Phantom Thread: Movie and Life

I usually try to mix things up in my blog and show you outfits that differ from each other, partly because it's visually more interesting to you, as readers, but also because it's just a natural way of things here in the real writer's closet - I enjoy variety and wear very different styles. So it feels a little awkward to show you the same jacket twice in a row, but I voted for it, and my thoughts were A) this outfit is different enough from the previous one (only the outer jacket is on repeat, everything else isn't), and B) I happened to be at the inner place right now when I enjoy repeating outfits, and I also want to blog, so bear with me.

I have days when I open my closet, and my heart overflows with love - the rainbow of colors, the different shapes, patterns, styles, and places where my clothes came from. And I have days when I open my closet and can't find one single thing that resonates with me. Do you have such days too? I believe it's pretty universal, that's why I decided to talk about this phenomena again. Let's get to the bottom of this, shall we? How is it possible that with a closet full of choices that I lovingly and enthusiastically made for years, nothing really speaks to me? No matter what's happening in my life now, it is still me, there can be changes, crises, new realizations, and whatsoever, but the common ingredient through everything is me, it stays the same. So what's missing?

I examined this thought and came to the conclusion that when I am in no mood to wear anything that usually gives me inspiration, that I have some kind of preconceived notion of what I should wear, or what my outfit should be on that particular day. I will give you an example. Wanting to mix things up, which most times comes naturally to me, sometimes can also be artificial and trick me. For instance, I think, "I have just worn this (or very similar) outfit. Am I bored with my closet? Am I becoming conservative? Have I lost imagination?" And because I usually don't have a backlog of outfits (I post as I go, so you pretty much see what's happening right now, plus or minus a couple of days, with very few exceptions), I am also puzzled what to post. "I've just shown this jacket (or dress, or skirt), my blog will be boring if I post the same stuff right away." 

So that's exactly what happened the other day. We bought tickets to movies, and I put on an outfit in a couple of different variations, and I felt like I hated them all, like I was trying too hard, like I was fake, and I don't enjoy feeling fake. I took everything off and started from scratch. I realized that what I naturally was inclined to wear on a blustery day, was wearing something cozy and comforting, with enough colors to brighten my day, but without any extravaganza. 

When the weather is stormy, and I don't only mean outer weather, but when I feel vulnerable, comfort comes first. And I don't only mean physical comfort - I mean, emotional comfort. It is not time for experimenting, at least not to me. 

I opened my closet again, and my hands reached for this skirt (that is in a heavy rotation in the cold months). What top to wear with it? On my most recent trips to Goodwill back in December, I found this stretchy velvet short sleeve turtleneck in deep teal. "That could work," I thought. Then my hands reached for another Goodwill find (which I showed in THIS POST), this corduroy rust orange jacket with a great adventurous feel, beautiful texture and silhouette and fun details, like buttons. And to top it off, I just had to wear the jacket I showed you in my previous post. I completed this outfit with my old leather slouchy boots which, I noticed, are trendy at the moment. I love that mine have a vintage vibe to them, and what's the most important about shoes for me, they are wonderfully comfortable - one of the most comfortable soles that I've ever found.

Completely satisfied with my creation, I marched to the movie theater, feeling both casual and well-dressed, but what's most important feeling 100% me, genuinely me as I was on that particular day. It was getting dark and raining when we finally took these pictures, but I still like them enough to share. To me, this outfit feels very English, with not just plaid, but all the layering and textures going on. But I never claim to be an expert in style - perhaps, after all, I just watch too many British movies.

The movie we were catching was surprisingly fitting for my outfit, and vice versa. I can't recommend to you enough - PHANTOM THREAD. Do see it in a theater, on a big screen, it is a delicious movie for a true aesthete, in every possible way. It is reportedly the last film role of Daniel Day-Lewis, and it was a great performance, as well as his film partner Vicky Krieps. The writing and directing are by Paul Thomas Anderson (I was familiar with a couple of his movies, and the one that I remember being amazed by was Magnolia in 1999). 

In short, Phantom Thread is a work of fine art. Beautiful, not trivial love story, told delicately and with a sense of humor, but also an insightful look into an artist's soul. It's one of such beautiful, layered stories which I would love to be able to write myself some day. If you are a highly sensitive and highly creative person, or you live with a highly sensitive / highly creative person, this is a breath of fresh air. The music is one of the most wonderful features here - it's that occasion when the story and the music are inseparable, simply genius. And finally, it's a visual feast. The operator's work is fine art. Since it's a story about a fashion designer, you are in for a treat! Not only the whole process of creation is shown in a very palatable way, but when you see the clothes, you will be able to feel the rich textures on your skin. In my humble opinion, it's one of the best movies in years, and I sure will be watching it on a big screen again. (Last time, I think, it was Julie and Julia (2009) that made me come back to the theater 4 times in a row...and that was, I can't believe it, 9 years ago!) 

Some other movies that I love and that have a somewhat similar artistic flair:

 Maudie (2016) 

(I wrote about it HERE)

Miss Potter (2006)

A Month by the Lake (1995)

A Room with a View (1985)

I think in the art of dressing, as much as any other art, just as it is in love, what we have to learn more than anything is how to trust. Trust that threads that are invisible to our eyes, connect us with everything we need at the right moment. Trust that our best ideas don't come from our brains, so we have to laugh a little about this old comfortable habit of ours. Trust that when we let go of control and when we open our hearts, the invisible phantom thread of our souls will bring us exactly what's been missing.

Skirt - eShakti (old)

Velvet top and corduroy jacket - thrifted via Goodwill

Jacket - Simply Be (last year)

Boots - Josef Seibel (from 2012 or so)

Sunnies - Lane Bryant (old)

Linking with Visible Monday at Patti's

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