Hello Sailor

Rope Stripes--Tuesday, 8/18/15

It's interesting how there can be such fidelity to so many aspects of my Reverse Inspirations and yet the signal gets fuzzy with something as basic as the shoes.  But hey, if you can work the high heeled sandals, get on with your crazy self.

Here in the Land of People Who Can Barely Walk Down Stairs While Wearing Flats (I am the queen of this kingdom; just ask Robert about how I did for the last half dozen stairs in the library after the handrail ran out), we leave all the drama to our scarves.

Striped rope knit top (Kohls), $7.50/wear+
Grey/coral scarf (Target), $1.50/wear+
Black pants (thrifted, Lane Bryant), $1.25/wear
Black flats by LifeStride, $1.87/wear

Outfit total: $12.12/wear

Here's an even bigger photo with the lighter, coral side of the scarf showing.  I'm not sure whether you can tell this, but the white stripes on the shirt look like rope (of two varieties).

Speaking of drama, check out this rabbit print from a 16th century Dutch painting.  The rabbit on the left feigns indifference, ostentatiously licking his paw, while the other bun is totally mesmerized by that strange yellow light emanating from the ground.  Little does the bunny know that he has been caught up in one of my temporal echoes.  Here he is, minding his own business, eating grass, when suddenly the reflection of a lamp in my bedroom some 500 years later appears on the ground before him.  (FYI, the MacGuffin in Pulp Fiction--the yellow glow in the briefcase--that's a reflection of my bedroom lamp, too.)

In other news...Are you familiar with the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, aka frequency illusion?  This is when you come across unknown obscure fact and then you seem to encounter it again soon after.  (Interestingly, the term "Baader-Meinhof" appears to have been coined in my local newspaper when a reader wrote in about having heard of the Baader-Meinhof Gang once and then again right away from a different source.  This term predates "frequency illusion" by about a decade.)  I have experienced this many times, such as with people not liking to wear lighter cardigans with darker tops.

Today I had a B-M (as they call it in the local paper) that relates to my sailor-striped outfit above. 

Yesterday evening I read a blog post that linked to an article about Breton striped shirts, which are the classic navy and white striped shirts traditionally worn by French sailors (introduced in 1858).  It was introduced to the fashion world by Coco Chanel in 1917 (and has been a staple ever since).  I read that this shirt was also known as a "matelot."

Today at lunch I started reading the British novel Her and on page 2, a character is described as wearing a "matelot top."

Seriously, I have never seen the word "matelot" before in my life.

Now you'll be hearing about it everywhere!