#267: How to Curate your Closet

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Emma: You're listening to The Beautiful Mess Podcast, your cozy comfort listen, and this week we're sharing tips for cleaning out and curating your closet for fall. We're also diving into color analysis and how to change the way you shop, tips for collecting vintage and how to make a dream closet mood board.

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Elsie: Oh, hell yeah. This is gonna be such a fun episode. I do know we've done episodes like this a lot of times in the past, but forget all of those. This is gonna be the greatest one because yeah, we have new information to share.

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Emma: Well, if you've heard those, we have more. Yeah, if you haven't heard those, you might wanna go back 'cause we'll probably reference it. But I don't know if we'll dive into every little thing that we've talked about before because it's like, no, you've heard it

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Elsie:. Some of you, your opinion changes through the years. I do think that like at my current moment in life, I have the best cause I've ever, ever, ever had by a lot. I agree. So, hey, I agree.

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Emma: That's funny. Yeah, I very much agree.

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Elsie: So that my closet's better or that yours is better.

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Emma: Oh, mine. I mean, yours too. It's not like, I don't think we monitor each other's clothes as much as we all think we do. I think dressing is kind of for you. It's true. So, but that's true.

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Elsie: You're right.

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Emma: Okay. Well before we dive in, I have a story. Okay. So recently, last weekend of the time we're recording this, Trey and I went to Austin, Texas. It was the first time we traveled without our kids in like two and a half years. Definitely since before I was pregnant with Hugo, because yeah, the last time we traveled without kids was our 10 year anniversary. And this past summer was our 12 year anniversary so it's been a minute. And all we did was go to Austin, which was two short flights for us. You could drive from where we live in Springfield, Missouri, but we did not. And we went to a football game. But the main thing I wanna tell you about is, I did not know this before we went, we were getting a Uber. We got in a Waymo Woo. And I've heard about them on the news, but where I'm from, there's definitely nothing like that. So when he told me, he was like, oh, they have Waymo here. I think we're gonna ride in one. I was like, whoa. So if you don't know, it's like the driverless Ubers, driverless taxis. This one's a Google one. What's the other company? Tesla. They have their own version of it. So there's different brands doing it, but there's no driver. There's a steering wheel and you can see it moving. So like we sat in the back, no one's sitting in the front. It felt like a ghost was driving. I also very much felt like the steering wheel, like still moves. It still moves and it kind has a sign on it that's like, don't touch the steering wheel. We're always in charge of the steering wheel. Like, it's like, don't mess with the car. Which, I dunno why you would, but I guess if you got nervous. Yeah, I guess if you were either drunk or very nervous, one of those two things.

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Elsie: I bet those two things have happened.

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Emma: I'm sure those two things have happened, but not for me. But I was nervous. We were both kinda like, Ooh, how's it gonna go? But it was really, really cool and it did such a great job. We went down a really steep hill and it had to stop. There were lots of pedestrians and it accounted for them. We had to do a left turn into the restaurant we were going to, and the traffic was really busy and it took quite a while and the like, it behaved just like I would if I was driving, except for no cursing. It was just like, here we go. Nope. Here we go. Nope, here we go. Oh yeah, because it was like, oh, there's enough space. No, there's not enough space. It tried to pass a bus at one point and then the bus pulled out and then it kind of stopped. It was just exactly like a human, but no human was there to me. And it was really fun and I felt like I was in a science fiction novel and I thought a lot about your girls because I was just like, yeah. Oh this is so cool. It makes me feel like they're figuring it out. I'm sure there's been problems with them too. I dunno.

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Elsie: I'm so excited to buy my kids driverless cars one day.

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Emma: I know. Like, it's so cool. It's so cool. It's just such an opportunity for other people because I can drive a car, but one day you get old. I mean, we talk about our grandmother who's 81 and she still drives. We get a little nervous, you know, because

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Elsie: 91. 91.

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Emma: Yeah. 91. So it's just cool that this is gonna be in the future. I mean, it's now too, but I thought it was really, really fun and it made me feel very hopeful.

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Elsie: I think that's really good because it has been kind of devastating, like a difficult month to be an American. And so I think that's good to have hopeful things.

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Emma: Yeah. I think I actually hadn't realized how, I had not really felt that hopeful about the future. I was just like, you know, you see something in the news and you're like. Oh, I'm just gonna focus on raising my kids because I don't know what to do about that. So I'm just gonna shut that down because I got, I just got a lot going on and I gotta focus on that. So I think like the feeling of being like, wow, the future's gonna have this cool stuff and it's gonna work and it's, and I kept thinking about your girls and I was like, wow, this is a good feeling.

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Elsie: I haven't felt this way in a minute. It's nice for anyone who doesn't know. My children are both legally blind, so they won't drive. Why she keeps saying that and they probably will be non-drivers and I already tell them all the time. I was like, mommy will move to New York with you. Mommy will buy a driverless car. Like, you know what I mean? Like anything like that is great and exciting, so Yeah.

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Emma: Anyway, it was very cool. That's my story.

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Elsie: Love it. I haven't rode in one yet, so I can't wait. I think that's so fun and Yeah, definitely a good silver lining for the future. So very cool. Well, this episode I think is gonna be an exciting one. So we're talking about curating our closets. So let's first talk about the book recommendations. I feel like we should kind of go through that before we get all the way in. So we love this book called The Curated Closet. We have been raving about that probably since like our first 10 episodes, like very, very early on the whole, is it like five or six years we've done this podcast?

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Emma: We have a few holy text of this podcast and it's one of them.

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Elsie: Yes. So we love the Curated Closet. Another book I read last year, I think it was called Wear It Well. That book was also a good clean out book. And then also we of course love The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, of course the Marie Kondo book. That was kind of pre when we had our podcast when we were going through that phase. So I don't think we got into that as much, but I, it was very helpful to me at the time. I read it for just like the clean out element of it. And the like, the letting go of things because I've always been a little more on the hoarder tendency spectrum.

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Emma: Okay, which is what we wanna talk about a little bit, is called Personal Color. So we talked in a previous episode about getting our colors red. So this is kind of like accounting for your skin tone, your eye color, your hair color. Lots of other things and then figuring out what colors look good on you. And some people like hear that and they're so excited to do it. And some people hear that and they're immediately like, oh, I don't wanna be limited. So wherever you're at with it though, this book is very interesting. So one, it's huge. So if you wanna one and done. I highly recommend checking out this book. And I also think if you're like, I wanna just like learn about it and see which one I am. Sure. But maybe like the adjacent ones too. I don't wanna feel too limited. I think this book's also great because you can just get a lot of information and then I'll also say, I think this makes a great coffee table book. I've just had it out on my coffee table now for a couple months.

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Elsie: It has a beautiful cover.

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Emma: It’s beautiful and it's fun to look at and I just think it's like one of those books you can kind of flip through when you have 10 minutes if you're like family's hanging out or something. So it's actually just a great one to have around your house too. It's fun to look at. I dunno why this is turning into a book review, but I do think this book's awesome.

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Elsie: No, it's great. So yeah, so the books we recommend if you're interested in like this subject matter from this episode are The Curated Closet, Personal Color and then Wear It Well. Those three books, I think just order them. Just trust us. They're all really good, really helpful, and you can always learn more. And also, like there's Pinterest and you know, there's Google and you can learn about all these things kind of all over the internet. But I do think it's nice to get into, like, I enjoy reading a book from an expert and kind of getting their perspective whenever I'm new to something.

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Emma: I do too. It's fun because then you feel like you kind of learn the language of the thing. And even if you don't end up agreeing with the expert, I think that's interesting. At least then you have a point of view in the subject area that you're getting curious about.

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Elsie: Yes. Cool. Love it. Okay, so we are going to jump in and first talk about mood boarding. So this is my passion. I’m a big mood boarder. I would say Pinterest is one of my hidden talents that not very many people know. Someday I don't know how I would show it, but like, just to prove to the world how good my secret Pinterest boards are. They are on fire.

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Emma: Have that when people pass away Pinterest releases all their secret boards and do a PowerPoint at the funeral.

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Elsie: You know what, you'd really get to know someone. I've really been on a rant this week about posthumus. Like releasing people's journals and stuff. Like I have very, very fiery feelings about this subject because someone tried in front of me to talk about Kurt Cobain because of his journal and I was like, listen up. Okay. Like, I like it is the worst, the worst dare thing you can do to a person is release their private journals after they die. You like, I like, there's no, I accept it. 0%. I'm not saying I wouldn't read it, but I'm saying it's wrong. Like if it's already out there. But anyway. I think that private pin boards though, would be kind of a palatable thing to release. That would be like, okay, well wow, I didn't know she was so into this. You know what I mean? Like it would be a little interesting, but it wouldn't like give away your dirty secrets that you didn't intend.

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Emma: I mean, I guess it might, but I don't know what your pin boards are. Probably not.

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Elsie: Oh my gosh. The people have dirty pin boards. I've never thought of this before. Or just dirty maybe, but also just maybe embarrassing. I'm not sure, you know. Oh, like my Harry Styles Pinboard?

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Emma: Yeah, something like that. Something. I dunno. I dunno. Yeah, I'm joking.

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Elsie: I don't have one, but now I'm gonna make one. So anyway, let's talk about mood boarding. So here's my hard sell. If you don't know what your style is or you're like, I would like to have a style, or, I, like, I see other people who seem like, you know, you get a little jealous.

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Emma: They're so put together or they're so quirky looking or, you know, just whatever you're into. And then you're jealous.

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Elsie: Yes. Then I am here to tell you that too could be yours. I was you five years ago in the, the weird, the weird times. I was beginning my journey and I had a closet full of clothes that were. It was pure chaos. It was like the craziest closet you've ever seen because I was a mood shopper and I also, this is like so embarrassing, but I think it's very common. I also think that I shopped based on how good. The models looked on the websites. Yeah. Which is, you know, is normal. That's kind of the point of why they use models. Yeah. But it's very dangerous. Yeah. Because it's very dangerous, obviously, because I would get so many clothes. And I remember back in the very old days when Emma and I were a little bit fashion bloggers, we would always, you know, get these clothes in the mail. And Emma always did such a good job selecting hers, and she was like, well, I just know what looks good on me. I don't remember saying that I would get these clothes that looked just a horrible on me, like clown clothes or like just the, there's this certain color palette that I'm really drawn to. I really like pastels, but it looks terrible on me. It makes me look like I am sick and there's something wrong. And I need to have certain colors that make me look sick too or like go to the hospital.

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Emma: Do I have jaundice? And then you put a different sweater on and you're like, oh, no.

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Elsie: Yeah. So anyway, I have always been a chaotic shopper and I've always been like a lover of fashion since high school, since our first, I got my driver's license and we got our $20 allowance or whatever it was, and we went to the thrift store. That's our origin story of how we became, how we are. And how I became a crazy dresser. And so, anyway, all these years I have always just like been attracted to like the craziest clothing. That's why I love Harry Styles so much. Just iconic people, you know? What's that to love? Like I love an icon. You know, I see David Bowie and I said, I want to dress that way.

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Emma: I'm gonna say rock stars are kind of always like, who you wanna dress? Like, why would you not wanna look like a rock star? I mean, are you just lying? Like, we all wanna look like a rock star, right?

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Elsie: Yeah.

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Emma: Or pop star, whatever, you know, like an icon.

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Elsie: The cool ones.

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Emma: David Bowie, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, all of them.

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Elsie: Yeah. So anyway, I had this idea of how I wanted to dress, and it was very, like, it was very summery. It was a lot of wicker, like, it was like the wicker bags. I, I always loved that kind. And I think that kind of stuff is very cute. But it wasn't like really doing anything for me. Like it wasn't my corner of style, I guess. So anyway, I started making a mood board, and the other day recently I scrolled all the way back to the beginning of it. It has like more than a thousand pins. So it took a while. And like at the beginning of the mood board, the more recent pins, it's like every single thing matches. Every single thing is a very specific aesthetic that is now my style. It is now my closet, but when I scrolled all the way back, I could see, oh, it's chaotic. Like that's how I, that's what I used to be drawn to. So I think that it is something you can develop and the pinboard is just a great tool for that. So what I recommend doing is just start a pinboard, make it private or public. I make mine private just because I post so many things that are useless that like I don't, there's no reason why I don't think anyone cares or anything about my printer's account. It's not that. It's just that I don't wanna clutter it up, I guess. So just pin every single thing you see online that you might buy every single thing, like a pair of socks. I don't care. Every single, like random dress, every single bag makeup. Jewelry, just everything. Everything that goes on your body, pin it onto this board and just take a little break from shopping even for just like a month or two and just do this exercise. And I promise you that after you've got a thousand pins, you will have a more defined style than you did in the beginning. And also your Pinterest algorithm will start to like transform where it like suits your style more, which is extremely helpful. And yeah, like I do think that Pinterest isn't as much in its glory days as it was a few years ago, unfortunately, because of like, it has this AI slop problem at the moment. But other than that, it's, I still think it's the best, the best free website, the best like quote unquote social media, like as far as creativity. It still brings me so much joy and oh yeah, Pinterest is great. Yeah. Do you have any tips for mood boards or pinning?

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Emma: I guess one thing is I like to think of mine as like little categories. So it's like, you know, if I have a mood board that's, let's say I have a color palette, kind of like when you're getting ready to like do your house. Like if you just moved into a new home and maybe you don't own a lot of stuff yet or something. So you have a color palette and then you think about the rooms, right? So for me, I think about it as kind of a color palette. And, you know, maybe a little bit textures, things like that. Or at least like, I know there's a couple things I don't like. I just find them itchier. I just, you know. It's just too much for me. And then I think the rooms are kind of like, okay, well what's my life really like?

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Elsie: Yeah.

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Emma: So this is like pajamas, workout clothes, work clothes that also double as mom clothes. And then a couple of things that's like, I could wear it to a wedding or I could wear it to something special that came up and I'd already have it in my closet.

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Elsie: I like to have a section for date nights and traveling. Like those, like those special, like, you know, when you get to like, go out with your friends to a fancy dinner, like you wanna have like great outfits for those options.

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Emma: Yeah. Because for a long time I just thought of it as like clothes I would wear to work, I guess. And that's all I really had. And then all of a sudden I was like, why do I hate all my pajamas? Or like, why do I hate going to the gym or working out? Oh, it's 'cause all my clothes are just basically my pajamas. Like they look awful on me and I hate wearing them. So you kind of do need to think through like what to do and what works for those things. Like in my current life right now, I love dresses and skirts. But I don't wear very many right now 'cause I play a lot on the floor 'cause we have like a 15 month old. So I'm on the floor a lot and I'm climbing stairs a lot, holding a baby. So skirts and dresses just don't really work for me. So I don't have very many at the moment. And I will again one day when that becomes a bigger part of my life. But at the moment I really don't even hardly shop for that stuff 'cause it just doesn't fit into my lifestyle at the moment. But it will later. So, and if you're like, not a gym person, not a workout person, maybe you don't need that, whatever. But I think it is nice to not neglect the things that you really do need. Like having pajamas that you like wearing, I think is really valuable.

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Elsie: Okay. I am a fancy pajama advocate. I do have a pajama collection. And the, and some of them are fancy and it is like so worth doing because obviously you can wear your old t-shirts to bed Of course. And there's nothing wrong with that. And like, I even have a few favorites. Like I have a t-shirt collection too. That's its own issue, but like yeah, I think having fancy pajamas that are little sets is just so good for my morale for some reason. It just makes me feel like I'm in a Nancy Meyers movie and I have my together and I love it.

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Emma: Yeah, same. And I also have kind of, they're kind of seasonal. Sure. I have some things for holidays, but mainly what I mean is we have all four seasons. So some are lighter and some are more wintery, more warm. And I really like that too because I like anything that kind of is the ritual of the passing of time. I like that. So I like having things that's like now I bring out my winter seasons are great pajamas. It's just nice. So anyway, so that's something to think about as you're making your mood board too. Like what's your life really like and what are the different categories you might need? And we're gonna talk more about cleaning out, but when you clean out, you might notice. I have a lot of great jeans that fit me, but I have no dresses that I could wear to a wedding or to a special night out or something.

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Elsie: Maybe get one. So, okay. I wanna add to this. So this is one of the things I remember most from when we did the curated closet, is that she has you do a little pie chart. Your life, and I thought this was so helpful. As someone who works from home, you know, same as Emma, I think I'm like more of a pajamas lifestyle than you. Like I think I have slight depression and I have, Emma's always been very good about wearing makeup and dressing every day. And I am, I'm not that person at all. So anyway, the pie chart was really useful for me because at the time I first did it, I had my crazy closet still and I think that the vast majority of my clothes were like, something you would wear to a very specific special occasion. Like a very, like a, like a Christmas party, like that kind of level where it's like, oh, you might get to wear this once a year. Like Right. It's like, how many sequin dresses do you need when there's only New Year's once a year? You know what I mean? It was stuff like that. And then, you know, when I made my pie chart, I was like, oh, I am, I am working, I'm working from home. That's a big part of my life. I have no clothes that are designated for that at all. I'm just wearing my pajamas and yoga pants only all day long, every day. And then like, you know, just like things with kids, like, you know, you have your pickup.

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Emma: And your you go to the park, you go to the library.

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Elsie: Yeah. Just like your weekend with kids, like those types of outfits. So it really helped me to see that part. So yeah, I think do the pie chart and think about like on an average week, and you can put little things in there for special occasions too, if the special occasions are so important to you, do it, but like, see where you spend the vast majority of your time and you might find like a part of your life that you have never really shopped for. And that's why the outfits are more awkward in that you know, time period. So I thought that was great.

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Emma: Yeah. I think the pie chart's great. Okay. Let's move on to closet clean out tips. So this is when, so you've made your mood board, you know what you're going for. Now it's time to see what you already have that fits the mood board and what needs to take a hike to somebody else's closet donation time. All right. So what tips do you have for cleaning out your closet?

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Elsie: So for me, I, I don't think I have as much of a perfectly cleaned out closet that you have. You have a, like, I mean, it's perfect.

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Emma: I'm a bit of a minimalist compared to you.

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Elsie: Yeah.

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Emma: I mean, it's hard to call yourself a minimalist because I see other people's closets who are real minimalists and I'm like, oh no, I have quite a few things, you know, or whatever compared to you comparing, who cares? You know, it's just hard to measure. Like, I'm like, I would say I'm in the minimalist club. But I don't know if they would let me in. I don't know.

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Elsie: Let's just say whether you have a thousand pieces of clothing in your closet, or you have 50, the goal is that you don't have anything you don't wear anymore. Like that's, you know, that's the goal. It doesn't matter if you're a minimalist or not, who cares? No, we don't judge because I have a lot of clothes and I love them. I did try, try that, there's a magic number.

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Emma: That's like, oh, are you an adult woman? You must have 70 items, no more, no less.So you're good or bad person based on this. It's like, no, that's not a real thing. That's not real.

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Elsie: Yeah, no. Okay. So. A while ago, I used to try to do the capsule wardrobe and I would like blog about it and share it. And I did. I took it seriously and I was trying, but actually the thing that made me stop doing it is the criticism that I got every time I did it was so intense. People being like, that's not a real capsule, or you're not doing it right. Or like, whatever. And it's, so I'm here to say like, just get your closet where there's not a bunch of things you don't wear. Yeah. And that's whatever about the rest of it. You know what I mean?

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Emma: Yeah. And for me it's a combination of I don't wanna have a lot of things around that I don't wear, in part because we have a fairly big closet at the moment.Like when we moved to our house that we're in now, I think it's, it's the biggest closet I've ever had. And prior to that, we lived in a very old home that was over a hundred years old, and we had very small closets. Yeah. So it partly has to do with just the space that you might have in your home. That's true. Or if you travel a lot or if you move a lot. So that's something to consider. But other than that, for me, it's just, I like knowing that I could get ready for almost any event in 10 minutes or less. I think that's great. It's great for me because then I'm like, all right, I know this is my section. Oh, I'm going out on a date. We get to go on a date and I didn't know that was happening. Here's the things I can wear right now. Boom. And it's nice sometimes to like have time to try things on and say, oh, I don't think so. Maybe something else. But there's other times in your life you do not have that time. And I love having a closet where like, I assume I don't have that time. And I can just get ready very quickly.

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Elsie: Same. It's good to have your go-tos for every type of occasion. Okay. As far as cleaning out my main, my kind of, my only tip, my main and only tip is try every single thing in your closet on.

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Emma: Yes.

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Elsie: So every single thing because I think that like, even if you look at it and you think that that pair of boots, I'm not gonna get rid of them, try them on and just try to think like, will I wear this? You know, like the main point of clothing is to wear it, you know? Yes. And I, I do have a little bit where I consider it a collection and I defend that if you're a big collector, there's nothing wrong with you, we're not gonna judge you. But like, I think that it's like the point of the closet though is to wear the clothes, right? Yeah. So having anything in there that doesn't fit. Or, or is it comfortable or you don't like it? Like if you just simply don't feel great in it. Then just get rid of all that stuff. And I think that just that one act alone can give anyone a better closet because you don't have to, especially if you have a cluttered closet. Like you're looking through all this stuff that you're like, no, no, no, no. And it's like, well just take all the nos out then. And leave in just the yeses, and then you can build from there.

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Emma: I just think that yes, try everything on and if it's not a hell yeah, get rid of it.

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Elsie: Yeah.

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Emma: And I think too, like a lot of times we are like, oh, well if I lose five pounds or 10 pounds or whatever you're thinking, then I'll wanna keep this. And it's like, if you wanna keep some things around that, in my opinion, are just gonna make you feel bad, that's up to you. But I don't like to do that. Okay. If I don't feel good in it, when I put it on, I'm like, I don't want this.

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Elsie: I'm gonna get rid of it. I have done that. And I will say, if you're gonna do that, here's how to do it. That I think is best. Put it in its own separate box, like, and put that box up high in the corner. Like just out of your sight, out of your mind. And if you like whatever, you had a baby, you know you.Whatever life circumstances. I get it that like sometimes you just wanna hold onto something and you're not sure. What the future brings and like, I gain and lose weight. So I think that that's a, a normal thing that, yeah, it's, people have, it's normal, but I just think get them all in one place out of your vision and then you'll know where they are. And then if that day does come at that point, you can pull them down and like be excited to try them on again. And they'll all be in one place. organized.

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Emma: Yeah. But if it's been a few years or. If you're just not buying new things that make you feel good now and you find that you keep doing that for six months, a year, two years. I would say, why don't you get rid of that stuff and buy some things that make you feel good in the body you have right now? Hell yeah. 'cause you have a great body right now. I can't see you, but trust me, you do. And you should have some things that make you feel good in that body right now.

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Elsie: No, I think it's, yeah, I think that's an important note is to not feel like a hostage to your closet. Like if you have this incredible closet, but the whole entire thing is two or three sizes too small, then I think that's like the worst possible thing, like guilt and shame. Like that's like it's, yeah, you don't need that.

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Emma: You don't need that every day facing you down as you get ready. I agree. So that's, and then the other thing I'd say. I always wait until I'm in a pretty ruthless mood. Okay. Describe the mood so I can, whenever I'm looking around my house and I'm like, I wanna get rid of all of this, and I'm just ready, you know, just this feeling of like, I'm ready. I have no sentimental feeling in me. I feel good about myself and I just need things that work. That's what I need. Then I'm like, time to go in the closet and I go in the closet and try things on. I'm just very like, this fits great. I love it. Stay. This kind of feels a little bit itchy. I probably won't ever reach for it. Donate pile, like it's just very, I think you have to be in a ruthless mood. If you're in a mood where you're kind of feeling very sentimental, feeling very forgiving, not the time to clean out the closet. That's a good feeling. You should hang onto it, but it's not the time to clean out your closet. I think you want a ruthless feeling where you're like, it's all or nothing. I want it really good. Or it's donating.

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Elsie: No, I agree with that. I think that's good.

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Emma: That's how I am when I do it. Yeah, then my other kind of little rule of thumb is, generally speaking, for most things, if I haven't worn it in a year, then I get rid of it. Okay. Now this doesn't count for like, I have like two or three dresses. That's like for a wedding or for like, if I don't know, someone has a really special night and they invite us to a thing or whatever, a fancier thing, those don't necessarily count. 'cause I might not go to a wedding for a year or two, but then I will. Yeah. And then I'll be like, crap, I got rid of my two dresses. That would've worked. So those don't really count, but because it's a time thing. But other than that, if I haven't worn it in a year, I tend to say, why did I, why didn't I wear this this year? Is it because it's itchy? Is it because it feels too tight on my arms? Is it, you know? Is it because the color doesn't look good on me and I put it on and then I'm like, I don't have time to put on a whole nother layer of makeup. Like, what is it? Maybe it's time to get rid of it, you know?

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Elsie: Yeah. No, that's great advice. I think the clean out is such a good ritual. It's good to do at the beginning of a season. I think switching, if you have a smaller closet switching out with boxes, you know, like, these are my fall clothes, they're coming out now, these are my spring clothes, they're going away. That can be really nice because it gives you this fresh moment to look at them. And when you bring them back out, you can analyze at that point, like, okay, am I definitely gonna, like I have a huge coat collection. And I will defend it. I mean, I'll defend most of them. I have a pretty big coat too. But like in Missouri it's, it's useful and I don't think it's really wasted, but like, I definitely kind of know that like, I don't need to buy any more coats. Yeah. Ever again, unless it's so special and different. You know? So I think that also keeping that in mind, like knowing what you have. Is such an important part of being a good shopper.

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Emma: And I think that's part of it too, is like I wanna have like, let's just stick with coats for a second. I wanna have enough coats and like coats that I'm so excited about that I am happy to never buy another coat again. Yeah. Until I see like the one or something. And if I don't love my coats that much, then maybe they, I shouldn't be keeping them anyway. Yeah. Because I'm not that excited to wear them and I really wanna buy something else. And it's like, well why is it because the colors aren't working? Is it 'cause. They don't fit right. Or you know, whatever it is. They don't work for your wardrobe because I feel like having everything to me means that I feel free. I don't have to buy anything. I don't need anything. If I see something perfect that a friend's selling or like at a thrift store, great. I could get it. That's fine. You know, if it fits my budget or whatever, that's fine, but like, I'm free. I don't need anything. But if I don't really love my closet, then I'm not gonna have that feeling. Freedom.

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Elsie: That’s true. That's the point of what we're building up towards. Like every season when you add new things, you're trying to add things that you'll be excited to wear 10 years from now. And that is possible. Like if you think it's impossible, I understand. But now that I have the closet, I swear to you, I will be wearing the same stuff in 10 years. Like, 'cause it's not, there's no trends. You look at it and you just see a specific aesthetic. You don't see anything having to do with this year or, you know what I mean? Like, I don't even really know what's in style. I mean, I kind of do, but not really like. Vaguely, vaguely vague. Like I know last spring it was like everyone was like butter yellow. And I was like, oh, pass. You know, which, that's, that's fine. Like I could've, I might've gotten nails. I might've gotten nails. That's if I needed one but I didn't even do that. Anyway. Okay, so let's talk about color analysis. So I wanna give a little sales pitch for, just for the people who are like, I don't wanna be limited. Because I think I felt that way. I was very scared. It is a common, if you haven't met people who have done their color analysis yet, by the way, we went to a place called Created Colorful, and it's like an online service where you like send pictures and they kind of give you your analysis in a little report. It's really nice. It was great. It was a great loved, it would be a great gift idea. I think it was definitely worth the money. But also a lot of my prints have done theirs from chat GBT. A lot of people, you know, just put their picture onto the chat and ask it what color? See or put a couple pictures, what color season, according to color analysis, what color season do you think I am? And it usually gets it right too. So there's that and however you figure it out. Also, I think you can, if you are somewhat self-aware and kind of a little, I don't know. I think you have to have a little bit of the right brain for it. You can just look at the Pinterest pages of the celebrity pictures of the different colors and you probably just know, because it is pretty obvious, especially if you're a person with strong coloring. It's easier to see. Like, or if you have a celebrity lookalike. I kind of already knew what I was gonna be before I did it, but I knew I was gonna be an autumn, but there's three different types of Autumns and I thought I would, I actually kind of hoped I would be like the darkest one, and then I was, I was like, happy.

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Emma: Oh, so you kind of got the best colors, in my opinion.

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Elsie: Well, thank you. But I, I love your colors too, and I think they, all, the colors are beautiful. They're all, the color palette I'm the most jealous of is the bright summer color palette. And it's like, it's usually people with pale skin and blue eyes and they look really good in red and yellow and like that. I think that's a really fun one.

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Emma: I think yours is actually the best one because it's like pumpkin spice girl.

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Elsie: I actually knew that I knew what mine was gonna be because of Julia Roberts, because she was on the, and I, I just like knew that I would be her, the one that she was. That's interesting because said its red hair. Well, it's actually because of her hair color spectrum. 'cause I've seen her blonde, it's the worst. And then I've seen her with dark hair. It's really good. And then red hair, and that's also really good. And that's me, that's my color spectrum. Yeah. So I just kind of felt like, I kind of was like, and I, and like skin tone wise, like there's just some similarities or whatever. So there's a lot of people on my color spectrum with much deeper skin tones. Like a lot of like Latina people and like black people and stuff. So I thought that, I don't know, I, I think I maybe wouldn't have known, but it was Julia Roberts that I was like, okay.

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Emma: Well, here's my pitch for people who don't wanna do a color analysis. It's true whether you do it or not. Do you want the information or do you not want the information? Because here's the thing, I still wear colors that are not the color for me. But I at least now know that why I look bad, you know, like, and then I can kind of counterbalance it in different ways. And it's nice, it makes it much more, you know, like possible for me to wear something burnt orange, which is a color I love pumpkin spice would be another word for it. And that color looks terrible on me. And I never really understood why before. And because I love that color and I kept trying it, and now I'm like, oh, this is the exact opposite of what I should be wearing. So if I wear a little white bandana or a headband that's my color, or just, you know, kind of work it in a different way now, you know? So just like having the information I think is good to me, it's like I'd rather have information and disregard it rather than not have.

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Elsie: I agree. Okay. I wanna add on to this the color that I most feared. Like I knew, I knew my best color and I just, I was very confident about my best color. My favorite thing to wear is black. And I was like, I'm afraid they're gonna say not to wear black. And they kind of did.

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Emma: No black for me either up, I still wear black.

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Elsie: Like I just ignore it. And I think it, the reason why it's helpful as information is that now I know that if I'm gonna wear a black band t-shirt, which is one of my favorite outfits, it's just, it's just how I wanna be and I don't care. You know, and like black jeans with it and everything's black. I could put a red headband, but I'm not gonna do that every single time. You know what I mean? Because that's one thing.That can help. But the only thing I just try to do now is just like to wear more makeup on that day. So if you wear a bad color, just wear more makeup that, sorry, a little more makeup that can kind of compensate for it. And then your best colors are the colors that you'll look good in with no makeup, which is also great to know. You know, I, I love wearing no makeup and I think it's, yeah, that's a great way to be.

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Emma: That's me most days. I mean, I wear a little makeup. I wear a little makeup most days, but not a lot. Yeah. But if I'm wearing truly, truly not my colors, then I might put a little more on.

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Elsie: Yeah. And it kind of helps. At this season of my life, I do look full makeup seriously. Like once a month. So it's just not enough to like, what do you consider full makeup? Like eyeliner and like you think I'm wearing full makeup right now? I think this is like 75%.

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Emma:I just feel like everyone has a different, because if you're not a makeup artist, then honestly, full makeup probably doesn't mean full makeup to you.

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Elsie: You know what I mean? It's eyeliner that's what I consider like photo shoot makeup because it is better in photos. And then this is just like my everyday makeup.

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Emma: Yeah. I also think the color analysis kind of made me open up to things that I wasn't super open to before, for example, I mostly always bought gold, yellow, gold jewelry. It's just, I don't know what I was used to really, is what I would say. It was what I was used to. Because I think that there was a time that was much more trendy and popular. Yeah. But now I feel like both are really popular. Silver is very popular. Yeah. It's trendy too. But anyway, I was just used to it and then all of a sudden I was like, oh, I would probably look better in silver. That's what my color analysis says. Maybe I should try that. And now I have, I love jewelry. I'm a big, I like to make jewelry. I love wearing jewelry. I wear a ton right now 'cause my kids pull on it because my little kid. I love jewelry and I just feel like it gave me another thing to look for that does look really good on me and it's nice. And then it's another thing I can do if I'm wearing something that's not the best color like shirt, then I can put these big silver earrings on that I have, and they're really nice right next to my face and my skin and my eyes and it's nice. And it's fun and it's easy.

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Elsie: Yeah. I totally agree.That's the other benefit of the color analysis is like once you know your season, you just go on Pinterest. Get, you know, download some of the charts where it shows all the best colors, worst colors. And then I like to look at celebrity photos. And like all of that kind of stuff for like hair and makeup ideas on my best colors. There was two colors that I was like, Hmm, I can see how those might look good, but I don't like them. Like, they just weren't colors I liked and it was dark purple, like kind of a plum dark, but dark, like kind of like a purplely maroon. And then the other one was brown. And now, two years later, I wear those colors almost every day. I buy them all the time, especially in fall, like falls my shopping season now, because the most of my colors are out in the stores. Right. And then I can just like beef all, all year round. So anyway, I found, yeah, like some new colors and I think a lot of people have found that to be a benefit of color analysis is like trying a new color. Like Emma's now like a lavender girl and she looks so pretty. Yeah, I'm like, does it come in lavender? Pretty in it, yeah. And it like it lavender is so cute and it really like makes you pop and also pink. Like, I want you to wear more pink still. I feel like she has the Barbie.

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Emma: I keep buying pink things like, like tank tops or like casual clothes so then I can wear them in my everyday where I'm mostly caring for kids and stuff and I keep getting like Hugo keeps staining them. It doesn't come out because it's like a lighter color and I'm like, this has happened. It's mostly my pink thing. So I wear a lot of white, I wear a lot of lavender, I wear a lot of lighter colors. That's my palette. And for whatever reason the pink ones keep getting messed up. I'm like, oh man. So anyway, it's funny. I don't know what the deal is with that. Maybe he's drawn to it too. He's like, oh, pink must get my all over this.

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Elsie: Fun. Yeah. Okay. So we recommend it, try it. You might like it. And if you don't like it, you don't have to follow it.

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Emma: It’s just information. You can disregard it if you want.

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Elsie: Next we're gonna talk about tips for building up a dream closet. So this is my favorite part. I think this is actually the vintage part too. This is like where my passion lies because I think that if you like take the time, you do the mood board exercise, I wanna take it back. When I said a thousand, I'm gonna say like 500 if you're not crazy and a thousand if you're crazy. Either one of those. But like, I think 500, I think you need to get, you think you need to get the number up there. Like 40 is not gonna do it, right?

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Emma: I don't know, I'm a minimalist, so.

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Elsie: So yeah. because sometimes I overdo things building up a dream closet. Okay, so here's the thing about it that's so exciting. If you build your own. Like dream closet, you can enjoy this stuff till you die. Like for the rest of your life, you can be enjoying this collection of clothes that suits you, that fits you, that is like your personal favorite things in the world. And I think that there's just such a magical thing about getting really nerdy about it, about figuring out like what. Your dream items even are, you know, because it's different from like, when I was like a kid growing up and like, go to the mall and you just like, you see things and you're like, okay. And you try it on and you, if you don't think it looks bad, you buy it maybe and you wear it for a season and then you get, and then you throw it, you know, put it in the donations and you try again. And like, that was most of my life, you know, trying things and then being like, Ooh, I don't know if that, or like, the trends are changing, so my clothes have to change. It doesn't have to actually be that way though. Like maybe a little bit, like maybe you'll like update your jeans a little bit or maybe just a few little things here and there will change. But for the most part, I think my closet is like a hundred percent timeless now. Especially certain sections like the dresses and the coats, I would defend it as a thousand percent timeless because like, it doesn't matter.

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Emma: Like if it's trendy or whatever. Yeah. You're like, this looks good on me and it will look good on me.

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Elsie: Yeah. Because it's, the thing is stops fitting or something. Trends benefit retailers and finding your own style benefits you. Yeah. So I think, think of it that way as like I'm creating Yeah. Stick it to the man and find, yeah. I'm not an over consumption person. Just kidding. I definitely am, but I do believe in this one area of my life that I have it down now where it's like this is a collection that is based on what's inside of me. Like I was born to be this style. And so yeah, if you can create that for yourself, it's such a fulfilling thing to do. And then, you know, every year you can add a couple of things to your closet and you know, maybe you get rid of a couple of things, but it's not this big turnaround anymore at all. And I love that.

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Emma: I love it too. And I'll say, okay, so here's what. I do. And maybe it won't be for everyone. I don't know. But this is just practical tips. So I am not the biggest shopper. I can get overwhelmed very easily. And so I focus on one thing at a time. So I'll be like, all right, I'm on a mission to find the best jeans I want jeans that fit me really well. I want, for me, I want them to be high wasted and I want the option of sometimes skinny and sometimes wide leg. Those are the two fits that look good on me, but always, always high wasted. 'cause I like to tuck. And it just kind of elongates my legs. I'm on the shorter side, I'm a pear shaped body, blah, blah, blah. So once I find that, and I will order things, go places, I'll give myself some time, be like, I'm exploring right now, and if it don't fit, I'm gonna send it back. You know, if it has to be, hell yeah. Good. And once I find that, then I buy it in two or three colors. Then I don't buy it ever again until those are dead. Somehow either don't fit or they fall apart or they're completely stained or whatever. So then it's kind of like a done deal and I kind of have something done and then I'll move on to something else. So, you know, I've been on a mission for just t-shirts, like plain nothing on them T-shirts that I can wear under things tucked in by themselves, you know? And for me, I'm like, I want it to fit my arms a certain way. I don't like it when it's super tight on my arms. I don't, don't gimme no cap sleeves. I'm not wearing that ever. So yeah, it's like, you know, you have to find the brand. And once I do, then I'll buy like three whites, two blacks, and then a couple other colors that are in my spectrum. And then that's my t-shirt section.

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Elsie: Just like our grandma.

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Emma: I’m just like our grandma and I have this with shoes, I have this with a lot of things. And it doesn't mean that everything in my closet is like. The same pair of jeans and the same shirt and, but I do have like 10 pairs of jumpsuits that are all kind of my colors. I have one that's not my color, but it's very special for the holidays. And then I wear those all the time. And I'll also say one other random tip. For a long time I had this belief in my head that I could only buy things that could work with other items in my closet for some reason in my mind, like buying something that was its own full outfit.

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Elsie: Versatile.

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Emma: Yeah. It has to be versatile. Okay. If it's like something that's just its own full outfit, that was like a waist, and now I don't feel that way because I feel like old ladies do this lot.

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Elsie: Oh, was it your jumpsuit era?

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Emma: That the Jumpsuit era was the gateway drug, you could say. Where I was like, oh this is just one thing.

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Elsie: You really, really, really wear those jumpsuits.

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Emma: I really do. I still do, like I wear them all the time because they can work for a date night. They can work for just playing with my kids. They're great for so many things. I'm talking about big bud jumpsuits. That's my jumpsuit choice. I like all their colors. I like the fit on me. You can find other jumpsuits that work for you, whatever. But now I will sometimes buy outfits that's like you buy the top and the pants at the same time. And they go together. I love a matching set. It's very much like a matching set old lady thing to me. And I like that old lady. No. Well I have like sweatsuit ones, so it's like a hood, which is kind of Gen Z looking in a way, I guess.

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Elsie: Okay. It's just sort of like, like a Paris Hilton looking one.

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Emma: I don't have any that look like her. She's cute. I don't have any that's like rhinestone booties or anything, but that seems uncomfortable to me. I always think it's cute when girls do it, but I'm like, doesn't your ass hurt when you're sitting down, when you have the rhinestones? I don't know. It doesn't seem comfortable to me. I don't like anything that has a bow in the back. That's my big thing with swimsuits. If it ties in the back, I'm like, no, because I don't like sitting on it.

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Elsie: Interesting. I'm a little bit of a texture person.

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Emma: Yeah, I guess so. I'm a little bit of a like this, this is bothering me and I can't stop thinking about it. Like if it like is cutting into me in a certain way. So I'm a little bit like that. Some people are, some people aren't. Some people are like, this is kind of uncomfortable, but I look amazing and that's great.

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Elsie: I would wear a cardboard box if I thought it looked good on me and I would.

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Emma: That's great for you. I cannot do it if I feel uncomfortable, even if I look great. Like it's sad 'cause once in a while I'll have something like that and my husband will be like. Wow. I love that thing. And I can tell he thinks I look really good in it and I'm a little bit uncomfortable and I'm like, I'm never gonna wear this again. I'm gonna donate it right away. I'm sorry. Like I just can't do it. It has to be a certain way for me. So, but yeah, full outfits, that's a thing for me now. And I really like them because one, they fulfill my, like I can get ready super quick, I just throw that one outfit on. Yeah. But they're also great for travel and usually they're things that like you can wear them multiple times and it's not like, because I think in my mind I was like, oh, you are in the same outfit every day. But I'm like, you wear the same jeans two or three days in a row for sure. So why are you so worried about.

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Elsie: I have always loved a matching set, and I just think of them categorically as dresses, you know, even though that's a good way to think about it. Even a lot of mine are like shorts with a top or like a skirt with a top, but they're, they're pretty much functionally the same thing as a dress and they're really good dinner outfits.

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Emma: I love it because I love layering and I love learning about layering and like, I definitely have things on my mood board that's like, oh, I liked how this girl wore this, like short sleeve cardigan with a this and you know, like just things that I'm like, oh, that's interesting. But I also think most of the time I don't really have time to build an outfit like that way.

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Elsie: Yeah.

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Emma: I more have time to be like, this is already ready and I'm putting it on, this is already an idea and I'm putting it on. So if I do a layered outfit like that, I usually buy the whole thing at once. And then in my mind I'm like, this is an outfit. I can put the whole thing on and I sometimes end up using it in different ways and that's great, but I don't view that as like the goal. I view that as a bonus.

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Elsie: So this is your first year and you're gonna start building your dream closet in earnest? My biggest tip, well, you know, my mood board is my biggest tip, but one of the things to do on your mood board is add inspiration from all different time periods. So I am not above adding inspiration from like 2010. I don't give a, also like 1960s obviously I love the Victorian era and, you know, any time period. There's no time period That's bad.

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Emma: Miss Frizzle on my mood board.

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Elsie: No, and that's perfect. Yeah, Miss Frizzle is basically a ModCloth shopper. That is correct. So I think, yeah, just find the commonality of what you love about. All decades of fashion, and then you'll find the things that you should be buying that you'll love 10 years from now. I'm so in love with this subject. I think this is such a fun episode.

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Emma: Well, it's self-care, you know, because getting dressed is for you. So it's very much like enjoy it and feel good in it. And it's for you, man.

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Elsie: Well, the thing I love about my new closet is that every year I feel like I'm building something great in there. You know? That's just for me, it's my own little treat. No one else in the whole world cares except for me. But it's like me, I don't feel like I have to really worry about trends. I just worried a little bit about jeans. I worried a little bit about jeans. That's probably the only trend in the last five years that's like bursted my bubble a little bit and that was fine, you know, 'cause that kind of needed to happen. But other than that, yeah, I just feel like I'm building something that 's like a collection that will get better over time. And since you have to buy clothes anyway, or most people do, it just feels so much more valuable and less wasteful to be doing it this way than the way I used to do it where it was just chaos.

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Emma: Okay. Let's talk about vintage tips. So this is tips for incorporating vintage into your dream closet.

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Elsie: Yeah. Yeah. And buying vintage. So yeah, I am definitely a vintage lover and I always have been. I think that early, I mean early on we talked about our high school. Life was like buying the craziest clothes we could find at the thrift store and then combining them in the craziest way and then wearing them just to like them all or like church. Yeah, like school.

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Emma: And if it fits a dress code.

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Elsie: Yep. Getting sent home from school, getting sent home once in a while for being too crazy.

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Emma: Be too cool for school. Really.

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Elsie: Yes. And yeah, then we did have a vintage store in our twenties and then for a while I kind of got where I wasn't shopping vintage, 'cause I think I was very burned out on just. The work of it, because it is like a tremendous amount of effort to shop for vintage compared to like just going on free people or, you know, right. Whatever your favorite store is.

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Emma: And just putting stuff in your cart is much easier. You're like, oh, Manuel's got 40% off cart, cart, cart button, button.

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Elsie: Yeah.

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Emma: That's so easy.

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Elsie: Yeah. And so the hardest thing that I have found with vintage is collecting things that you really will wear because like, there, it's one thing to have a collection where it's like, my brass objects or, you know my butterflies or like, you know, just by all my crazy collections, they're great. I love them, but like when it's in your closet and you don't wear it, that's kind of a, it's like, why did you buy it then? Because it's not a decoration, it's not making your house beautiful. It's just sitting there collecting dust, doing nothing. So I think when you're in your mood board era. Really, really think about what kind of vintage you would really wear. And so these days I, it's not that I wouldn't buy a vintage dress. I would, if I saw one and I could try it on and it fit me and all that stuff, I would buy it. But I'm not really like worrying about that stuff. I have like specific vintage collections and it's only jewelry and backs and those two things and maybe, maybe a little bit coats and those three things. No, that I'll wear because like I wear my big ring stacks all the time, hairstyles, fingers. I have so many now, I can combine them in different ways and like, it's very fun. Like it's something that I enjoy is like just going and putting on all the rings. And then with bags, it's like bags are, I think bags are actually one of the best vintage things you can get into. Yeah, because I love shopping on the real, real just for vintage. It's so, like, vintage designer I think is so much cooler than brand new designer and it's also way more affordable. Often like very affordable. Often it's like it's more affordable than like kind of a mediocre brand is now. So I like that. And then, yeah, but I, I don't as much buy like the big, crazy dresses anymore because I just know I won't wear them. And that's just not like in my realistic, you know it's not in the pie chart.

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Emma: Yeah. I bought a vintage dress that I wore to my senior prom, and I'm still very proud of that.

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Elsie: Do you still have the dress?

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Emma: No, I don't think so. I loved that dress. Yeah, like it, it, it's gorgeous. It's exactly not my color, but I still loved it.

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Elsie: No, it's gorgeous.

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Emma: And I had a vintage dress for, not my wedding dress. My wedding dress was handmade, but my reception dress, was like, this basically looked like a doily, but it had little straps that Mallory sewed for me. So the top of it got changed. Anyway, so that's one thing. If you have a special occasion, I do think that's a time to maybe look for vintage because then it's like you're not gonna be wearing it day in and day out. So if it's a little more precious, it might work well. Otherwise, for me, I do lean a lot more towards some of the things you're talking about, which basically accessories.I'm big on silk scarves. I love to wear a little silk scarf on my neck. Scarves are a great collection, or on my head. I also feel like that's a great thing to look for in your colors. If you're like, oh, I got colors that I'm, I don't love as much. It's like, well get some scarves, girl. Because you can just wear those with everything else and it'll be fine.It's right by your face. You got it. Yeah. So, and I think silk scarves are like. There's some beautiful vintage ones, like just the most gorgeous designs ever. So that jewelry, I think is a great place to look. I love getting old, you know, old earrings, an old locket, old, you know, whatever. Stuff like that. It's so much fun. I guess the main thing I wanted to say was just don't discount it or don't be scared. It doesn't mean that you have to dress like Mad Men. Like, there's lots of, lots of things and you'd be surprised. So I think it can be a fun one, especially if you're traveling or having a special time, a special day, even if you're staycation or whatever. Then looking and not being closed off to it. 'cause then it's kind of like, oh, I got this scarf when I was traveling with my friends. Or Oh, I got this, this ring. That's true when I was on a trip with my mom to New York. Or you know, whatever it is, whatever little token thing it is. And it's a thing that you can, you know, wear and kind of have a memory along with it being something vintage, which I think is fun.

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Elsie: Do you wanna hear my tragic story?

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Emma: Yeah, I guess. I don't know. It's set up so sad.

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Emma: It's so sad. It actually is. So when I moved. I had have, or had, I don't know, I had a whole, you know, I have those like packing bags. It was like these big vinyl packing bags. I had one whole bag of all my KJP sweater collection and like, if no one know, everyone probably knows, but like if you don't know, let's give the pitch cut. Just book KJP sweater if you don't know what it is. But it's like vintage replica. So there are new sweaters that look vintage. They're incredible. And I think I have top tier. If you don't own one, get one, four or five of them plus other sweaters. The rest of my Halloween sweaters gone, just gone. And I've been through everything, like, so I don't know if I'm ever gonna see them again or what happened.

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Emma: That’s sad.

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Elsie: Isn’t that a sad one?

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Emma: That’s a sad one.

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Elsie: And like, and also it's like, because I still feel like there's a chance I could find them. I also don't feel like I should rebuy any of them.

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Emma: Maybe your favorite just one in case. I also feel like the universe, like if you rebuy one, then you'll find them or you won't. You know what I mean? Like maybe, and you'll be like, all right, I get it.

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Elsie: What could happen to one bag and why that bag? You know what I mean? That is sad because I feel like that's one of the best bags there was.

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Emma: Yeah. If that's the one that fell off the wagon though, whoever found it. Wow. What a treasure.

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Elsie: I hope someone found it. Oh, I don't know where it's, anyway, that happened.

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Emma: They didn't actually move in a wagon. I just thought that was funny in my mind.

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Elsie: A semi-truck. Yeah. You know how they are. All right. You wanna talk books?

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Emma: Yes. Let's do our book report.

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Elsie: Okay. So I am coming back for part two of talking about the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. You've haven't read it?

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Emma: No.

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Elsie: Oh my God. Oh my God. Okay, so when I first shared it, I, I think I was about halfway or maybe 25% in, and I was like saying it's a family saga. It's about Chinese. So it's like two generations. And it's like the mothers are Chinese immigrants, first generation, and the daughters are raised in the US so they have these, this big contrast of their lives and their stories and just like their hardships. And also the voice acting in the audio book is incredible because there's like very different accents. I went back to the book after I talked about it last and then finished it and it got. So sad. Like it was like immediately got so sad. It also had this beautiful part, like it was a, it was a scene about a piano piece, and I was bawling in my car on the way to the post office. So that was fun. If a book makes you cry over something that's like, not a death, it's not a, you know what I mean? It's a piano piece. They did their job. You know what I mean? It had a beautiful ending. So I recommend it. I'm definitely will watch the movie soon. I think there's like a 1990s movie, so I'm excited to watch that.

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Emma: Okay. My book is The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. So this is a contemporary romance. Very fun, very easy, quick read. I feel like I read it in a week, which is fast for me. I'm not a super fast reader.

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Elsie: Do you wanna say the, like the spice a meter?

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Emma: The spice meter's pretty high.

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Elsie: Okay.

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Emma: If there's like five, if five chili peppers is the top, this is a three or a four probably. So a lot of sex on the page if you don't like that. Don't read this one. So the general premise is, it's kind of a, I guess you would say gender swapped pretty woman. Oh, like it's a male escort who gets hired by a woman. She wants to become better at sex. She's having a hard time getting a boyfriend, having relationships, a little lesson, and a little mentorship. And that's how the book starts. She hires male escort to help her get good at sex. That's what she wants. And that's a fun premise. They fall in love. And so it was very fun. If you like Pretty Woman, you might like this.

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Elsie: Okay.

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Emma: I love Pretty Woman. I loved this book. I thought it was super fun. Also, one of the main characters, she's autistic and the author is also autistic. She has, I think they don't call it Asperger's Syndrome anymore but that's what they used to call it. Now I think they just call it autism. So I really liked that. I felt like I really understood this main character. I felt like I got to see into a world that I maybe don't quite live in myself. It just made me feel like I understand people who might have that a little bit more.

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Elsie: Thank you so much for listening. We love hearing your episode request and answering your questions, so please send us questions anytime at podcast@abeautifulmess.com. We'll be back next week with an episode about what we learned in our time spent offline and off of social media this past year.