looked like birthday party balloons. Ack). Black velvet jeans by New York & Company -- I'm pretty true to their sizing, so I can usually pick these up on eBay (as I did these), but these don't fit so well. And it was too hot.).

Question for you:

If you were packing tomorrow for a long weekend away (normal weekend - no mountain climbing, pig wrestling, or black tie affairs), which three items in your wardrobe would have 100% probability of getting packed? How quickly could you identify those items just now? Are you wearing them? Are they already dirty because you wore them yesterday?

Thanks for all the enthusiasm -- keep posting and feel free to send the link to friends!