My little red tether is my anchor in running with my friends. A beautiful guide dog has been my tether/anchor in mobility and independence for 17 years: 1. Pantera 2. Cricket, and now my beautiful 3. Georgina (Georgie). A life of family and friends is my joy and anchor in life.

The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it. CC Scott

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Fashion Organization: Clothing

Finding an outfit for the day isn't visual, for me. I don't go to the closet and look through my clothes. I wake up and think about what I will wear for the day.  Is it a casual day, a dressy day, a sweater that I want to wear, then I match the rest of the outfit.  As I've mentioned, it is something I find fun and a way to express my creativity.   I wonder how I would do if I worked at an office with a uniform? Some days that sounds easy, but I would miss the fun of putting an outfit together. So, as the new season begins; I have gone through all my clothes with  Steve. It is a fun treat when Natalie is in town for a clothing intervention ! I think there are a few skirts she would encourage me to say good-bye.  Similar to my shoes, I start on one side with black, colors and then browns on the other end.  All my skirts and jackets are very different so additional labeling is not needed.  Being aware of what is in the closet  is the key for me.  I seem to be drawn to black and white tweed jackets.  Steve counted four of various styles.  Can't wait to wear one that I found on a great sale at Ann Taylor.  You know it is a bargain if it ends with .99.  (That means it is marked down and down again and can't be returned.) 
I have two pair of leggins - denim and grey.  So I put a safety pin in the grey pair to distinguish. 
There are various blind aids to assist in identifying clothing.  So far, I have found simple techniques of marking the tag in a distinct way if needed and organization in my closet works great.  I can distinguish colors that are very different from one another for example, two sweaters that one is grey and one is pink I can tell.  If one is grey and one is brown -- too close.  

I like these wooden pant hangers.  You can put a braille description on the actual hanger rather than a label on the pants.  This may not always be practical for packing purposes.  Cricket and I are going on a little adventure next week and will share our packing tips.  We are so excited! 

12 comments:

Lucent Imagery said...

Love these posts! The biggest change in my wardrobe in the last few years is that I now own a lot more white tops than any other colour. That way when I cuddle my blonde dog, I still look respectable and I don't need to carry a lint brush!

Becky Andrews said...

Yes, I love black but it needs to be a fabric that the hair slides off.

Maxmom said...

Hey Becky...
I've caught up again with the happenings in your cupboards, :)...the insight into your life is quite enlightening...thank you!
I was curious..maybe you can post some day as to how you 'shop'...stores are not really 'friendly' for the blind. Just curious...I suppose you HAVE to have a friend with you?...or is that Cricket's responsibility, :)

Sending lotsaluv for a happy day.
MAXMOM IN SA

Lucent Imagery said...

It's funny that the way you shop has been brought up by MaxMom in SA. Reading these posts over the last few days made me also wonder how you shop and consider the way that I shop, what's hard, new habits etc. I had thought that I would do a post covering things like that. Please do one Becky!!

Becky Andrews said...

Ah, shopping. Sounds like a delightful post. Great idea. More to follow :)

DCHY said...

Nobody ever clued me in on the Braille wooden hangers. That's really convenient. I like that.

Becky Andrews said...

DCHY:I have a braille labeler that I put a code on and that stick to the hanger! Nifty and works for me.

Ro said...

Becky I need your help! Hehehe!! Going shopping in early December for a dress for B's Christmas party. This will be the first dress I'll wear now that I have a yellow dog. I don't want a light dress as it'll wash me out. I've heard you mention material that the hair doesn't stick too. What kind of material? Like Rayon? Luckily Jayden will be with me, so we can do the dog test, but I sure don't want to get dog hair on everything I try on. ;)

Also, what do you find easier with Cricket? A knee length dress? A floor length dress? I'd like a floor length, but it seems that might be bothersome. I told my friend I'd be running to you before our shopping trip hehe!

Becky Andrews said...

Ro - Oh, I would love to go shopping with you - we would have so much fun! I love to wear black and have learned that it is the kind of fabric. Wool is challenging and shows so I try to AVOID black wool fabric. A combo of rayon works well. Sometimes things with 100% cotton in black grab the hair too. I take Cricket along (of course) and my roller. That way as I test an item to see if it is dog friendly and it isn't I can roll off the hair that I might have gotten on the trial piece. I like knee length as it does seem to be easier and more manageable. When I want the longer length look I wear boots. Sometimes that is helpful too as that's where their hair brushes against us too. Happy Shopping.

Ro said...

Awesome, thanks for the pointers! I've never worn wool, living in the desert and all. I think some kind of rayon will do the trick. Thanks for the tip about bringing a roller!

Becky Andrews said...

Oh that's true! No need for wool. I want to live in the desert this time of year :>

Ro said...

It's never gonna get cold here. You'd be going nuts not being able to wear all your cute winter stuff hehe!