Alright people, let's talk about this.
Today is August 31st. This weekend is Labor Day weekend. When classes resume on Tuesday, should I expect to be seeing a significant lack of white in students' wardrobe?
NO!
Before we actually begin, let it be known that this topic was inspired by two situations occurring in the past two days:
1) yesterday I was sitting on the bus next to three guys who I didn't know, inadvertently eaves-dropping on their conversation (not my fault! they were practically yelling), when one of the brought up "that stupid rule about how you can't wear white after labor day." All three sat there yapping about how they didn't understand why you weren't allowed to wear white after labor day, how it was a stupid rule, and a lot of other uninteresting blah blah blah. I was sorely tempted to lean over and tell them, "it's shoes. You can't wear white shoes," and then resume my solidarity. I resisted the temptation.
2) today my roommate was wearing white shorts. As we were getting ready to go to a friend's apartment, I commented that I was going to change into jeans, and she said "I think I'm just going to keep these on. It's one of my last days to wear them, after all."
So, friends, let's talk about this no-white-after-labor-day rule.
The extent of my research shows that this rule supposedly originated around the 19th century when the upperclass returned from their summer homes at the end of August to resume their lives in the city. When they switched locations, they switched wardrobes as well, putting away their summer-wear and readopting their winter garments. Winter clothes are darker and heavier, so it was standard that the white would just disappear with the rest of the summer things.
I'm not sure how many of you are close to a calendar, but just in case you didn't realize, we're not in the 19th century.
We're not even in the 20th.
21st baby. Mind blown, I know.
But all sarcasm aside, fashion is about risk-taking and rule-breaking. Now, I'm not saying keep out all your summer clothes as we head into cooler months - that's just stupid. But I think a strict adherence to the no-white policy is pointless. Color forecasters plan seasonal color palettes about two years in advance, and they always incorporate neutrals. White is a neutral. This means white is a year-round color. Please don't remove it from your wardrobe.
So Catherine, can I wear white shoes?
Eh, I'm still undecided as far as that goes. I'd obviously get rid of sandals simply because sandals are indeed a summer shoe. I tend towards the idea of putting away the white shoes.
Well then, what can I keep?
Anything else. White jeans? Wear them with a dark sweater and dark shoes. White tights? Put em under boots and a black skirt. White jacket? Black jeans and a dark scarf.
Be risky. People really don't judge individual colors as much as color coordination. No one's going to look at you and say "gee whiz, what are you thinking, wearing a white shirt? It's September 7th, for goodness sake!" If they do, just direct them to me. I'll take care of it. (But really, don't do that. I'm not about to fight your battles for you.) As long as you wear your white well, people really won't care that you're wearing it post-Labor Day.
Oh, and when I say "white," I mean white, off-white, cream, eggshell, ivory... whatever you want to call your shade of white.
I think that's all I've got for now. Basically, I like white, and ivory, and cream, and I think you can wear them successfully during the winter months if you wear them properly and pair them with dark colors.
Because, when I think of winter, I think of snow.
And snow's white.
For the win.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Those Awkward Gaps
Right now I'm in one of the "awkward gaps" during my day. It's wonderful, don't get me wrong, just awkward. Reasons why:
1) Tuesdays I have my first class at 9.10, end at 10, into math lecture at 10.15, end at 11.30, into physics lecture at 11.45, and out at 1. very full, fairly boring, and definitely tiring.
2) I get back to my dorm around 1.10. I have a 2.55 class. seems like a reasonable amount of time, right? well, my 2.55 is on a different campus, so I have to allow bus time. which means leave my dorm at 2.10.
3) but Catherine, an hour is plenty of time to do something like, say, grab lunch! yes, dear reader, yes indeed it is! however, apparently the rest of the student body is operating on the same schedule as I, because it seems the entire student body is trying to get lunch at precisely the same time as I! which makes the lunching process more difficult and lengthy.
So today I opted for a PBJ in the room and skip the campus lunch experience altogether. By doing so I've now freed up a little more time in my gap. But what to do with it? The homework that's currently dangling over my head can't be finished in my now 45 minute slot. And honestly, it can't really be started that quickly either. Y'all know how those assignments are. I could watch a Netflix episode - Psych, maybe - but alas! I hopped onto Facebook while pondering my situation and now I only have 38 minutes left! Not enough time for a Psych episode. What about a half-hour show? (that's really only 22-24 minutes when you cut out commercials, let's not lie to ourselves) Well, I suppose we could. And actually that might be a wonderful solution for other Tuesdays (and Thursdays), but today I decided to waste my time by posting about how I couldn't decide how to waste my time. Which therefore makes this post invalid. I suppose. Maybe? Hmm...
Well that's about all. And all that rambling to say that I wish my schedule didn't have awkward gaps. But then again, I'd rather have a few minutes to sit around staring at a wall than be constantly in class or walking (or busing) to other classes... So, I accept you, awkward gap, for all your fantastic pointlessness. I do enjoy having you on my side.
Have a fantastic Tuesday, everybody!
1) Tuesdays I have my first class at 9.10, end at 10, into math lecture at 10.15, end at 11.30, into physics lecture at 11.45, and out at 1. very full, fairly boring, and definitely tiring.
2) I get back to my dorm around 1.10. I have a 2.55 class. seems like a reasonable amount of time, right? well, my 2.55 is on a different campus, so I have to allow bus time. which means leave my dorm at 2.10.
3) but Catherine, an hour is plenty of time to do something like, say, grab lunch! yes, dear reader, yes indeed it is! however, apparently the rest of the student body is operating on the same schedule as I, because it seems the entire student body is trying to get lunch at precisely the same time as I! which makes the lunching process more difficult and lengthy.
So today I opted for a PBJ in the room and skip the campus lunch experience altogether. By doing so I've now freed up a little more time in my gap. But what to do with it? The homework that's currently dangling over my head can't be finished in my now 45 minute slot. And honestly, it can't really be started that quickly either. Y'all know how those assignments are. I could watch a Netflix episode - Psych, maybe - but alas! I hopped onto Facebook while pondering my situation and now I only have 38 minutes left! Not enough time for a Psych episode. What about a half-hour show? (that's really only 22-24 minutes when you cut out commercials, let's not lie to ourselves) Well, I suppose we could. And actually that might be a wonderful solution for other Tuesdays (and Thursdays), but today I decided to waste my time by posting about how I couldn't decide how to waste my time. Which therefore makes this post invalid. I suppose. Maybe? Hmm...
Well that's about all. And all that rambling to say that I wish my schedule didn't have awkward gaps. But then again, I'd rather have a few minutes to sit around staring at a wall than be constantly in class or walking (or busing) to other classes... So, I accept you, awkward gap, for all your fantastic pointlessness. I do enjoy having you on my side.
Have a fantastic Tuesday, everybody!
Friday, August 17, 2012
The average late night
Today was my first day back in classes.
Yes, we started class on a Thursday.
No, I don't know why.
Yes, it's awesome.
Tonight also turned into a typical college student night: I finished everything I needed to get for the day before 10 pm, but here it is, 1 am, and I'm still wide awake and functioning. Not because I couldn't go to sleep if I tried, but just because it's more fun to stay up than go to sleep. But forreal.
Let's talk about classes a little bit, shall we? Firstly, for any new college students or high school seniors, or just anyone who needs a little reminder, if you're going to a big lecture class, be sure to get there EARLY. I got to my math lecture ten minutes before it started this morning, and finding a seat was super awkward. I ended up in that spot where two people are sitting with two empty chairs between them, so then you have to decide who to creep next to. That's always fun... I also always seem to end up in front of that row of girls who just don't. stop. talking. That's fun too. I really like it when they're annoyingly chatty all of class, and they really like it when I turn around and tell them off. Just kidding. I've never done that. But I always want to. Oh well.
So 15 minutes after math ended I had to get to my Physics lecture. Now I know that I don't have time to, say, go to the bathroom between those two classes. Not unless I want to get stuck in the far back corner and not be able to see the board like I did today. Awesome sauce. We'll be bookin' it from class to class every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Something to look forward to.
At least textiles redeemed itself, even though I still can't figure out the pattern to how the rooms are numbered. But I finally found my class: CAD for Fashion. It's going to be awesome!! Researching and designing for specific markets, then creating one of the products we designed for the market. I'm so pumped.
And now it's officially bedtime. When morning comes it'll be time for the weekend!!
Yes, we started class on a Thursday.
No, I don't know why.
Yes, it's awesome.
Tonight also turned into a typical college student night: I finished everything I needed to get for the day before 10 pm, but here it is, 1 am, and I'm still wide awake and functioning. Not because I couldn't go to sleep if I tried, but just because it's more fun to stay up than go to sleep. But forreal.
Let's talk about classes a little bit, shall we? Firstly, for any new college students or high school seniors, or just anyone who needs a little reminder, if you're going to a big lecture class, be sure to get there EARLY. I got to my math lecture ten minutes before it started this morning, and finding a seat was super awkward. I ended up in that spot where two people are sitting with two empty chairs between them, so then you have to decide who to creep next to. That's always fun... I also always seem to end up in front of that row of girls who just don't. stop. talking. That's fun too. I really like it when they're annoyingly chatty all of class, and they really like it when I turn around and tell them off. Just kidding. I've never done that. But I always want to. Oh well.
So 15 minutes after math ended I had to get to my Physics lecture. Now I know that I don't have time to, say, go to the bathroom between those two classes. Not unless I want to get stuck in the far back corner and not be able to see the board like I did today. Awesome sauce. We'll be bookin' it from class to class every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Something to look forward to.
At least textiles redeemed itself, even though I still can't figure out the pattern to how the rooms are numbered. But I finally found my class: CAD for Fashion. It's going to be awesome!! Researching and designing for specific markets, then creating one of the products we designed for the market. I'm so pumped.
And now it's officially bedtime. When morning comes it'll be time for the weekend!!
Sunday, August 12, 2012
And so it begins...
I've officially been at school for two days now, and my room is still an incredible mountain of "stuff." I really can't call it anything other than that - there's a little bit of everything going on around here. This morning I had to use shampoo instead of soap because I had no idea what box the soap and soap holder were in. I still haven't found em. No lie. On the plus side, now I know that shampoo works really well as body wash.
When I'm moving into my dorm, I like to have a lot of storage boxes. I have this theory that if everything has a box to be put in, maybe it'll somehow end up there. Plausible, right? But right now my problem is moving things from big "transportation" boxes to little "living" boxes - I can't decide what little box gets the honor of holding what "stuff-y" item. It's basically a giant puzzle. And while I normally enjoy puzzles, this one's stressing me out. Meh.
Speaking of school theories, I also came up with another one this summer: if I bring a lot of cute clothes to school, I'll end up wearing them more often. Also plausible, right? Well, seeing as this is only day two, I haven't really been able to test the theory yet, but I'm already seeing some loopholes, mainly that I kind of tried this last year and it didn't work. Whilst deliberating the situation with my roommate, the question arose of why we always dress cuter in the winter than the summer. Our answers are as follows:
1) there's a conspiracy among designers to make winter clothes cuter all-around, in which case we're just kind of screwed
2) because when you walk into a room and throw off your jacket, you have more pressure to be wearing something cute as you're already set up to make a stellar impression
3) because it takes more effort to dress warmly in the winter, putting in that last bit of effort to also dress cute (cutely? eh, whatever) isn't particularly difficult.
We decided number three is the most likely, but I'm not ruling out one or two either. All I know is that it's easier for me to love what I'm wearing during the winter. Which is quite a disappointment, because winter is my least favorite season (sorry, Santa).
My roommate and I have also decided we're going to have once-weekly mandatory "look cute" days. Basically all this actually means is that we can't dress like hobos. It's a lot to ask, but we're going to try. I even came equipped with flats and sandals to wear to make me feel legit (I usually default to grey Converse, all day, e'er day). I also brought about six dresses. I never wear dresses to school. Ever. So we'll see how that goes.
Oh! Here are some pictures of Mount Stuff. I have to document the mountain moving process, otherwise I feel like I'm not actually being productive.
When I'm moving into my dorm, I like to have a lot of storage boxes. I have this theory that if everything has a box to be put in, maybe it'll somehow end up there. Plausible, right? But right now my problem is moving things from big "transportation" boxes to little "living" boxes - I can't decide what little box gets the honor of holding what "stuff-y" item. It's basically a giant puzzle. And while I normally enjoy puzzles, this one's stressing me out. Meh.
Speaking of school theories, I also came up with another one this summer: if I bring a lot of cute clothes to school, I'll end up wearing them more often. Also plausible, right? Well, seeing as this is only day two, I haven't really been able to test the theory yet, but I'm already seeing some loopholes, mainly that I kind of tried this last year and it didn't work. Whilst deliberating the situation with my roommate, the question arose of why we always dress cuter in the winter than the summer. Our answers are as follows:
1) there's a conspiracy among designers to make winter clothes cuter all-around, in which case we're just kind of screwed
2) because when you walk into a room and throw off your jacket, you have more pressure to be wearing something cute as you're already set up to make a stellar impression
3) because it takes more effort to dress warmly in the winter, putting in that last bit of effort to also dress cute (cutely? eh, whatever) isn't particularly difficult.
We decided number three is the most likely, but I'm not ruling out one or two either. All I know is that it's easier for me to love what I'm wearing during the winter. Which is quite a disappointment, because winter is my least favorite season (sorry, Santa).
My roommate and I have also decided we're going to have once-weekly mandatory "look cute" days. Basically all this actually means is that we can't dress like hobos. It's a lot to ask, but we're going to try. I even came equipped with flats and sandals to wear to make me feel legit (I usually default to grey Converse, all day, e'er day). I also brought about six dresses. I never wear dresses to school. Ever. So we'll see how that goes.
Oh! Here are some pictures of Mount Stuff. I have to document the mountain moving process, otherwise I feel like I'm not actually being productive.
Last theory - if I bring a bunch of books that I know I like to read, I'll spend more time reading than on Netflix. My friend Daniel says it's not going to happen. He's extremely encouraging, as you can tell. Jill (my roommate) and I are much more optimistic.
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