Wednesday, April 21, 2010

What to wear?

I'm heading to NY today to film a video for A MAZE OF GRACE! I might be--just maybe--a wee bit excited. There will be the relaxing train ride (I heart Amtrak) and then a fun night catching up with one of my best friends. And then tomorrow I'll meet with my agent--which is essentially writer therapy: she'll cheer me up, tell me I'm the most brilliant writer to ever walk the planet (I hear there's a whole class in hyperbole in agent school)...and then demand that I get my @#$ in gear and get to work. Because if I don't write something, none of cheerleading matters.

Then there's a Roundtable luncheon at the Algonquin Hotel with fabulous Twitter authors to further inspire (so excited to meet them in person), on to film the video, then a beverage of some sort (depending on how the video goes...) with a friend I haven't seen since college.

It's all so, so wonderful. But here's the rub: All this is happening in NY. They wear clothes in NY, and not just normal clothes. There's no such thing as throwing on a fleece & frump jeans to walk the dog in that city. One could run right in to Christian Siriano, and can you even imagine the expression on his face if he saw me? I'd be swooped off to the set of What Not To Wear in a heartbeat (and they give everyone the exact same haircut, so I'm determined to stay out of their clutches.) In NY, every moment (in my imagination at least) is non-stop glamour: the highest of heels, the tightest of jeans, and not a muffin top in sight. It's just like Cambridge...

Only not.

I refuse to panic. In truth, I don't need new outfits, I need a new attitude. In anticipation of my upcoming post on the wisdom I gleaned last week from the venerable Eugene Peterson, I asked myself: "What would Eugene Peterson say if he were here, watching me cram every outfit I own into my little suitcase?"

The answer? I suspect he'd say: "If you meet cool people and have great conversations, it doesn't much matter what you wear." (Then he'd tell me NOT to wear that one pair of jeans under any circumstances, ever. Pragmatic guy, that Eugene.)

I'll be back on Friday with tales of adventure...hopefully none of which will involve me tripping over the sidewalk, spilling coffee all over myself, or ruining our family name. It's good to have big goals :)

4 comments:

Julia said...

I totally understand that feeling confident in your outfit can make everything else just seem easier, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. :) Have fun! Enjoy the city and all the cool people you'll meet (and those you're seeing again--say hi for me!). And good luck on the video. We all look forward to hearing how it goes!

Stacy said...

Jeans are moody articles of clothing, adding or subtracting 15 lbs seemingly at whim.

Nina Garcia insists that an A-line dress is the one article of clothing that can take you anywhere. I haven't tested this as I'm not especially fond of A-lines.

Suz said...

These are wise words from a lesser known Helen Fielding novel... no one is looking at you, they're thinking about themselves, just like you... or something like that. This phrase has gotten me through many a social outing-clothing crisis!

Good luck with the video and enjoy NYC.

Elizabeth said...

When in doubt, I say a trusty wrap dress (that manages to remain closed) can be a girls best friend.

Have fun! Can't wait to hear!