I think I have two black dresses, neither of them "little." One's stretch velvet, zips up the front, three-quarter sleeve. I wear it at Christmas, mostly. The other's an enormous shirtdress from J. Peterman.

Dang, that dress would look great on you, meara.

t /not helping

I hit up J Crew because some site yesterday mentioned their button-down shirts, and then Erin mentioned this dress, so I thought I'd have a look. I like the dress, fear the neckline. But I guess with a camisole you can do it--just not sure how much of the nice drape you ruin.

What were Gunn's ten things?

• White shirt, I remember--I have three or four of them, but none of them are theshirt.
• Trenchcoat--I have one in dusty pink so it doesn't go with that much. But I like it.
• Sweatsuit alternative--not sure what he meant by that. Clothes to exercise in that aren't sweatsuits? Check a zillion times. Clothes to walk the dog in? Almost anything.
• Little Black Dress--Oy. Don't get me started. I have one that's straight up funeral severe, one wrap, one sexy with no back, one sexy baby doll, one tee-shirt cut, one long-sleeved not-quite-shirtwaist...let me peek in the closet...one bubble skirt, one stretchy tank, one on loan from Kat that I need to wear before she wants it back (it's got a lovely leather bodice), one with white floral trim around the hem, one cotton with flouncy skirt and spaghetti straps. Then there are some with white throughout the black, but those don't count.

Not feeling as much better as I'd hoped, DJ. Made a supermarket run and feel busted as shit. But I called to see if I can get an acupuncture appointment for tomorrow since I'm down to my last painkiller, and maybe chiro on the weekend it (heaven forfend) it persists.

What were Gunn's ten things?

The only other one of the ten things I can remember is a fabulous drop-dead special occasion dress, but I'm pretty sure you've got that one covered several times over as well.

There's also the Classic Dress Pants (the list could say Black Pants, I don't remember), and wasn't there something about dress shoes?

I'm pretty sure you've got that one covered several times over as well.

Yeah, kinda. I'm a clothes-whore, aren't I? This is probably my #1 contender for LBD if we're not being sober. And this wins if we're going straight for fabu, although I have a ton of other dresses I love.

Yet I still fucking shop. The internet is a curse.

I used to have classic dress pants, but the lining's shredded and they're a bit heavy (wool) for year-round wear in LA. Good point on those.

And I'll probably keep not having those for a while because I can't buy pants of the internet because sizing is so wonky.

Tim Gunn's Top 10:

01 Basic Black Dress
02 Trench Coat
03 Classic Dress Pants
04 Blazer
05 Skirt
06 Classic White Shirt
07 Day Dress
08 Jeans
09 Sweatsuit Alternative
10 Cashmere Sweater
11 One bonus

I'd argue for the inclusion of a kick-ass suit, but it's a very wise list.

I have six out of ten of those, and no interest in owning the missing 4.

I have a feeling Jilli's 6 are not the same as my 6.

I've just tossed out my pitch for my second book

Eeee!

I had several LBDs, but only a few of them fit at the moment. I should be more upset about this fact, but I just can't be bothered to care right now.

---

You know what sucks? Finding out after you have left multiple messages for advisee parents that you are giving them the WRONG NUMBER. And they have been trying to reach you for a week. And getting a random stranger who does not work at the school instead.

Argh.

Sometimes I hate IT people. I mean, mostly I love them, but this new guy just can't seem to be bothered to tell teachers important facts such as, "Hey, you know that new voicemail extension you got two weeks late? Unlike every other voicemail extension, it cannot be dialed directly. Parents need to call the school and then enter your extension."

Yes, that little tidbit might have been useful to know before I'd pissed off seven sets of parents.