Building a Wardrobe Online

Part II

Photo Melvin Sokolsky

At long last here is my follow up to Building a Wardrobe Online. https://whatlooksgood.substack.com/p/building-a-wardrobe-online

As I said in May, buying online is a crapshoot, and this was the case for me. The board tells the story. Out of seven pieces ordered I kept two. The abundance of choices we have shopping online requires patience, the will to try things, and the discipline not to settle. Here is my process.

This was my first encounter with the Australian company Dissh. The collection consists of sophisticated, minimalist pieces in a neutral color palette. For summer fabrics are mainly 100% linen and cotton.

I may have kept the two skirts, had the size been right, but they were too uncomfortably tight in the waist which was a come to Jesus moment for me. I knew it was happening, but this was proof positive; the old waist has been slowly but steadily expanding. I immediately examined my diet but at this point there literally is not much fat to trim from my vegetarian whole foods diet. I’m not telling you this to show off, but just to emphasize the reality of the situation which is, after a certain age the body changes. I decided the effect of both Dissh skirts on me did not remotely resemble the models in the photos. Yes, they are 5’10”, skinny and young. While I’m 5' 3”, shall we say curvy and the young side of old.

Why am I telling you all this? Because it’s relevant to building a wardrobe online. Don’t fall prey to false expectations. I looked at the models and liked the look, though now I know an emphasized waist doesn’t have the same effect on me.  It’s not just the waist, but the length of my torso and bust size that distorts the clean long look of the models. This is my personal preference, which does not mean it should be yours. The point is to know what does and doesn’t please you. I like a more relaxed look with straighter lines. I concluded that emphasizing my waist in this case was not my friend. Next!   

I’ve been looking for a simple long black linen dress since last summer. I want it for the hottest days in the city and can think of many instances to wear it. The Dissh dress was close but in the end it was missing the ease I wanted. When I put the dress on (see photo below) it looked and felt okay but not great. Would it suffice? Yes, but I think we’re conditioned to settle with too many choices and not enough variety. That slot remains unfilled, but I’ll keep looking knowing the earth will continue to spin on its axis nevertheless. The lesson here is don’t settle.