Five Favorite Pieces

There's a feature in "In Style" magazine where they ask a celebrity to cite their 5 favorite pieces of clothing. It's not my favorite magazine, I'm more of a "Budget Living" or "Ready Made" girl, but I was thinking about that yesterday when I pulled one of mine out of the closet. I'm no celeb but I do like lists and those kind of hypothetical ranking questions (especially if they start out with a desert island) so here goes.

1) Apple Green purse. This was a birthday gift from my friend Lisa (better known in the blog world as The Talking Toaster). It's a very cunning green purse with faux bamboo handles that rest on your forearms in a cool way. The lining is sassy too with green and white polka dots and a lingering smell of gum because Lisa kindly included some when she gave it to me. She also gave me an orange raw silk mirror and lipstick holder (which she filled with laundry quarters instead) which clash nicely. This purse is great in and of itself (just today I got a compliment from a lady at the J Crew) but it was also a great gift because I really wasn't expecting it and it's probably not something I would have picked out for myself but I love it. It feels like spring when it gets pulled out.

2) Black cowboy boots. I bought my boots at Boot City Too in Lubbock, Texas from a nice man named Earl who had lost two fingers in a roping accident. We were visiting my then boyfriend's sister and ended up at the boot store shortly after we got off the plane. With my arthritic wide feet I was a tough fit but Earl was more than up to the challenge. There are plain black boots, totally classic. I don't wear them often but like em a lot. They also have a cool cardboard box that looks like a suitcase.

3) Black Dress. They say every woman should have a black dress and I do. It's a cute drop waisted affair with a filmy overlay skirt. I bought it last year for my Derby outfit for $40 at Margaret's in Louisville. Margaret's is a really great consignment store on Frankfort Ave I try to hit when I'm in town. It seemed like an extravagance for a one occasion dress but since then I have worn it to my friend Scott's memorial service and my boyfriend's grandma's funeral so it was totally worth it and with two friend's weddings coming up it may be used again.

4) Neighborhoodie Hoodie. I love all my hoodies of course, they are the clothing equavilant of comfort food, but my Neighborhoodie is special. I'm a huge fan of the company and have made many a gift of a Neighborhoodie but it took me a while to figure out my own. It's a classic pullover style in burgandy with "Macomb Co." (for "To Kill a Mockingbird" of course) in white block letters. It was funny when I was telling my boyfriend and my friend Les about my idea that both said "you have to a abbreviate county to Co." Faced with such certainty, I did.

5) Sequin Sweater. I have a collection of cardigans ( I have a real thing for ribbon plackets) which I am always looking to add to. The 50's vintage ones from Hong Kong are so cool. I have embroidered ones, beaded ones-they're all fun but my favorite is my sequined Odille one that cost WAY too much. I wore it to great effect to the Pelecanos dinner (see "My Dinner With Pelecanos")to Derby last year and it was also featured in "Garden State" in the airport scene. It rocks and makes me fill like a movie star.