2:02 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Hermmmmm...layers are like Uggs. I suppose. I never see Uggs around here, only read endless complaints about Uggs on the Net.

Uggs supposedly look like crap, they were at one point ubiquitous, everyone dissed them, yadda yadda...but from all reports, they're warm. They even keep your feet dry. This makes them interesting to me. Not here and now...my Doc Martens boots keep my feet warm and dry in our relatively mild climate...but the concept.

Now layers, you find in California. It's not a fashion. People have always worn layers here. You have to. The weather is crazy.

For example, this morning it was so cold I turned the heat on. (Okay this is California, you have to turn the heat on.) By afternoon, it was hot. Short sleeve hot. In the evening, it was back cold again.

Almost any time you wear clothes warm enough for the morning and evening, you have to have a creative way of shedding at least one layer of them in the afternoon. Whenever it looks hot outside, it can suddenly turn cold; you almost always have to have a wrap of some kind with you, and preferably some way of tying it so you don't have to carry it.

It was slightly worse in Washington because of the rain. It starts raining right out of the blue. So, add a waterproof layer to the fact that it's freezing there.

Layers for the sake of layers just strikes me as silly. If it's cold though, I always throw on another layer.

2:10 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Ohhhhh...I know exactly what you mean about "not readily identifiable."

It's been in the back of my mind for some time...how, more and more so, we are buying all of our clothing at exactly the same stores. The same brands, the same models even.

I think the trend will be toward smaller designers, boutiques, people making their own clothes or starting their own cottage industries...in the same way the trend is toward esoteric perfume houses. Ultimately, people will want something different.