The Impossible American Dream

No one does an interview like Fresh Air! This episode from July 17, 2024 discusses the changes in the 1990s by the Clinton administration to US policy that allowed many higher paying manufacturing jobs to be sent overseas. American manufacturing has yet to recover from this shift - the result has crippled lower earning Americans.

Old Navy’s Plus Size Revamp

Old Navy has long been a pioneer in providing extended sizing that is thoughtful and well-executed. I know many people (including one of my favorite, size 18 fit models) who LOVE Old Navy plus sizing.

However, Old Navy decided to do a revamp of their plus size assortment- offering everything in extended sizing and put it with the regular sizing in stores…. And it was a huge failure.

I’m sad for what some people might derive from this story- that plus size isn’t worth it or doesn’t sell well.

My takeaway from this story is that plus assortment shouldn’t just be everything. Plus should be thoughtful. Pick styles that you know your customer (depending on your brand, not based on plus size stereotypes) will like. Adjust them accordingly to fit and flatter their bodies. Don’t just assume that what a size 2 person wants is the same as what a size 18 person wants. Actually look at it on a human body.

Head the story for yourself here—> https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-journal/id1469394914?i=1000564237398

Pocket Equality

Pockets (or, more fittingly, the lack thereof) are a feminist issue.

Let me explain.

A few years back I went to visit Pearl Harbor during a trip to Hawaii. I had a small purse with me: my phone, my wallet, a camera, some sun screen & lip gloss. After we had parked and started to de-car, an employee of Pearl Harbor walked up to us and said “you can’t bring any bags in.”

“No bags?” I said, confused. This was a journey that included a boat ride to the memorial. We would be in there surely for a bit of time, and I didn’t want to walk around carrying my phone and wallet in each hand for fear of dropping them in the ocean. Or, you know, just like, wanting to have my hands free so I could do something like use the restroom or eat a snack. Some have called me high maintenance, I know.

The man responded, “Yeah, no bags, but you can put your things in your pockets.”

Oh, thanks, I thought.

My two male companions put their wallets and phones in their shorts pockets. I looked down at my summery, knit dress. Even if it did have pockets, I wouldn’t have put my phone & wallet in them, they would have pulled my whole dress off.

This really made me upset. Seriously? I asked the man why we couldn’t bring a bag in, I showed him I just wanted to carry the basics. He said, “It’s for security.”

So, I walked into Pearl Harbor carrying my phone and wallet in each hand, and some sunscreen and chapstick lodged in my elbow. After proudly getting through security, I walked straight to the gift shop, bought a reusable grocery bag, and promptly threw all my things in it. You couldn’t bring IN a bag, but you could buy a bag once you arrived, no problem.

Thankfully the bag was only a few dollars, and I actually kind of like it (I still use it for errand running), but this made me aware of just one of the many small “taxes" that only affect women. Every man walked into that memorial with no problem, but every woman was forced to spend $5 on a bag or walk around holding her things, waiting for the moment when she accidentally flips over her wallet and every credit card and frequent margarita card comes flying out.

(Yes, I actually do have a frequent margarita card. But it works for tacos too.)

I wasn’t about to risk losing my free margarita, so I opted for the bag.

Now, in my work as a clothing engineer (more commonly referred to as a “technical designer” or “patternmaker,”), I try to consider this for women. I want women everywhere to have equal access to pockets. I don’t want her to have dinky little skinny jean pockets that cause her iPhone to bend. I want her to have pockets she can stick a few necessities in, or maybe just her hand when she’s feeling awkward and wants to look cool!

I want her to feel like her clothes serve her and make her better, by providing cleverly designed, durable and flattering pockets. Because women will never have true equality when we still aren’t allowed to have real pockets.

The Outfit We Aspire To

A friend of mine recently had the chance to meet a musician he admired at a workshop. Upon meeting him, my friend texted me this statement: “He’s such a big deal, he wears sweatpants to these workshops!”

I responded in the only way I knew how, which was to address this huge assumption about what we would all be wearing if we were no longer trying to prove anything to anybody.

I asked him, “Is this what you aspire to? A life of sweatpants?”

We then agreed that possibly the true show of “making it” would be to just be naked, all the time. Or would it? I tried to think about myself, living my dream life of sewing at home, hosting dinner parties and playing music. Would I really ever be happy wearing sweatpants all the time? Maybe cute sweatpants. More likely, party dresses. To be honest, I find myself already wearing these things on a regular basis; I think for the most part I am wearing the clothes I aspire to wear, because they fell like a true representation of the life I live and want to live.

I know I’m not an “Average Joe,” so I began to take survey of famous people and how they dressed as they reached the height in their careers:

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs famously wore a black turtleneck, jeans and gray, New Balance sneakers every day.

Some say that this was Steve Jobs’ way of eliminating the trivial decision making that goes into picking a unique outfit each morning. Maybe this is true, but I would argue that Steve Jobs actually carefully chose this uniform to be the purest form of self expression for him and stuck with it because he felt like it presented him in the way he wanted to be seen and the way that he saw himself.

Steve Jobs wasn’t born wearing a turtle neck and jeans (as far as I’m aware). And if you look at some past photos of him, you can find him wearing a variety of clothing, from blazers & bow ties to striped sweaters and jeans. Steve Jobs, during his early years, was like any of us: occasionally donning a fancy suit because that’s what was expected of him.

But when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 the iconic photos of him in a black turtleneck, wire-frame glasses, light colored, relaxed fit jeans and gray New Balance sneakers begin to arise.

Sure, he seemingly always had wire frame glasses. And sure, you can find some vintage photos of Steve Jobs in a black turtleneck with shaggy hair and possibly no shoes. But the combination, the repetition. To me, this iconic outfit choice represents a honing in of values and choices for Steve Jobs. It represents the moment that he figured it out and decided to say, “this is who I am, this outfit is a reflection of my values and the company I represent.”

The repetition, then, is more happenstance and less about eliminating choices. When you figure out who you are and who you want to be, why would you choose to dress any differently?



Francis McDormand

Francis McDormand is famous for not following “the rules” of the red carpet. While Hollywood starlets borrow expensive jewels and designer gowns, Francis McDormand does what she likes, including wearing (custom) yellow, suede, Birkenstocks with her pink, Valentino gown, as she did at the 2019 Oscars.

For someone like Frances McDormand, no longer dressing to fulfill other’s expectations doesn’t leave her wearing the same jeans, graphic tee and tousled hair everyday. Instead she consistently defies our expectations by sometimes dressing up, sometimes dressing down but always looking impossibly cool in whatever she wears, because she wears it with with an air of edgy confidence one can only gain by truly accepting and being comfortable with the person that they are.

In Summary

While I researched Steve Jobs for this blog post, I read a lot of articles pointing to other successful men who always wear the same thing, like Barack Obama or Mark Zuckerberg. The articles stressed the idea of eliminating choice from your wardrobe to help you focus on more important decisions. I don’t disagree with this idea (as a woman who owns the same skirt in several colors), but I think the bigger picture that none of the articles got to is how to choose your ideal, daily, uniform.

Mark Zuckerberg didn’t don a blue-gray t-shirt and a neutral hoodie because he was trying to dress like some other Silicon Valley bigwig. He wore it because it felt like him. It felt comfortable, it implies youth and a hint of rebellion against the idea of having to dress up to be taken seriously. Mark Zuckerberg’s outfits are uniquely his, but also not all that unique at all. Any of us could choose to dress like Mark Zuckerberg if we chose to. But would it be the right choice for you?

To really “make it,” in our lives, our careers, our happiness, doesn’t that just mean that we fully become the person that we are trying to become? And, ideally, as this person we are also learning and growing and reacting to the world around us, so we should leave room in our wardrobe choices for spontaneity, .

My one piece of advice as you find yourself honing and curating your ideal uniform, whether it be limited to blue-gray tee shirts and hoodies or an eccentric mix of jeans, gowns and Birkenstocks, is to just make sure it makes you feel happy, comfortable, inspired and confident. Mimicking the outfits of other famous, successful people eliminates the most important part of this equation- YOU! And YOU should be the showcase of whatever outfit you don.


A Beginner's Guide to Mixing Prints

Are you on the struggle-bus each morning, trying to work out how to match your striped sweatpants with your hoodie from your high school synchronized swimming team so you feel comfortable yet polished enough to call yourself a human being?

Yeah. I was there once too.

Let me tell you the story of how I went from being a plain Jane, wearing all black most days, to finding joy each morning as I mix prints and textures for outfits that are comfortable and make me feel exactly like me.

The year was 2014.  Or was it 2013?  Yeah, it was somewhere around then.  I remember distinctly seeing a woman wearing this striking outfit of head-to-toe, uneven dots.  It was like a dot within a dot, and a bit misshapen, which made it look artisanal and interesting.  I loved it.  She looked captivating but not distracting. 

My eyes weren’t drawn to a weirdly colored neon belt or some super bright accent shoes, they were drawn to her.

I immediately complimented her on her outfit, assuming it was a jumpsuit or a dress, and she responded, “Thank you! I had this top and pant that are both in the same print, and on a whim decided to pair them together!”

Mind blown. Okay, maybe I’m being a little over dramatic. But this one interaction DID forever change the way I dress, so maybe not?

This interaction sparked something in me.  I decided to reorganize my closet (by outfit! Not the Marie Kondo way) to help me find creative ways to wear what I already owned.  By organizing my clothing in a new way and seeing my clothes as ingredients in an outfit-recipe, I was able to actually get rid of more because, for the first time, I was able to see if each of my apparel items were actually contributing something unique.

So, where to begin, you ask?

The secret to mixing prints begins here:  start with monochromatic or tonal prints (aka- same color, different shades).

Yeah. You heard me right.  Don’t go all in mixing cheetah with florals.  Start small, and pick one color (plus a neutral) and go to town.  

Another tip? Start small.  Just like that old phrase, “good things come in small packages,” this is true for prints too! The smaller the print the less aggressive it will be to the eye and the easier it will be to pair it with another print.    

You could even begin by wearing same or similar colors together.  A red belt draws the eyes to your belt.  A red outfit will draw the eyes to YOU!

Optimistic ⛅️

I’ve gotten used to this new life, it almost feels weird to imagine traveling so much I hardly unpacked or always being so busy I had to plan months ahead just to find a free time for brunch with friends.

Dare I say, I almost like this new life. This life where I maybe have just one thing going on each weekend, maybe. And that’s okay. I’ve dug deeper into hobbies and personal goals than ever before. I’ve saved more money and felt the weight of FOMO slide off my back. I feel more assured in who I am, what I want and where I’m going than ever before.

In the face of exploding inflation, isolation and uncertainty, I feel weirdly optimistic. So, my outfit should follow :)

Skirt: J.Crew

I got this skirt new from J.Crew a few years ago, but you can find one on Poshmark or another second hand site pretty easily. Click here to see what’s on Poshmark.

Or here is one in size 8 size 6P

Bag: Day Off Satchel by Vera Bradley

You can check out Poshmark for a great selection of second hand items here.

Shirt: Disney Similar

Glasses: Smith Optics