In spring a woman’s fancy turns to —

dafsI am somewhat obsessed with clothes. I recently packed away my winter woolies and discovered that my warm-weather wardrobe was down to three dresses, three wearable pairs of capris and a mess of t-shirts, where mess = stained and pilled.  (I must have done a thorough edit last fall.)

So I started shopping, looking to have my fancy struck. But in the process of scouting the magazines for spring and summer wear, I’ve become worried about Eileen Fisher. She is showing a wardrobe appropriate for a Chinese funeral –  white being the color of mourning.

Is she depressed? Is she physically ill and fading away?

There is something sad about all these asymmetrical grey and white pajamas. The well-cut looseness– her trademark silhouette – is starting to look like she’s given up on the human body. These are clothes made for the couch, if you don’t mind looking like an unmade bed after watching a single episode of The Unbreakable Kimmie Schmidt. Then again, Ms. Fisher favors linen, the most passive-aggressive of all fabrics.

I’m not asking her to go all Lily Pulitzer. Eileen has always leaned to the monochromatic – especially black. But at least black is de trop, the presence of all color, dramatic. Her whites, on the other hand, are absent all drama; they threaten to make a girl disappear.

I own a small collection of EF, mostly purchased from consignment shops. They are well made and last for years. My Eileen Fisher “pieces” (which is what you call a sweatshirt that retails for more than $200) include a pair of pants, four long sleeve silk tees, the aforementioned sweatshirt and a sweater.

Said sweater hails from the late ‘90s and is the color of an emerald in a jewelry case, where the lights are arranged so the gem seems to glow from within. I bought it at Bloomingdales in the days Bloomingdales sold clothes for women who work for a living. Whenever I open the drawer and see that green – like a daffodil stem before it flowers — I am encouraged. The glass is half full of springtime. Things are going to be okay.

Her new white togs only elicit a sigh of resignation.

Or maybe Eileen is designing specifically for brown and black women; women for whom a beige poncho isn’t camouflage but a yin that proves the power and pop of their yang.

But to what end? Lupita Nyong’o would look good in a brown paper bag. Or a white plastic bag. Or even linen sack by Eileen Fischer. But why on earth would she bother when the whole damn rainbow suits her so well.

 

 

 

3 Comments

  1. Zona Gale on May 5, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    I’ve dreamed of dressing in whites, i.e., cream, chalk white, tan, etc. I’ve also dreamed of dressing in loose, comfortable, pajama like clothing or tunics in soft linen pastels. So, if I should get a large amount of money, white it will be. In the meantime, I will search up-scale consignment shops for pastels in linen. I’m hungry after just finishing “The Boston Girl.”

  2. Shelly on June 12, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    Absolutely loved Boston Girl. Am recommending it to my friends. I’m a little slow on getting the latest read, but when I get to it, it’s so satisfying!

  3. Kris Eikelberger on August 11, 2015 at 11:14 am

    I truly enjoyed the Boston Girl. So I am now searching for more books and found many. So off to the library I will go to see if I can get more to read. Thanks for a great book.

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