Bein' sociable

[jim_p]

So I made it to The Big Party, thanks in part to awfief. I had done a framing job for her and she suggested that I deliver it there as a way to get us both out of the house. Win :)

I had a good time, but I got there kinda late... had to stay at the shop until 6PM, then race home to shower and change, stop on the way to pick up some grillables, and got there around 8. As such, I missed some people that it would have been nice to see (I also threw a piece for donnad in the car in case I ran into her, but I'd missed her), but still got a chance to hang with some neat folks. Got into an interesting conversation with lifecollage and koshmom about how I might tweak my look so as to fit in with the high-end designers that I want to start targeting. Geeked about engines with bikergeek for a while. Watched and was suitably impressed by the firespinning. Got a drive-by hug from wren13 as she was heading out... the rest is a bit of a blur...

Definitely need to do this more often :)

Comments

[donnad.livejournal.com]

Sorry we missed you. We left around 7:30 ish.
You mentioned that you are often in Littleton during the week, perhaps we can connect sometime. If you let me know when you'll be around I can make sure I actually go into work that day (and not work at home) or we can meet up someplace else if it's after I normally leave work. Drop me an email when/if you plan to be around.

[klingonlandlady.livejournal.com]

I am interested by the "tweak your look" concept, and what they had to say... more trendy glasses, neatly trimmed goatee? Buttondown shirts in interesting colors paired with black jeans?

[jim-p.livejournal.com]

Definitely the glasses... the little square numbers really seem to be In[tm], though I should try them first and see if they work my face. In any event my current specs seem to be too big (that's a rant for another time... small glasses = small field of view unless you turn your head a lot...)

Goatee could be trimmed, and lifecollage had suggestions for sculpting it. In any event, it shouldn't be cropped so close that I look like an Evil Overlord (e.g. Crais on Farscape...)

Hair: Streak of color? Maybe, maybe not, might seem too much like an artist and not a design professional. Short or long? Again, lifecollage suggested that having the ponytail trimmed and sculpted would make for a nice look. Maybe I need to play with a virtual-makeover program.

Wardrobe: high-end casual. Button-down shirts, tucked in unless the shirt is designed otherwise. GOOD pleated khakis (guess I'll save the K-mart ones for working in the back of the shop). I might have to get used to synthetics, since only the very finest and most expensive cottons and silks maintain the required level of crispness throughout the day.

koshmom talked a lot about accessories. The right hat could be a trademark part of my "look" (kinda like when I used to wear my official Red Hat Fedora out and about...). Messenger bag with my logo on it (I've already got that!). Since we're getting into fall and winter, maybe a distinctive jacket and/or scarf...

Now that I think of it, one thing we didn't touch on was shoes. I tend to go for black velcro sneakers... they go with anything and are easy to get into and out of. Probably won't cut it with the design crowd. Gotta think about that some...

[klingonlandlady.livejournal.com]

Cool!

If you go with khakis rather than black jeans, brown leather penny loafers or boat shoes get quite comfy, and are preppy enough to be recognized as classy in a relaxed way. You probably don't want to attempt the designer-polished-shoes look. Come to think of it if you're thinking jackets, you could do fine with the professorial "tweed-and-elbow-patches", which is a classy look that accepts a little bit of "rumpled". Or there's the "interesting (suede?) jacket and black turtleneck, dark pants" artsy thing (think retro Dick Cavett).

[persis.livejournal.com]

It was nice to see you at a social event! And nice to exchange hugs, and introduce you to Casey. Getting out is one way of doing something for yourself; we both need to do more of it.