Okay, I guess I DO have a lot of clothes.

In the middle of the night the other night, I was awakened by a somewhat muffled thud. When I opened my closet, I saw that the entire right side shelving/hanging unit, where I hang all my dresses, pants and skirts, had collapsed.

Was it that one last, perhaps unnecessary, dress I bought that put my poor closet over the edge?

Closet Epic Fail.

Rock sugar candy. Yum.

…  thus went the first-ever Boston Fashion Blogger Mixer last weekend.

Of course there’s much, much more.

When the day began I was a bit apprehensive.  Would my outfit be right? Would the other bloggers already all know each other? It was like the first day of sleep-away camp, circa 1988!

To ease my nervousness I told myself I’d just pop in for a few minutes, pick up some business cards, introduce myself to a couple bloggers, and quietly slip out. Wrong.

Hello, Lovelies. Where have you been all my life? These Pour La Victoire booties at Luna were a bit out of my price range, even with 25% off. Still, they are gorgeous and have inspired many a fantasy.

First off, the mixer was held at the fabulous Luna Boston handbag store (hello? handbag store?! It was like the venue was chosen especially pour moi!)  on Newbury Street, and the first thing I saw was a sign offering all bloggers 25 percent off anything. Now THAT’S what I call hospitality.

Then, just as I was filling out my nametag, some excitement erupted outside. We all ran to see. It was the annual Santa Speedo Run making its way down Newbury Street in all its Spandex glory.  Suffice it to say, we bloggers were all ready for a drink after that sighting.

The Santa Speedo Run ran just past the Fashion Blogger Mixer. It was a juxtaposition of sorts-- people who love wearing clothes, and people who love, well, NOT wearing clothes.

Thank goodness for Hpnotiq. If it sounds like I’m shilling for a big alcohol company, well, I am, just a bit. It was just that they sent over such lovely bottles of baby-blue liquor, along with bartenders to make delicious concoctions such as the  Roq Candy  which was stirred up with a stick of pale blue rock sugar candy.

(By the way, it seems we all inadvertently enrolled in Hpnotiq’s “Night School for Girls” (Click on 12.12.2009 Luna Boston)– since there are plenty of photos of the festivities on the company’s website.)

After we’d all had a few sips of these yummy drinks, the place really got hopping.

A Necklush. I feel a Jones of the Week coming on.

I met Lei Ann of Give Me Platforms… or give me death (I know, I love the blog name too) who was very Zen in her Buddha necklace.  She was also the lucky winner of a giveaway from Necklush, which makes super-sweet neckwear that is somewhere between necklace and scarf.

I met Amy of The Bargain Hunter Extraordinaire, Jessica of  Daucus Carota, Davita of Dita’s Style Buffet, Najeema of A Stylized Hysteria and Julie of Orchid Grey — all lovely and super-cool.

I met Jen of Jen Loves Kev and Amy, aka Punky of Punky Style, who also owns a very cool mobile vintage shop, Haberdash Vintage, and who supplied many of the goodies for the random drawing giveaway. (Yours truly won a crocheted clutch!). They, along with Liana of New Brahmin, organized the mixer and I,  for one, can not gush enough with gratitude.

Blogstress after fabulous blogstress confessed to me that she’d been nervous about meeting everyone and all I could say was: ME TOO! I had thought I’d stand in the corner, sneak out when no one was looking, and have a whole afternoon to kill before my 5:30 p.m. bus to New York.

Boy, was I wrong. Sometime around 3:30 p.m. I glanced at my watch and realized the afternoon had flown by and I didn’t even have enough time to take advantage of the shopping deals some Newbury Street stores were offering bloggers. In fact, I barely had enough time to pick up my bags and head to New York City.

I just barely made my bus and on the ride down (well, before those blue drinks sent me into a deep sleep), I thought, I don’t care what anyone says about fashion and New York– there is no city with a more fabulous sisterhood of fashion bloggers than Boston.

Booze and Shoes

Who says I never win anything?

Oh, ahem. I do, I guess. Or at least, I USED to. Because now I stand corrected. I made it into this week’s Links à la Mode, the Independent Fashion Bloggers roundup of the top 20 fashion blog links of the week. I’m thrilled, and in some fabulously good company, so check out my compatriots.

—————–

Links à la Mode: The IFB Weekly Roundup

****for week of November 19, 2009****

Food for Thought

Edited by Ashe Mischief

This is my first time editing since I wrote Good Cop/Bad Cop: Participating in Links a la Mode. Thank you all so much for making this my most pleasurable experience in editing yet!

I’m not sure if it’s because American Thanksgiving is a week away, or because the blogosphere is ablaze with Kate Mosses’ unforgettable quote, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” but either way, I’ve got food on my mind. This week, you brought me the best kind of food–rich, decadent, and 100% calorie-free! That’s right–you delivered highly thoughtful posts on fashion, fashion blogging & communities, and more.

On a personal note, ferOHHHsh has asked that we share her post about her close friend’s near-fatal accident. I believe that the fashion community is one of surprising strength, dignity, caring and compassion, and that it was worth sharing. We’re sending your friend speedy thoughts for a wonderful recovery!

Links à la Mode : November 19th

• Awakened Aesthetic: – Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffers (Part I)
• Crisis in Denim: – Crisis in Denim: I make gentle fun of a Banana Republic ‘rewards’ card I received in the mail, that seems designed to make me think I accomplished something by shopping at BR and earning ‘rewards’ points, by riffing on the president’s Yes We Can slogan.
• dramatis personae: – the Hat’s Out of the Bag! by Michelle at Wicked Whimsy
• Fashion X K8: – The importance of Fashion Ad Campaigns and analyzing the collective subconcious of fashion consumers. I beg the question, what makes a great Fashion Ad.
• Further Ado: – With many of their paper equivalents going bust, Further Ado finds 5 great online fashion magazines to keep you satisfied.
• Grit and Glamour: – yesterday The Psychology of Lace Lace, in spite of its implied fragility, holds very special power in the sartorial world.
• Idiosyncratic Style – Infatuation List: Five Fall Fashion Favorites
• Independent Fashion Bloggers – Fashion Blogging : The Road Ahead
• kaKofonie Of si(gh)lenS: – Interview with Lauren Jones of mydearthing
• Mystery Creature: – I love vintage, I love handmade… but I don’t love Etsy, as much as I want to.
• Oranges and Apples: – What drives fashion bloggers? Oranges and Apples in the Scotsman
• Random Fashion Coolness: – Musings on the power-partnerships in the Blogosphere
• Shoe Daydreams: – Collaborations and “inspiration”
• slsvgg fashion: – An interview with Gossip Girl actress LEIGHTON MEESTER, on her style
• Somewhere over the Skyline…: – rugality? Sustainability? The Recession! – Thoughts & Recommendations on Sustainable/Vintage Lifestyles
• Super Kawaii Mama: – Meet the Dr. of Dames and her new book Our Girl’s – Aussie Pin Up’s of the 40’s & 50’s
• THE COVETED: – Benefits of Chilly Days… Coats!
• The Curvy Fashionista – Got the Plus Size Bridal Dress woes? Enter in Cc.Elaine- A studio dedicated to the Curvy.Confident.Chic. Plus Size Bride
• The New Wave: – Underwear as Outerwear: How to wear this spring’s runway trend using vintage pieces.
• The Pixelated Blonde – Fashion: it’s an individual thing – a look at how to be stylish whilst maintaining one’s individuality.
• White Rabbit: – Lookbook.nu vs. Flickr’s Wardrobe Remix – the battle of “What I wore today” sites
• Wicked Whimsy: – Rene Geneva Designs – featuring a local, woman run eco-friendly design house that makes gorgeous clothes to boot!

So this post is an outright plug for a store I really really like, Mint Julep. In fact, I daresay it is one of my favoritest of all favorite stores.

I have no problem giving Mint Julep a bit of free advertising because it is the kind of boutique where the people who work there are beyond nice, and helpful, to everyone who walks in the door. Even when, ahem, a certain customer spends an hour browsing the sale rack only to leave without buying a thing. I won’t name names.

Also, several staples of my wardrobe come from there, including all but one of my summer dresses.

So here goes. This is an awesome deal. Believe me. Twenty percent off everything. EVERYTHING.

So if you see a crazy blogger speeding by in a black Corrolla at 5:59 p.m. on Friday, either get out of the crosswalk fast, or hitch a ride, because that’s most certainly where I’ll be headed.

Okay, don’t die of shock, but I didn’t make the The Boston Globe’s list of the 25 Most Stylish Bostonians of 2009. It’s fine. Really. I wasn’t expecting to. I mean, I was already passed over for the Fashion Boston list of the City’s 100 Best Dressers. I’ve grown used to disappointment.

However, I remain optimistic.

First,  The Boston Globe promises to pick 25 NEW people each year. Plus, the Globe and Fashion Boston lists don’t appear to include the same fashionistas (despite the fact that Globe Media publishes Fashion Boston) though I haven’t scrutinized them as carefully as perhaps I should, mostly because they make me feel so inadequate I can’t bear it.  So that’s 125 new “Most Fashionables” launched into stardom each year.

In addition, census figures show the state’s population growing only slightly, even registering a year-over-year decline not too long ago. There are also reports that young professionals are leaving Massachusetts, probably because they’re sick of shoveling their cars out of the snow piled in front of their overpriced houses. Fewer competitors means more room for yours truly among the ranks of the stylish.

Finally, and here’s really the key, I’m betting in the next year some new “Best Dressed” or “Most Fashionable” or “Greatest Dresser” or “All Around Most Awesome” lists will crop up. This is the DIY era, after all. So the more “Best Dressed” slots there are available in the city, the more likely I am to land on one of the lists.

Even if the list was created by some little blog no one reads….

Hmmmmmm…..

Signs like this are all up and down Newbury Street in Boston these days.

Permit me a moment of indulgence, if you will.

See, ever since the economy tanked, I’ve been noticing a lot of empty storefronts. And sometimes, I can’t help but think how much nicer they would look as my own little boutiques.

Okay, never mind that the last time I worked in a clothing store was almost 20 years ago, just after high school, at the Express at Quincy Market (that Express is long gone now, that floor of the building empty, the last time I passed by). I never quite got that folding thing down with the Stalin-esque precision I was supposed to,  although I was darn good at putting together outfits for customers.

And never mind the fact that the sole cash I have to invest in a business is about $450, which it now looks like I will have to tap for a paint job, since some goober keyed the word Ass into the hood of my car.

Also, I know nothing about inventory, buying, supply chain management, accounting, or hiring salespeople.

What should we call my fashion mecca?

It’s a fantasy here, people, work with me.

This vacant space in the chic Meatpacking District of New York City. It beckons me.

As long as I’m sharing, I’ll have you know that I’ve especially fantasized about a particular space about in a town called Natick, about 40 minutes west of Boston. Until a few months ago it was a kind of one-floor mini-department store called Barber’s.

A long ranch-style building, Barber’s had room after room of scented candles, fancy bath gels, Vera Bradley floral luggage and Brighton jewelry– just to name a few examples. I used to call it the suburban mom emporium, and most of the stuff wasn’t quite my style ,but that’s not to say I don’t have a few choice finds from there in my jewelry box or my, ahem, handbag collection.

One of the things that always impressed me about Barber’s was that  even though there was no other shopping around it — it was mostly surrounded by offices and trees —  the folks at Barber’s sold enough good stuff that they were a draw in their own right. That place was always busy.

Thing is, Barber’s has been sitting empty for months now. And sometimes I think, if they can do it, I can do it.

The only time I could get there to take a picture was at night. I see this as a clothing mecca by day, though. No?

In my mind I’ve turned the room that used to be the Yankee Candle collection into the shoe section, full of slouchy boots and adorable ballet flats.

The room that sold the quilted floral handbags and wallets –well, those shelves could be filled with gorgeous sweaters– some chunky cardigans, some cashmere crewnecks, as well as soft cotton t-shirts of the Splended and LA Made variety.

When I’m meandering this way around Fantasy Island (minus Tatoo and the Boss, thank you very much, that show scared the crap out of me when I was a kid), I like to think about what my price point would be (okay, I’ve just exhuasted the one retail term I know).

I think I would have a mix of well-priced lines; some Kensie, perhaps, with sweaters running about $70, and then more high-end pieces by Marc Jacobs or Nanette Lepore.

I’d also, of course, feature plenty of local Boston-area indie designers, especially in the jewelry, bag and shoe departments.

I’d stock plenty of basics and have multiples of all sizes. And there would be a glorious section dedicated to, of course, denim, with yours truly making sure every jean-related shopping experience was crisis-free.

My fabulous shop would be a one-stop shopping for all– young and old, rich and poor (okay, not too poor, I’ve got to make a meager profit here, people), and the world would be a better place because I’d be in charge of outfitting it.

Anyone interested in making an investment in my own personal fantasy island?