Did You Get Clothes for Christmas?
I learned something about my hero this year: ever since he was a little kid, a gift of clothing was sure to disappoint. For me, it’s the other way around. I remember vividly one Christmas when I was a (big) kid receiving ALL the pieces of a coordinate set. I was thrilled! These days it’s rare for anyone to even attempt to buy me anything wearable.
This Christmas, though, the prize goes to my mother for buying me a light-weight, ivory, safari-style jacket. She says she thought it would match my hair. 
Not only does it match my hair, and many of my summer clothes, it FITS!
(Which reminds me that the juniors department can be a resource for me for jackets; both in terms of size, since I usually need a 2 in Misses, but a Juniors Medium will work; and price, since Juniors stuff tends to be more affordable. The only trouble is shopping the Juniors department: it wears me out! One, we are often subjected to unbearable music, sometimes several of them competing, and two, it’s tiresome sorting through so many trashy offerings to find the good stuff. Like my new jacket.)
When in doubt, for the fashion lover in your life, books or magazines are another great option. Like these, which I received from my sister this year:
What about you, did you get clothes for Christmas this year? Would you be thrilled or disappointed if you did?
Related Posts:
More Body Shapes!
Just what we need, more body shape options!
Following the link from Brenda Kinsel’s site, which I got from Vildy, I stumbled on out to MyShape.com. Have you heard of it? Somehow, I had not visited it since it went live and I didn’t get the concept at all. Here’s what I found today: MyShape uses a system with SEVEN body shapes, one associated with each letter in their name.
- M - softened, straight figures and fairly straight shoulderlines. They may have rounded bottoms and the difference between their waist and hip measurements is 7 inches or more.
- Y - broad-shouldered women with proportionally narrow hips and less defined waistlines.
- S - curvy front and side profiles as well as softened shoulderlines, whose waist measurements are at least 10 inches smaller than their balanced bust and hip measurements.
- H - shoulders and hips are generally in line with each other and whose waist measurements are within 6 inches of their hip measurements. Often with flat bottoms in profile.
- A - hips are broader than bust and shoulders.
- P - bust larger than hips and bottom tends to be flat rather than rounded.
- E - rounded profile; often short-waisted and not much difference between bust, waist and hip measurements.
Each shape has a page of style recommendations AND you can shop their offerings by shape, which could be useful. However, the recommendations are a mixed bag, which only makes sense because they are trying to dress a body without taking into consideration the face. Neckline and dress advice is the worst bet, in my opinion.
Based on their recommendations, I’d like to go to Nordie’s and try on either of these:
If only they had free parking!
Related Posts:
Stacy Says: Boot-cut is NOT for Everyone
Thanks to Wendy for sending me the link to this Oprah slideshow, which contains some discussion related to jean pockets. While looking around Oprah’s site, I found this quote from our beloved Stacy London:
Myth 1: Boot cut is flattering on everyone. False, Stacy says. Petite women, in particular, should avoid boot-cut jeans, and wear jeans with a straighter leg. Stacy says if you’re shorter than 5′4”, a boot cut may make your thighs look heavier by hugging the knees too tightly before flaring at the bottom. Boot-cut jeans can also make your legs look shorter.
The ideal body type for boot-cut pants is a woman taller than 5′4” who has long legs.
While I am taller than 5′4″, I do not have long legs. Proportionately, my thighs are 3 inches short for my height, although I pick up one of those inches below the knee. Stacy is also quoted in multiple places saying that people with heavy thighs should avoid bootcut, because the tightness at the knee emphasizes the thigh.
In addition, I propose that wide-legged pants make short legs look shorter. You can see me in both skinnies and wide (although they aren’t jeans) in this fashion lab from last March.
Related Posts:
The Company Christmas Cocktail Party
First, a word about the shoes. So sorry to disappoint you shoe people, but I just didn’t care enough to come up with something WOW. Lucky (?) for me, yesterday was sunny here, therefore scaling snowdrifts was unnecessary last night. I considered a boring pair of black pumps and a scruffy pair of ivory patent sandals before settling on the vintage felt “asparagus shoes”.
During the process of helping my daughter prepare for the winter formal, I began to think about what personality traits might be associated with being a “shoe and bag person” versus being a “dress person”. I mean, some people would be quite content to wear a boring little black dress (nothing personal) as long as they had fabulous shoes and gorgeous beaded clutch. Right? And then there’s me. Who almost didn’t wear this fabulous dress BECAUSE it was (boring) black. And carried a little pink, plastic, patent pre-teen purse (if a little alliteration is good, more’s better, right?).
So here’s my theory, agree or disagree: detail or analytical people tend to place great importance on the details of an outfit, such as shoes and purse, while for big picture or global people accessories are more an afterthought.
Speaking of accessories, I confess I began the evening wearing silk long johns under my dress. But when they wouldn’t stay pushed up above my knees, I slipped into the ladies room to remove them.
Uh, now what do I do? Tiny Barbie purse is no help.
So I thought to myself, why not just sling them around my neck, like a scarf, tuck the tell-tale elastic and cuffs under, and make it just blend into my dress? And I almost did it. But after standing in front of the mirror adjusting my *ahem* pants around my neckline, discretion kicked in and I folded them up discretely in my hand to walk the 15 or so feet to the coat room, and tucked stuffed them into my coat pocket.
LOL
Okay, and here’s another question for you: when your fingernails go through your pantihose, do you just take them off and throw them away, finishing the night bare-legged, or do you leave them on and pretend nobody notices?
Oh, and one final thing. Next year, I am going to go for something with a little more coverage, as I spent about half the evening wearing my hero’s corduroy sportcoat.
Related Posts:
Avoiding Jeans Gape
Once again I was out shopping for jeans only to find nothing. Nothing this time except my self-respect, that is. Apparently I have just had a (run of) bad shopping day(s) — and instead of putting on five pounds in each knee, it’s more like .5 pounds. Things started looking up when I came out of the fitting room at Express and both the ladies frowned and sent me back in to try the next smaller size. And ended up, too, when I tried on a pair of Gap Long and Lean at the thrift store on the way home and they fit. In my “normal” size.
Cute as they were, I might have considered compromising on silhouette if they hadn’t been 20 % polyester. Remind me never to buy jeans with polyester in the mix; they itch.
Anyway, concerning my list, and what I learned at Express:
- a dark wash: this was not any problem and one of the pairs I liked even had the design stitched on the pocket in a pretty combination of brownish tones.
- 9-inch rise: not to be had. 8 1/2 seemed to be the highest, 8 was standard, and there was less. But more on rise in a moment.
- tapered legs: I tried on eight or more pairs of jeans, and several of them fit, but I could not convince the lady that I really wanted to get away from the boot cut silhouette. The jeans she suggested, on someone else, would be more of a straight leg, but on me they were boot cut. And then she gave me all the “need the width at the bottom to balance, otherwise you’ll look pear-shaped”. To which I say, I DO NOT need the hem for balance, that is what I have SHOULDERS for!
In any case, she didn’t want to sell me pants as much as she wanted me to wear what she thought I should wear, as evidenced by the fact that she brought me everything except the Stella skinnies. If those had fit, I would have bought the others too, because they were buy one, get one half-price. Instead, I stopped at the thrift store and tried on another pile of pants; finding options at $6.98, my self-respect, and my financial discipline.
But, this one thing I did learn, and it appears to be true:
waistband gape is caused by the rise of the pants being too long
Who knew?
I will revise what I’m looking for to an 8-inch rise. Now, a question for you: which is worse, getting no help in the store or getting help that’s restrictive? Tell your stories here!
Related Posts:
Hands Free Umbrella
A hands free umbrella? What would that be, something that sits on your head? In a word - yes!
Before I met him, my hero’s summer hat was a desert camouflage boonie hat; and this was before Desert Storm made them popular. Now we each have a different color pattern. An inexpensive and functional hat, they really do keep the rain off both glasses and neck. Mine is solid green.
Now, in time for the recent barn party, I got my winter version - a wool felt crushable cowboy hat. In true chicken and egg style, I’m not certain which came first, though, reading Hats Decoded at StyleBites, pointing out that wide brim is the hat shape for me, or my hero trying on cowboy hats at the western store where we buy his jeans, causing me to notice that they were wool.
In any case, after deciding that I was just going to get a wool cowboy hat and wear it with a silk scarf under, I found this one which features a serendipitous bonus: EAR FLAPS! Who would have thought? They work!
Now, your assignment, if you choose to accept it: read the post at StyleBites and come back and tell me if you can identify a workable hat shape for yourself. I’m stoked! No more buying a $10 hat each winter, only to revert to cotton balls when the laughter and mocking becomes unbearable!
Related Posts:
More on Jean Pocket Placement
In a previous post on jean pocket placement, I said that
high and small pockets make whatever is below them look bigger.
To which I would now like to add:
the greater the lateral distance from the pocket to the edge of your rear, the wider you appear.
At least, that’s how it seems to me. (Pictured jeans NOT warranted to be affordable, but are used for illustration purposes.)
Does anybody have any ideas about what’s most flattering in pocket design (like the pretty designs that are on some jeans)?
Also, I am having a very difficult time jean shopping; since this time last year, I appear to have put on five pounds in each knee. Sympathy, please! Even Zafu doesn’t seem to be able to help. As usual, I have in my mind something simple and basic, which doesn’t seem like it should be so hard to find. I want:
- a dark wash. Because I’m more comfortable in it, it’s a little dressier, and if any part of me needs the benefit of a darker color to look smaller, yes, it’s my bottom half.
- a 9-inch rise. Because it just works on me. Without looking outdated or contributing to the gap in the back.
- tapered legs. By that I mean that I don’t want the hem to be as wide as the knee. And, as mentioned before, I certainly would like the knee to FIT. (Is that too much to ask?)
Once again, today, I tried on big piles of jeans, only to leave the store empty-handed. Express jeans fit, but they are so BORING. Okay, one more question: what do you think of trying to use spray bleach and a stencil to create my own design on the pocket?
Related Posts:
Prom Hair
Thankfully, my daughter had a friend from work volunteer to do her hair, although I would never have had the guts to take her up on it. DD has a very romantic style, and beautiful hair; so many prom styles, in pictures anyway, are just plain weird. When she went to friend’s house, she took these pictures with her:
This is how the back of her hair turned out:
APPLAUSE FOR ANDREA!!!
This is everything:
Except the bag. Which doesn’t need to be mentioned.
Related Posts:
The Gift of Hospitality
Cooking is not my thing. Apparently that doesn’t really matter; when those to whom I must submit deem it my responsibility to contribute food to a given event, I am expected to do it. Without complaining or disputing.
Last Friday was MOPS and it was my table’s turn to bring breakfast. Because it was what was needed most, I was asked to contribute a hot dish. I’ll spare you the details of why that is decidedly outside of my comfort zone and the grumbling - to myself - which ensued. Except the tail end of the grumbling. It went something like this:
Maybe I should just never agree again to participate in anything that requires me to contribute food.
What’s the matter with these people who think just because you don’t have to do something very often, it’s no big deal?
If I ruin this, what can I pick up really fast on the way there?
There’s going to be food in heaven and - hallelujah! - I don’t have to make it!
Oh yeah. Jesus is preparing a place for me.
- A perfect place, one where I will never feel lonely or left out.
- He’s doing all the work. When we work to prepare a place for others here, we are continuing His work.
- The Mary/Martha
connection: while I agree that Martha often gets a bad rap, I’d like to suggest that preparing for guests ahead of time and then enjoying them, like Mary was, is a better model than today’s popular “everybody in the kitchen together”.
Let the conversation begin.
- What makes you feel welcome? (Me, I’m partial to invitations. These “anybody can come” events that nobody ever knows about unless they are in the “in” crowd, what’s up with that?)
- What do you do to prepare a place for others?
- Why do we call people who open the door for you and hand you a program “ushers”?
Related Posts:
Friday Fashion Lab: Long vs Short Hair
This year the day after Thanksgiving, versus last year’s office Christmas party picture. Actually, since this picture was taken, the one with the long hair, I got a trim — and came out looking almost exactly the same! Yay!
Which do you think looks younger? How many years?
