First Anniversary Bonus Post

I wrote the following article for Vail PM about a month ago but it hasn’t run on their site yet and I’m not sure if it ever will. I put some work into it, though, and I had fun writing it so I thought I’d share it here.


Spring Forward into Spring Fashion

Spring is here. We’ve seen plenty of sunshine in the last few weeks accompanied by temps in the 40’s and 50’s (anywhere else that’s still cold, here that’s flip flop weather). Daylight Savings made its debut last month and Easter is right around the corner. And while this winter has been a bit mild compared to the last few it has been winter nonetheless. It’s always bittersweet to bid adieu to ski season, but the pain of saying good-bye can be eased with the promise of longer days, Hot Summer Nights, and summer sports. And, of course, the thrill of shedding a layer or two or five and stepping into some spring style.

A friend of mine who used to live in Vail returned this winter for an extended holiday from her native Melbourne, Australia. Before she arrived she expressed to me her anxiety over what to pack. After two years in Melbourne, often regarded as Australia’s fashion capital, she wasn’t sure how or if her trendy wardrobe would fit in here. She packed some skinny jeans and bought a couple new hoodies and some sneakers and hoped for the best. After being in Vail for a few weeks, however, she said she was pleasantly surprised to find that folks in the Valley seemed to be dressing trendier than the last time she was here and that she felt comfortable wearing the majority of her Melbourne duds in Vail.

Yes, it’s true, fashion is alive and well in Vail. You can see it in the chic boutiques in the villages or at events such as the fashion show fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation last month at Samana. We have to be creative about the way we apply trends in fashion to life in the Rockies, though; we have to adapt them to the climate and lifestyle we enjoy in the mountains. And, while there’s something to be appreciated about living in a place where it’s perfectly appropriate to show up to happy hour in bike shoes or snow pants, it’s just as nice to peel off layer after layer (of dirt or ski gear, depending on the season) and step into something a tad nicer.

With a hint of spring in the air, this is the perfect time of year to update your wardrobe with a few new items to take your look into spring/summer 2010 (even in a place where spring is called mud season and it can snow in July). Consider the following trends when stocking up your closet this season.

The Boyfriend Blazer: Perfect for layering on cool mud season days or for a Hot Summer Nights concert this trend, featured in spring fashion issues of magazines like Lucky and Glamour, is an essential staple for the mountain girl’s wardrobe this spring/summer. The blazer should be a little too big as if you borrowed it from your boyfriend’s closet. It should fit long in the torso and should be worn with the sleeves rolled up. Try throwing one over a flirty flowy cami to make the look more feminine or layered over a cute hoodie with a scarf for brisk spring days. Shop Billabong in Vail Village, Quicksilver, or Arriesgado, both in Lionshead, for camis, hoodies, and other perfect tops to wear with your blazer.

Tights and Leggings: Are a mountain girl’s best friend, and still very much on-trend this spring. What better way to wear a sweet floral skirt this spring, before things heat up, than paired with tights, flats, and that boyfriend blazer? From standard black to a striking yellow, tights and leggings give you an opportunity to wear summer prints and cuts before it’s warm enough to do so. Also stay warm and show off your legs (c’mon you’ve been skiing all winter, you know you want to) by wearing shorts over tights. This look, seen on celebs such as Nicole Richie and Sienna Miller, and sported by my fashion-forward friend from Melbourne, is another great way to wear your warm-weather clothes now. Arriesgado Clothing Company in Lionshead has tights and leggings for sale as well as a selection of sweet and sexy summer dresses.

Sportswear as Streetwear: Hallelujah ladies, it really is trendy to après in ski gear. Well, almost. From ballerina chic to tomboy tumbled this trend is perfect for life in the valley. This look is more sophisticated than your favorite hiking clothes but just as comfortable and effortless. Fashion networking site fashionising.com breaks down the details on how to pull it off. For cute sportswear that’s also functional check out Roxy Athletix, the surf-wear brand’s latest line of ladies athletic clothing available at Quicksilver in Lionshead.

Accessories, Accessories, Accessories: Even as the economy creeps toward recovery, finding ways to spruce up your wardrobe without breaking the bank is key this season and accessories are the perfect way to do it. Accessories are also a good way to experiment with trends in pattern and color without going all-out. Hot colors this season are bright but not neon, bold but not over-powering, think turquoise or coral. Try a lightweight scarf in one of these colors paired with a more neutral top. Or, give the new warrior trend a try with a studded leather belt or a piece of jewelry inspired by ancient cultures. Knee-high socks are also big this season and another way to stay current while staying warm this spring. Knee-highs can be sporty or dressy, worn alone or layered over tights.

One Sunset at a Time

Writing is therapeutic for me. It calms me and heals me. I’ve kept journals for as long as I can remember. The things I write in these diaries are intensely private. Sometimes these things, these rants, fears, and confessions, are hard for me to read in retrospect as the words are, many times, born from pain and reading them easily reminds me of the pain I felt when I wrote them. Other times re-reading old entries shows me how I’ve grown and I feel relieved that whatever I was going through then is over. There are often big gaps between entries in these books because I tend to write in them less when I’m happy. Writing, especially when I’m upset, helps me see things clearly; it takes a burden off me having my worries, fears, heartaches, and frustrations written down.

I went through a time early last year of intense heartache. There were not even enough pages in my journal to help ease my burden. I existed for months in a state of persistent melancholy and I cried a lot. I cried a lot because I woke up every day and my chest felt heavy and as the day went on the sadness that weighed in my heart grew more intense as it was pumped and pumped through my body. And it was just too much to keep inside me. So I cried. I cried big heavy sobs that shook my body and hurt my stomach and made my eyes swell. I cried in an attempt to dispel the sadness, to purge myself of it.

And then spring came. Spring came and I knew it was time to pick myself up, if only slowly, and find a way to keep on living. It was time to stop crying. I recently read through my journal entries from those months and found one very short entry I wrote at the start of spring. I remember the day I wrote it and I know that was the moment I realized it was time to keep on living, the moment I first knew I was going to be OK.


Journal entry written 03/06/09:
Yesterday was full of wind, like 60 mph winds, and it didn’t die down until around sunset. It was a beautiful sunset and so quiet after such a windy day; and it gave me the smallest bit of peace. I texted Dad about it and he said sometimes you just have to take life one sunset at a time.


It was around then that the idea for Flower Blog first came to mind. I decided it was time to take my life back from my grief. There were certainly more tear laden days to come in the months that followed that journal entry but starting this blog was one of the first steps in rebuilding myself. I wanted to do more with my writing than just rant in a journal, and, besides, that didn’t seem to be curing me; this was bigger pain than I’d had in the past and it required bigger writing. It was about remembering who I am and what I want for myself, something I’d forgotten to do while I was grieving, something I’d forgotten to do a long time before the relationship I was grieving had ended, something that had probably, in part, led to its demise. 

Writing for Flower Blog reminded me how much writing makes me feel alive. And, while I can’t say writing alone brought me back to life, it was the first piece of many that drew me out of my sadness. Investing time and effort into my writing reminded me how important it is to nurture all the little pieces of me I discovered that spring and in the months that followed. Before, I had invested everything into my relationship and I had let many other things, including other relationships, fall away in order to do so. When the relationship ended I invested everything into mourning it. I know I will feel heartache again one day and I know I might even completely fall apart again, but I also know I will survive again. I know the winds will calm and the sun will set and I will keep on living.