Blackest Black, Helmet Hack, and some really vivid colors

[darkemeralds]

My Blackest Black dyeing experiment went pretty well, though it'd be a lot less work next time to just buy new stuff when my black clothes become too faded for real Dressing Your Truth Type 4 purity.


Before, with white edges and a rusty cast


After, with darkened edges and a fairly uniform black cast.

Because I spend a minimum of an hour a day on Eleanor O the Dutch Bike, I thought I'd better Bike My Truth along with Dressing My Truth. Fortunately, Eleanor is already black and white, but my helmet was All Wrong. So I spray painted it.


Before


After--after being spray painted chrome and then knocked around for several weeks. Man! It's time for a new helmet.

I've built up my Dressing Your Truth Type 4 wardrobe over the last couple of months by frequenting the discount stores and taking advantage of summer clearance sales. The beauty of a unified wardrobe system is that the mix-and-match quotient is very high, so it doesn't take as many pieces to give a wide choice of outfits.

To give you an idea of how much this system has changed my wardrobe and my look, here were my previous two wardrobes, occupying my closet concurrently:


My "Don't be too showy at your age" selection--pure Type 2, had I but known.


Colors too warm for my personality--very Type 3, which I have a bit of, but not this much.


The Type 4 wardrobe: structured, reflective, saturated, pristine, bold, and striking.

Apart from black and white, there isn't a color in that heap that I've worn or looked twice at since I was a little kid, and suddenly here I am wearing royal blue and chili pepper red and kelly green and yellow ferchrissakes. It's very strange, but damned if it doesn't suit me. I'm putting outfits together every day that excite me and make me feel vibrant and alive.

And it's not just my imagination: somebody at the office last week, encountering me in front of the restroom mirrors fixing my magenta lipstick, asked, "Have you fallen in love lately or something?"

Ha ha. Only with these tights (Hue, from Macy's--I bought almost every color they had):




I'm really having fun. And I'm working on some actual pictures of myself before and after Dressing Your Truth.

Comments

[cattraine.livejournal.com]

I really love that brown leather jacket though! LOL And the bag!

[darkemeralds]

Me too. It was too much of a wrench to give it away, so I've hung on to it--but it doesn't go with anything I own now, and I suppose I'll have to find something in black. I gave the bag to my Type 3 sister in exchange for a gorgeous black Aigner one.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, lemme know if you decide to part with it!

Sigh

[cattraine.livejournal.com]

I hate open ID , that was me respondng BTW.

Re: Sigh

[darkemeralds]

Darn, I keep meaning to re-open commenting on LJ because I miss a lot of conversations by funneling all comments here to DW.

The jacket is from Territory Ahead. It's an XL Tall, and if you think it would work for you, let's talk!

Re: Sigh

[cattraine.livejournal.com]

Wow! That is my size, but I'll be honest, I can't buy it from you, as I am still unemployed. :-(

Re: Sigh

[darkemeralds]

You know what? Life's been good to me. I'd love for you to have it and who knows? Maybe it will make you feel so jaunty that it helps you find a job.

PM me with your address, if you're willing, and I'll make you a gift of it.

Re: Sigh

[cattraine.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! The next time I make it out to Portland, I will buy you a coffee at Powell's! I will PM you on LJ with my address.

Hopefully it will bring me luck!

[executrix]

Another fan of that jacket!

If you have not-black-enough clothes in good fabric that fit and are in a flattering cut, I know it's a lot of trouble to dye them really!black--but it respects the effort to grow the fiber and make the cloth and sew the garments. And the newly bought ones might not be cut quite as well (or be nicely broken in).

[darkemeralds]

Good sustainability angle!

Fit and cut were the reason I took the trouble (well, that and I just wanted to try it)--both items in this case are just right for me. The end result is good enough to make the jeans and jacket work for another year, or until I shrink out of them, whichever comes first.

A bike saddle is very hard on the seat of your pants, particularly denim, which fades and grows shiny under the strain. All jeans have a limited lifespan in that regard, at least in my current way of life.

[executrix]

I know that passing the jacket on is the right thing to do, karmically but as a general rule I have two words for you:

LEATHER DYE.

[darkemeralds]

Huh. That never entered my mind.

So I looked around a bit and have concluded that my jacket is too perfect a lovely burnished luggage tan to sully with dye. Also, the zipper is brass. Really, it should go as it is to a new home. That way, I can save my pennies for (a knockoff of) this one.

*dreams*

[executrix]

Spiffy! (or, considering that it's a leather coat possibly owned by a little old Slayer who only drove it to church on Sundays...Spuffy!)

Lucky Magazine had a story about what to dye with what, and the leather dye produced surprisingly good results, even turning dark leather lighter colors.

[darkemeralds]

I'm going to bear that in mind, because I might find something used or on sale that could benefit from being made bright red. Or cobalt blue!

Spuffy. Good one.

[ruric]

I still adore the colours in your Type 3 wardrobe. Maybe Im a type 3. *ponders* Must ook into this at some point for I have way too many clothes I never wear!

[darkemeralds]

Hi there. You're up at all hours!

This program is tons of fun. And believe me, I adore the Type 3 colors too--no question about it. But I've found that they wear me, rather than vice versa. People would compliment my clothes. Now I get few comments on specific garments and many along the lines of "You look wonderful," and that's not something I've experienced a lot of in my life. So there really does seem to be something to the concept.

[ruric]

Yes I am. I blame Teen wolf for resetting my internal clock. *G*

I'm all for getting the compliments! Next big project(s) for me are sorting out the attic, sorting out my clothes and painting the hallway. Attic first then I can get at ALL the clothes - those in the bedroom and those stashed away in the attic.

[darkemeralds]

I continue to be deeply, deeply impressed with the energy you've poured into your massive unfucking project. I decluttered three years ago, but NOTHING like what you've undertaken and accomplished.

And attic? I don't even have one of those--or a garage. Good luck tackling those dark corners.

[ranunculus]

Shudder. Attic....
Most of what is in my attic needs to go away. Soon.

[kis]

Hee! You're a goth Hell's Angel.

I knewed it! :D

[darkemeralds]

Hah! As if.

[(Anonymous)]

You inspired me and I joined DYT! I'm a type 2 and embracing that feels great. It is so emotionally freeing moving my non-2 stuff to a different closet. I can't thank you enough for posting about it, what a wonderful experience and I'm only a couple weeks in. I feel like I have been given permission to get rid of all the things I don't love, and didn't realize that was what was holding me back. I will no longer dress frumpy!

If you ever want to visit Utah you're welcome to stay at my place; I'm about a half hour from the DYT store and club nights.

~raindancer_jess at LJ

[darkemeralds]

In case you don't come back to see this, I'll copy it into a PM you on LJ.

I'm so excited! Everything you describe is exactly what I felt on accepting my Type 4-ness--the emotional freedom and liberation, the sense of permission to be who I am and to no longer try to be who I'm not. Isn't it wonderful? I'm leery of evangelizing, but DYT really is pretty amazing, and I'm so glad I was able to point you to it.

Your offer is VERY tempting. I haven't ruled out making a little trip down SLC way to visit the center. I was thinking of attending the Be You Be Beautiful conference in September but wasn't able to commit financially before the deadline. It would be fun, though, to come down for a club night. Hm. I will seriously consider that! It's not a long flight for me and it would be a wonderful treat.

[ranunculus]

Speaking of offers. We now have a spare bedroom that is availible for guests. Come-on down!

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! I'm keeping that in mind!

[vampirefan]

hee! duh. i just commented on your "before" post and i had missed this new "after" post. the jacket looks especially wonderfully black!

it sounds like you're having a lot of fun with this!

[darkemeralds]

Yeah, both jeans and jacket came out pretty renewed looking. They're probably good for another year.

This DYT thing really is fun.

[ravurian]

I love the orange tights! I'm so delighted at this incarnation of you: the fearlessness, the joy. It's fantastic.

[darkemeralds]

Aw, thanks. I was gonna say I don't feel fearless, but I think I mean that I don't feel courageous, because there's no fear to overcome.

It's hard to describe, but it's as if the DYT program provided a context in which the Real Me makes sense--it gave me permission, if you will, to fly my own flag. Which would probably look like this.

I'm still working on ways to describe it. It's been pretty profound.

[tehomet]

I'm putting outfits together every day that excite me and make me feel vibrant and alive.

Fantastic!

As are those tights.

[darkemeralds]

Thanks! Those tights are really fun. I got orange, cobalt blue, fuchsia, white and black. I think I'm set for the fall and winter.