Back home sweet home after a month of whizzing around the globe to glamorous fashion fiestas and brand-busting gigs because it is my bread and butter.
Fashion show, walking on the runway and photoshoots are all part of being a fashion icon and making sure keeping the cash flow as steady as my suitcase carousel spins!
It was thrilling, sure, but let’s not kid ourselves—it was also the kind of exhausting that makes my pillow my new best friend.
Exhaustion means to me a lot of things from not having enough sleep as I was in different countries and different time zones. Then that unexpected oops like my dress got wet, too tight or too loose and it gets ripped. In between sessions I have to exercise and make sure I stay focused. I am stretching myself thin.
After all these traveling I turned into a domestic hero doing all the chores it’s been waiting for my arrival. Since I do not hire for a cleaner person to come and clean my house I have to do it. It is grunt work so I really don’t need to think hard about it. And oh all these chores I have to do when I get home I think of it as a form of exercise and not to worry about rushing.
Who needs capes when you’ve got cleaning supplies?
After an hour of playing house, it was shower time!
I was all set to hit the local bookstore, but suddenly, the classic “nothing to wear” crisis hit me like a fashion emergency! My closet’s bursting, yet here I am, clueless.
Isn’t it silly for saying I have nothing to wear when truly is I am beyond Elle from Legally Blonde as I know her closet is also like a traffic jam full of choices. The truth is I do not have those ordinary clothes a normal woman wears on a daily basis because all I own are meant for get together on a different level. A sighting of a simple dress or short or plain shirt is like a needle in a haystack.
Then, fate stepped in with a postcard from Gene Marshall, a vintage fashion doll I’d only just discovered myself, tucked inside a book.
Bingo! Outfit inspiration achieved!
It genuinely surprised me to find trunks of luggage that’s been sitting in the corner of my walk through closet which prompted me to check what was inside. As far as I remember everything inside that old luggage was those clothes I wore when I was still building my business empire. Sure enough, there it goes the one I consider simplicity of my earlier style.
I pieced together an ensemble perfect for lounging or grabbing a bite before my bookstore adventure. Avocado green silk blouse with white organza and hand sewn amber beads?
Check.
Matching sweater with ¾ sleeves and decorative buttons? Double check.
Summer ready and stylish!
Ditching tight jeans, I slid into comfy brown capri pants made of wool worsted gabardine. Because who needs to be a denim diva every day?
Accessories?
Oh, absolutely! Topaz earrings, a snazzy hair bandeau, a gold bracelet, and open-toe shoes completed the look.
Fashion icon alert!
Post-bookstore, a vintage record store caught my eye.
Could I channel this look from a Gene Marshall photoshoot?
Challenge accepted!
And there it was—”Blue Evening” album jacket, just like Barbie!”
Back home, I posed in front of the mirror like a pro.
Did I still have that Gene Marshall magic?
The verdict?
A resounding SUCCESS!
Love,
Barbie
