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If you're going to ALA next weekend, how many hours have you spent trying to decide what to wear? I have spent too many to count, if I include time on ebay trying to find something. Not counting that, though, it's around 8 -- trying on the dress once it arrived, photographing it, getting undergarments for it, and discussing it with various interested parties -- including the BRGs of course and even the mothers of most of the kids I babysit for.

I picked out a black silk Marimekko dress on ebay, partly in consultation with Fiona from last week, her mother, and little brother ("Let's get the man's opinion, too," the mother said). By the time I consulted them, I'd narrowed the ebay choices down to 2:

* a black silk Marimekko cocktail dress


OR
*a long emerald green dress (also Marimekko)


I liked the bright green one, for the color, but knew the style (babydoll) would be HIGHLY unflattering. Fiona liked the green one, too -- but her mother and brother both liked the black one, and I remembered Alvina saying that most of the editors would be wearing black. So, I went with that.

Fiona was disappointed, but brightened up when she thought of this idea:
"You can spray paint it green!"

The dress came and looked horrible -- the swirly skirt that Fiona's mother,who has a fashion-model figure, described as "skimming the hips" encased mine.

The result: I'm going to
a) wear something I had already OR (if he'll do it) get Fiona's father (an artist/furniture maker whom she claims is really good at making clothes) to cut out a pattern for me and make a new dress myself
b) stop buying clothes on ebay
c) try to remember that it never pays to try to be something you're not, in clothes or writing -- black is NOT my color, cool as it is and smashing as it looks on many people
d) stop beating myself up for the time wasted

Every artist and writer I know is at least a little obsessive-some more than others, it's true. The trick is to obsess about writing (or painting, as the case may be). But how do you turn the channel in your brain once another obsession -- or procrastination technique -- has set in???????????

If anyone has the answer to that one, I'd really like to know it....but I'm also curious about how much time other people have spent on the what-to-wear question.

See you next weekend--and really, what I wear doesn't matter. The point is to celebrate Grace and Alvina and WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON and maybe meet some of you, too!