1. When do you feel at your most attractive?

after showering, just after completing my morning ritual, including clothing myself

2. Do you notice women on the street? If so, what sort of women do you tend to notice or admire?

yes.
unusual faces, unusual clothes, beautiful faces and bodies... that would be both notice and admire

3. What are some things you admire about how other women present themselves?

I admire women who are very skilled with makeup--I'm not!
I also admire women who wear tight clothing and rock it even though they're not stick-thin--I'm too chicken

5. What are some shopping rules you wouldn’t necessarily recommend to others but which you follow?

browse the clearance racks first?

6. What are some rules about dressing you follow, but you wouldn't necessarily recommend to others?

mix fabric textures and patterns

7. What is the most transformative conversation you have ever had on the subject of fashion or style?

can't think of one...

8. Do you have a unified way of approaching your life, work, relationships, finances, chores, etc.? Please explain.

no--life would probably be easier if I did

9. Are there any clothing (or related) items that you have in multiple? Why do you think you keep buying this thing?

yes, corduroy pants

because I love corduroy and they can dress up or down

10. Have you ever successfully given someone a present of jewelry or clothing that you continue to feel good about?

yes

11. Is there any fashion trend you’ve refused to participate in and why? 

yes, many...

tall bangs
zip ankle jeans
white keds
jeggings
skinny jeans
etc.

even as a middle-schooler i did not feel pressure to conform to trends that i thought were stupid; now the issue is more one of feeling that I'd simply look awful in a particular item of clothing, such as skinny jeans

12. Can you say a bit about how your mother’s body and style has been passed down to you, or not?

although i am adopted, i certainly have been witness to my [adoptive] mother's struggles with her weight

i do remember her wearing pretty, feminine business suits when i was younger (she taught business education then), in colors that were complimentary or at least not drab

now she wears ill-fitting clothing and too much black; i think she just wants to hide herself and her weight, or maybe she can't justify spending money on herself...

i don't see that her style has affected me; we didn't have that many battles over clothing when i was a teen

13. Have you stolen, borrowed or adapted any dressing ideas or actual items from friends or family?

yes, i stole my dad's embroidered jacket from Guatemala, when i was in junior high and wore it till it began to disintegrate...

when we housed another high school student, for a year, she and i shared clothes; it was fun

14. Was there a point in your life when your style changed dramatically? What happened?

no

15. Is there anything political about the way you dress?

no

16. Please describe your body.

average; skinny on top; my weight concentrates in my thighs; long arms and hands; average to small breasts; long, crazy brown hair; prominent moles on my face; lots of acne scars on my face, back and shoulders; my skin is relatively pale, but i do tan; more of a yellow understone

17. Please describe your mind.

powerful but undisciplined

it works mysteriously

18. Please describe your emotions.

unruly and sometimes overbearing

19. What are you wearing on your body and face, and how is your hair done, right at this moment?

dark, tapered jeans (they have pleats!); a hand-me-down ruffled sleeveless top (from my roommate) over a turquoise camisole; sandals, bought on clearance; my hair is unwashed so it's tied up with a turquoise bandana

20. In what way is this stuff important, if at all?

affects my feelings about myself and also others' perceptions of me

21. With whom do you talk about clothes?

no really anyone

22. How do institutions affect the way you dress?

my employer has an official dresscode that forbids jewelery except wedding rings

23. Do you think you have taste or style? Which one is more important? What do these words mean to you?

i like to think i have interesting personal style and I'd also say i mostly have good taste...

how are they distinct? i don't know that i have time to parse that out right now

24. Do you remember the biggest waste of money you ever made on an item of clothing?

yes, probably convincing my parents to pay for a custom made banquet dress sewn out of emerald green dupioni silk... what a dork
i don't know if i ever wore it again

(we didn't have dances, we had banquets)

26. Do you have style in any areas of your life aside from fashion?

the things in our house?

also, in my art

What’s your birth date? 
Where were you born and where do you live now?

7/20/76
Portland, OR
Napa Valley, CA

Say anything you like about your cultural/ethnic/economic background.

-raised in a conservative Christian subculture, with cultural emphasis on 'modesty' in dress
-largest chunk of growing-up years spent in SW MI, in a small religious university town that was Midwestern but nevertheless home to a considerable population of international students and families studying at the university

What kind of work do you do?

I am a full time academic advisor for pre-nursing students at a small, religious liberal arts college

Are you single, married, do you have kids, etc.?

single; no kids

Please say anything you like about yourself that might put this survey into some sort of context.

I've always loved clothing and dressup, and I love the power of costume and the promise of becoming 'another' simply by changing my clothes