Back in the groove: an apology, and some exciting new projects!

Hello fabulous readers! I've missed you all!

First of all, my deepest apologies for the dearth in posts since, my goodness, November! I'm a horribly irresponsible blogger. Yes, it has been a very grey, cold winter, and seasonal depression hit me very hard this year (sometime around mid-December, I realized I was living in yoga pants, floppy sweaters, and Uggs, and hadn't worn makeup in almost a month: clearer signs of a funk there are not), but there really are no excuses.

However, we're past Groundhog Day/St. Brigid's Day/Candlemas/Imbolg... whatever you call it, the day that marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This has traditionally been my day of renewal, the day when I shed my midwinter funk and get my mojo back. This year was no exception.

The one upside of my two-month slough of despond was that sulking on the couch nestled under a blankie leaves lots of time for knitting. I was prolific, making a pair of socks, three hats, and most of a shawl (I ran out of yarn 11 rows from the end. It was traumatic.). I'm also working on a pair of gloves and a baby blanket. I promise I won't turn this into a knitting blog, but I may post photos later on.

On to the exciting new projects: I'm going to be collaborating with my good friend Jen Kiaba as a stylist for some of her photography. Really, I have no words for how wonderful, talented, and all-around fabulous Jen is. She's an amazing photographer with a killer sense of style, and my thrift-shopping and cafe-haunting partner of choice. Check out her site, read her blog, and visit her Etsy shop.

As a result of this collab, I'm going to be taking my fashion work a bit out of the theory realm and into the practical. I'm playing on Polyvore a lot lately, putting together outfits to serve as inspiration and suggestions for our clients. I know I'm just about the last one to the party on this one (does that make me fashionably late?), but I've discovered that Polyvore is insanely fun.

Eventually, outfit suggestions, notes from our shoots, and related ephemera will all make it onto a joint blog, where we'll cover topics that don't really fall under the purview of either of our personal writings. I'll be sure to include a link as soon as that's up and running.

With all of that in mind, I'm thinking of taking this blog in a slightly different direction than previously. Don't worry: I'll continue to babble incessantly about fashion's history, meaning, and motivations. However, I think I might interject that with a lot more in the way of hands-on, practical fashion advice: outfit posts, "how to wear" suggestions, tips (and plenty bragging!) about thrift-store finds. What do you think, O fabulous readers?  Is this a good direction, or should  I stick to my eponymous theory and leave the practicalities to the scads of gorgeous, gifted bloggers already inhabiting that realm? Do you still think I have any authority in the fashion realm after that confession above about the yoga pants and Uggs (about which I am quite ashamed: it was one of my darker moments)? Are any of you still out there?

p.s. I finally succumbed to either peer pressure or inevitability, and joined Facebook. If you're not a friend of mine already, please feel free to send me a friend request. Let me know you're a blog reader so i don't get terribly confused! You can, of course, also follow me on Twitter, where I am prone to posting update notifications.