The Creative Pragmatist Book
Chapter Two Part Two
First of all is everyone watching Stick? It stars Owen Wilson and I forgot how much I love him. He’s the ultimate DUDE. And the next time someone stands in my personal space I’m going to ask them to please move a hoola hoop’s distance away.
Secondly I was sick for so long but I think I’m finally on the mend and I’m back with the rest of chapter two of The Creative Pragmatist. Is it going to take me the rest of my life to get through this book? Maybe, but it seems like a good way to spend a life.
The next part of chapter 2 starts with the concept of Play/Dinner/Work. (I just want to make an aside here and say even though this is all from the Tibi book you don’t have to be into Tibi clothes to enjoy these concepts. They’re just general ideas about style so it’s applicable for anyone into fashion).
Okay Play/Dinner/Work (“PDW”): ultimately what Amy is saying here is that your ideal wardrobe should contain clothes that can transition through all these different parts of your life. I totally get it and I like the idea, but I gotta say it doesn’t really work for me since I mostly work and dine at home. I think this concept is more applicable for someone with a dynamic city life and not those of us who work from home and like to cook our own meals. But I do like clothes that I can easily throw on to go out to do an errand or walk my dog that aren’t fussy but still look kind of nice. It can be a hard transition from being home in my sweats to convincing myself to get changed so these clothes need to be easy. I feel like these are the kind of in between items that may be considered athleisure or casual+ and I live in that zone.
Amy then goes on to locate her perfect item from each category of clothing based on its versatility to transition through the different demands of her life. I will go through each category and mention the items that I find the most versatile, with photos of course! I’m going to go quickly through most of the categories and then focus on tops because I had the revelation in the first part of chapter two that an everyday versatile top doesn’t have to be basic. I’m continuing with that idea because I found it exciting.
She starts with pants and my most versatile pants right now are the Tibi active knit Winslow. They hit that category I mentioned above where I can throw them on and still be comfortable, but they have a little something extra because of the shape and shiny fabric. I’ve dressed them up to go to the ballet and down to walk the dog.
Next category is “the perfect skirt” which I don’t own. I’m not a big skirt wearer because of the cool weather where I live. I’ve been enjoying wearing the summer acetate skirt from Tibi but that’s kind of it for skirts for me right now.
Perfect blazer: I’m not a blazer person either they always seem to look weird on me and I only own two. I recently got the Liam blazer in crispy nylon and I want to wear it as an upscale windbreaker because the thin nylon is a perfect layer for where I live. Here’s how I plan to wear it in the fall:
And now for tops. I decided to pick this zebra print top I got from By Marlene Birger because I think it can go from casual to dressed up with ease, while still having a unique look. I tried to copy the looks in the book to prove my point, but I had to get a bit creative.
#1 Play
#2. Play/Dinner
#3. Dinner
#4. Work
Amy then goes on to talk about the idea of a 12 Mo’er which are pieces you can wear year-round. This definitely applies to the Bay Area where I live because the weather is always temperate and many of my clothes can be worn all year. However, I think it’s more of a concern if you’re a minimalist dresser and want fewer things that are more versatile, and this is so not me. But I get the idea of looking for clothes that are versatile and can be worn in a multitude of ways.
Amy ends the chapter talking about fabrics and I got more insight into why she doesn’t like linen. She says it’s porous and can only be worn for short amounts of the year which I suppose is true if you live in a four-season climate. Where I live it can be worn almost year-round and when you can’t wear it there are always linen sheets, which are divine.
I just want to add that I’m trying to keep my newsletter old school without embedded links etc. I understand the point of them but I get visually overwhelmed easily so I like to keep this space very simple and easy to scroll through.
Have a great weekend xo
Adding to the chorus: I am SHOCKED by how much I love the pink skirt 🩷
It is such a wonderful book indeed. I have written and then not posted a comment multiple times here because I’m aware I will come across as a Tibi cult member if I express my true feelings 😂