stalking the wild Gardenshade

About a year ago I mentioned that I'd captured the J.Crew Gardenshade Pencil Skirt - well, two GSPS's -  a heavy cotton in a murky blue and green floral which I love because there are no orange flowers. And the fabric is strong-minded enough to de-puff the tummy! I now admit that I have a third.

This skirt was another of those obsessive afterthoughts - long after it had disappeared from stores and website, it dawned on me that I should have it. My mom was a glorious natural redhead, milky complexion, wedgewood china blue eyes, and she insisted that her little brown-or-hazel-eyed brunette children would look just as great in redhead-clothes as she did. Um, not. Or perhaps only in the case of deep, swampy blues and greens, and basics like clear black and navy, otherwise even things that were made for us tended to look like hand-me-downs in the wrong color. But because of all the blues and greens, I held off and was late to the gardenshade party.

Speaking of wrong color, doesn't that bright green sweater with the soft tones of the skirt make your teeth hurt?

from a not-so-recent appearance
on eBay...

I challenged a bemused helper formerly known as a Personal Shopper to find me the vanished Gardenshade skirt. The Personal Shopper was polite but dubious, made no promises, but about two months later I got a call from a store across the country - someone had gotten around to checking the We Will Find It email notices, and We Will FOUND IT! was I still interested, she wondered? Well, yes, and when we discussed the price, there was 40% off the last markdown price and the skirt was mine for under $20. I didn't have the nerve to ask about the student discount. I have my limits.

And still later, it arrived, and then another one arrived, also quite cheap, and then in another month, when the third arrived, practically for free, I figured I had a lifetime supply. I have one in my regular size, one in my "slimmer" size, and thanks to the mysterious people who put size tags on things, the third skirt is in a size that is between the other two when tried on, and not a size 2 as labelled. Which is fine with me. I don't even bother to aspire to a size 2, although it's interesting to think that someone in WWFIFY recognized that it was not a 2 and decided it might fit that odd lady in New York.

So, going forward, now no matter what happens I will be adequately Gardenshaded.  I was afraid to tell the WWFI people to stop, because it's like contacting the government - they only read part of the message and they get that part wrong, and that's what stays on your record. I could just envision the notation "Take no action on future WWFI requests" permanently attached to my account number. So I figured that if necessary I could return any additional arrivals or give them to similarly complected relatives, but I haven't had to. The supply stopped as mysteriously and inexplicably as it began, and I put the skirts on a shelf in the closet and thought no more of them.

Time passed, and now I'm thinking about travel in what looks to be a warm fall - and while madly looking in my armoire for the lightest-weight twinset (thank goodness I had remembered to leave a reminder taped to the inside of the door when I reorganized at the end of last summer -- cotton Missonis are in box under bed!), I remembered that I had at least one GSF skirt that would fit. What joy! the skirt goes with so many things. For instance, these Everlane silk blouses...

It's grand with pale pink, too. I thought this DVF top in a more emphatic shade of pink would be cute, but I didn't read the label till it was home - all poly. Back it went. The skirt will probably go with many more things, which is a good thing, considering that I'll be The Girl in the Gardenshade Floral Skirt for years and years to come. And yes, when I finish the sleeves on that denim top, the skirts will go with that too.

Here is a recent post on Ruth's blog in which she is wearing her Gardenshade skirt. Her new shoes are pretty cool, too.

Do you still love your Gardenshade skirt?