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Life of Colleen: September 2011



Posts This Month
· Madewell b & m notes
· Work wardrobe chit-chat will resume...
· Our lips are sealed
· Fall shopping...or not

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What do programmers actually wear? Work wardrobe thoughts for a profession with no dress code, plus fashion, product reviews, et cetera.
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Madewell b & m notes
posted by Colleen Shirazi on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at 12:02 PM (Pacific)



Steely Dan, "FM (No Static at All)"

Nothing but blues and Elvis, and somebody else's favorite song... This version is described as 2003; the song came out on the radio in 1978. The live versions are sublime.

Madewell opened a shop in Corte Madera about a month past, and I made a pilgrimmage the other day. Perhaps unfairly, I was expecting a J.Crew-alike, but Madewell is quite a bit different. Smaller, for sure; better, in some ways.

Take shoes. My local 'Crews tend to be sparse footwear-wise, but the Madewell shop had an actual section of rather decent shoes and boots. Their plaid shirts are superior to J.Crew's imo, more attention to detail...the section in the back of the store is reminiscent of the men's section of J.Crew (I had to look twice). There is no sale section per se, just some marked-down items integrated with regularly-priced ones, which is okay I suppose. The sizes run larger from what I saw. I'd gravitate toward a size 10 or large in a J.Crew boy shirt, but the Madewell size medium "ex-boyfriend" shirt more than suffices.

madewell cloudwriter top
Madewell Cloudwriter Top in True Black

This was rather disappointing. I dunno, the tiny cloud thought was nice, but the overall look of it was a tad blah.

madewell dune trail skirt
Madewell Dune Trail skirt in Dark Camel

This was rather intriguing...they'd weathered the cotton twill in places to make it appear vintage, along with the vintage-y style itself. I looked it over—have been playing with the notion for some time of a female version of, erm, Dockers. This was rather Docker-esque, and indeed they show it with a more formal button-down shirt.

madewell driggs ex-boyfriend shirt
Madewell Driggs Ex-boyfriend shirt in Red Check

This was sprightlier than appears in the photo, with the harmonious red-orange and blue (looked great on both my daughter and me). "Ex-boyfriend"? We live in interesting times.

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Work wardrobe chit-chat will resume...
posted by Colleen Shirazi on Sunday, September 18, 2011 at 11:29 AM (Pacific)


...I'm a bit busy now. In the meantime, listening to:


Talking Heads - "Wild Wild Life" (1986)

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Our lips are sealed
posted by Colleen Shirazi on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 11:17 AM (Pacific)



The Go-Go's, "Our Lips Are Sealed" (1981)

This is the effervescent version of this song; pensive Fun Boy Three version here:


Fun Boy Three, "Our Lips Are Sealed" (1983)

To this day, I find the two interpretations interesting. The song was written by Jane Wiedlin (Go-Go's) and Terry Hall (Fun Boy Three); versions and videos contrast sunny carefree 1980's with its darker more serious flavor.

Random work thoughts...there are four programmers I've wanted to work with, since I began working at UC Berkeley. That doesn't mean I don't want to work with other programmers; it's not that. It's just you have an immediate sense of the other guy's skill. I've never held with the idea of being a cowboy programmer; the search is to find someone at your skill level—or better—where you feel the work styles are compatible.

I actually work with one of them (the aforementioned Yoda), one of them left Berkeley for UCSF, one of them probably doesn't know I exist, and the fourth, most important one, I have worked with in a limited context. Not that Yoda isn't important (imagine Star Wars without him), but, as I say, you have an immediate sense of the other guy's capabilities, and that is what is attractive, above and beyond the project at hand.

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Fall shopping...or not
posted by Colleen Shirazi on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 10:35 PM (Pacific)


I actually don't care that much for fall fashion, as much as everyone else seems crazy about it. I mean I like deep red and all that, but summer office attire is a greater challenge (try being comfortable in heat without looking cheesy).

That said, I went gaga over this:

simple 120 button-front skirt in walnut heather
J.Jill Simple 120 button-front skirt in Walnut "Hthr"

Sure, it looks a tad fug in the picture, but, in person, it is a quintessential 1970's skirt. (The "good" 1970's I mean.) It's a bit longer without being long, and you can adjust the slit in front by leaving a button or two undone. Then there is the "hthr" color—heather? I give in? This isn't heathered by any means; it is a 1970's solid dark chocolate brown.

I've been wanting to try the J.Jill Simple 120 line anyway. Wool work pieces you can wash in the machine? I didn't care for the first items issued, but kept an eye on the line itself.

The Simple 120 jacket won't work with the skirt:

simple 120 jacket in walnut heather
J.Jill Simple 120 jacket

It's too big. An oversized jacket might work with a narrow skirt:

simple 120 short trouser skirt in walnut heather
J.Jill Simple 120 short trouser skirt

...if it works at all. The 1970's slightly flared, below-knee skirt requires a smaller fitted jacket, if there's going to be a jacket (since I don't work in a suit office, it's not that important to me; just saying).

Here's what I'm really lusting over:

cherry red wool sweater

This purports to be machine-washable cashmere; but it's not the cashmere I'm after. It's the color. I've searched for this shade (if the above item is indeed this color), for years. I have a cherry red lambswool cardigan, but it's over twenty years old and the fabric has thinned. Whenever I wash it, I have to mend it...poor wool, you have lasted these many years... This is the closest I've found to a potential replacement. (Boden also carries machine-washable wool and cashmere sweaters, but not in this shade of red.)

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