A Love Note to Clogs

Dear Clogs,

Some people say you are clunky and ugly. Others say you are only good for work. But I am here to tell you that I think you are beautiful and one of the greatest things to ever grace the world with your presence.

Your comfort level is unparalleled. Your convenience cannot be matched. Your cuteness factor is debatable to some, but to me, you are the loveliest. I will adore you forever and I will not be ashamed. Although I may choose to not wear you to work for fear of being shunned by more fashionable personages than I. 

Clogs being splendid on a Thanksgiving walk in the woods in 2015.

You have served me so well through the tumult of 4th grade, the academic rigors of college, the snowy winters of New England, several garage construction projects, and many a voyage through airport security. 

And let's not forget the late pregnancy and early postpartum days. So comfortable! So convenient! So easy! So little bending over!

Heels, wedges, boots, booties, sneakers, flats, sandals, and heck, espadrilles all have their places, but I challenge anyone to find a more functional, comfortable, and, if your taste even remotely correlates with mine, dare I suggest...cute shoe than clogs. Paired with the right clothes, I say they are adorable. I'm not sure my pictures actually do that, but I loved them nonetheless. 

And, dear clogs, I have my eye on a few more pairs of you for future purchases. Just look at these! Clogs WITH HEELS:

Lotta from Stockholm knows what's up.

Or these, also from Lotta from Stockholm:

If they weren't out of my price range (I mean really...all of these are a little beyond the average price range, but humor me), I'd be all over these Sven clogs with a braided strap...

Not only because I like them myself, but also because they also have KID'S CLOGS. I can imagine almost nothing better. 

And so, dearest, loveliest clogs, I want to thank you for your many years of service. Thank you for filling an important gap in my wardrobe, for lasting forever, for your amazing durability, and most importantly, your encouragement for me to stand by my somewhat questionable shoe taste. I hope you become a trend nationwide so that I no longer have to justify my opinion to anyone who doubts your superpowers.

Love always,

A Clog Aficionado 

Lactation-Friendly Wardrobe Choices

Another baby-related post. My apologies. My life has taken a drastic turn toward domesticity.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune...wait. Not that. The universally acknowledged truth among nursing mothers is that dresses that are nursing-friendly are hard to come by. This is a particularly unfortunate truth if you are fond of wearing dresses. I happen to fall into that camp, so I recently went on a hunt for dresses that would work. 

Since the jackpot of dresses seems to be ASOS, I turned to them first. They had so many options available that I just didn't know where to start. Take this dress for example:

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It comes with an amazing benefit. Nursing a baby would actually make you MORE covered up than you would be when wearing the dress sans kiddo. What an idea! Revolutionary, I say!

My next find also had some obvious benefits in terms of accessibility. 

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However, the downside appeared to be the same as the upside, so it was nixed.

The third one came with an extra special feature: no part of the dress would have to be removed in order for a baby to eat! That must have been what the designers had in mind when it was created, right?

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So thoughtful of those designers, really. 

I found a few more, one of which looked like it could double as a maternity dress. Thankfully I'm out of the woods on that one, so I have no need for such an attribute.

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Another dress had a cutout in the perfect location for nursing, although the goth style might not be for everyone.

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And last but not least, this dress boasts unparalleled convenience. I can't believe it's not advertised as a nursing dress. 

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I can't believe I thought it was so hard to find a dress I could nurse in. I mean, look at all these possibilities! And this search was all with an under $40 filter, so just think of what the options might include if price were no object! 

Thanks, ASOS. You've restored my ability to wear dresses while feeding a tiny human.

Disclaimer: if you think I'd be caught dead in any of these dresses, you probably don't know me very well. 

Fashion Problems

I started writing about politics today, and then I decided that a) my thoughts weren't quite well-formed enough to make a compelling...thing (case in point), and b) that's far too heavy for a Wednesday morning. Instead, I'm writing about my corduroy dilemma. 

Here's the deal: I have three pairs of pants: one pair of good jeans, one pair of less good/work outside jeans, and one pair of black pants. That's alright, but I really want to add a pair of corduroys to round out my small collection. Usually, Gap is my go-to place for pants. Here's what they've got...

Option 1: A pair of skinny cords in a good color, but that look too tight even for the size 00 model.

Option 2: A pair of boot cut cords in an ok fit, but in no good colors:

Nordstrom had some options, but they were about $150 too expensive. J.Crew also had some good options, but I know from past experience that unless they're juuuuust the right pair, they're always going to be about two inches too short on me. They've also got the same problem as Nordstrom + pricing, but they're a bit more likely to have a decent sale. 

So tell me! Are cords just not cool anymore? Should I wait until next year? Or are there other places that will have good options? Maybe it's too early in the season and all the good cords are coming later? This is clearly a matter of life or death.