Lady Dior

In case anyone had any illusion about this - I am NOT a runway model.  I do not own any Calvin Klein, Gucchi or Coach.  Nor do I aspire to.  I have never done any modelling and I don't believe that I need to be a size zero with perfect hair to be beautiful.  But, just in case anyone was wondering, I just want to make it very clear that I do not spend a lot of my time and money trying to keep up with the latest fashions.

I own two pairs of jeans that I wear seven days a week (yes, of course I wash them - gawd!).  I own about 7 long sleeved tops and about that many short sleeved ones and I recycle them too.  It's a very fine art of not wearing the same top more than once a week and not wearing the same top on the same day of the week every week.  I have regular weekly meetings with people and if my Thursday group only ever see me wearing my jeans and my blue corduroy shirt they might wonder if I own any other clothes.

I wear running shoes seven days a week (75% to take care of my feet and my shins and 25% because they're just so much more comfortable than other shoes).

So don't be calling me for fashion tips.

When I found out at Christmas that we were going to New York, I bought the newest copies of Vanity Fair and Vogue on a whim.  I wanted to look at pictures of people wearing clothes that I might actually see.  I figured it would be fun.

Then I turned the page and spotted an ad for this purse.

Omigod!  The colours were gorgeous! I don't usually love purses but I loved this one.  How much fun would it be to have something like this?

When we were in Bloomingdales, I decided to check out the Dior boutique to see what the purse cost.

In my fashion naiveté I figured it was probably really expensive.  You know, like, five HUNDRED dollars.

There was no price tag on it (didn't clue in at that point).  So I lifted the purse up to check it out (the sales lady and the security guard came a few steps closer (still not clueing in).  "Um, how much does this cost?" I asked.  Thirty five hundred dollars was the response I got.

Actually it might have been thirty four hundred, or thirty six.  I don't remember the exact details but, since I didn't have $3000+ in my Levi's I didn't think it much mattered.  All I could do was put it down without dropping it.  Scratching it.  Or doing anything else that might force me to sell my car to pay for it.

Good lord!

So much for that plan.

Anyway, I learned a lot that day as I wandered around Bloomingdales with my jaw down to the floor.  I learned that there are a lot of absolutely beautiful things being created by some extremely talented fashion designers.  I also learned that one of the reasons they are so appealing is because the cost make them inaccessible to most humans.

In an effort to better understand this industry I curled up on the couch last night with my take out Spicy Thai Tom Yum Soup (great for curing colds!) and watched The Devil Wears Prada.

What an interesting movie.  I learned that I never want to be caught up in that ridiculously expensive world.  And I also learned that it's a beautiful world to watch from the outside.  It's gorgeous to look at in magazines, and it's a lot of fun to admire the photography and the creativity.  As long as I can do it while wearing my blue fuzzy socks, recovery pants and Runners' Edge hoodie.

And just for the record, isn't this lady amazing?