Fashion Friday!

Clothe me in peace, hope, and inner strength

/ edebock / 29 Comments

This will not be a fashion post in the traditional sense. I won’t be showing you an outfit today or giving any style advice. I’ve held off on writing an update about my health since undergoing the TheraSphere treatment on my liver on March 11 because I needed time to wrestle with what’s been happening. Time to figure out how to “wear” the latest news.

The treatment itself went very well. I was in and out of the hospital in approximately eight hours and walked away feeling pretty good. A CT scan following the treatment showed that the vast majority of the radioactive microspheres that were injected during the treatment had been deposited on target at the site of the largest tumour on my liver while a minimal amount had reached a second smaller tumour and surrounding tissue. This was exactly what was hoped for. 

Had that been all that the scan showed, I would have weathered the post treatment fatigue and mild nausea with ease, but unfortunately, it also showed a nodule elsewhere in my abdomen that has grown significantly since a previous scan five months ago. That raises concerns that the cancer has spread. Knowing the importance of being proactive and advocating for myself, I contacted my specialist’s office as soon as I read the scan report and was able to have a phone consult with her earlier this week. She is going to refer my case to the medical oncology team asking them to review my file and make recommendations. 

So how do I deal with all of this? 

I feel a bit like I did at the beginning of this journey over 10 years ago. Once again, I’m facing a huge unknown. At that time, I prayed for strength to walk this pathway with grace and I continue to ask for that. In my morning prayer time this week, I’ve been meditating on a snippet of scripture from 2 Peter 2:19. “… a man is slave to whatever has mastered him.” Whatever happens, I do not want to become a slave to fear! 

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You may remember that my one word for 2024 is hope. This beautiful graphic, which I found on Rare Disease Day, perfectly combines my word with the zebra ribbon representing rare diseases and more specifically, neuroendocrine cancer (NETS) which, though no longer considered rare, is definitely not well-known. Though the pathway may become rough, I am not giving up hope!  

Clothe me in peace, hope, and inner strength.

Let that be my style! 

Please help me decide

/ edebock / 22 Comments

Logo by SamWhen I wrote last week’s post, I had almost finished deciding what to do with the 14 items from my everyday closet that hadn’t been worn since I did my seasonal closet switch at the end of September. I’d returned several to my closet and started wearing them, started a donate pile, and set aside a couple of pieces to be upcycled. That left me with just two tops that I was undecided about. Once I realized that I had something very similar to one of them in the closet, that it fit me better, and that I actually preferred it, adding that one to the donate pile was a no brainer. That left me with just one last piece to deal with and I thought it might be fun to ask you to help me decide.

Keep or donate, that is the question!

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This is the Timeless Blouse from cabi’s Fall 2020 collection. There are several things that I really like about it. The midnight blue colour is versatile and flattering to my complexion. I like the neckline, the fit is perfect and I love the silky fabric.

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It’s only the puffy, pleated sleeves that are a bit outside my comfort zone and have made me somewhat reluctant to wear this blouse. They remind me of pictures of medieval dresses.

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So, what is the verdict? Do you think I should keep this blouse or add it to the donate pile?

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The closet cull

/ edebock / 3 Comments

Logo by SamThis is a follow-up to last Friday’s post in which I lamented the fact that I was feeling uninspired by my winter wardrobe and decided to do something about that by dealing with items in my closet that hadn’t been worn all season. 

First of all, I should explain that because the closet in our master bedroom is not large, I have clothing stored in more than once place. My half of the bedroom closet is what I would call my everyday closet. That’s where I pull clothes from most mornings when I get dressed. What was actually meant to be a coat closet at our front entrance, an entrance that we rarely use, is where I hang dresses, skirts, dress pants, and a couple of dressy tops that I would only wear for special occasions. The clothes in that closet stay there year round. It was the everyday closet that I had in mind when I decided to do this midseason cull, but now that I’ve started, I think I’ll push on and delve into the other one as well. Today’s post will deal only with the everyday closet though. 

My first step was to pull out the 14 items that had not been worn since I did my seasonal closet switch at the end of September. Fourteen items that had simply been taking up space. Two were pieces that probably should have gone into storage when I put my spring/summer clothes away, so since I’m pretty sure that I’ll wear them both again when the weather warms up, I moved them into storage. I hung the remaining 12 items in the empty guest room closet where I could look at them more easily and decide what to do with them. I knew right away that I wouldn’t wear 3 of them again, so those were set aside to be donated. After careful consideration, 5 were returned to my everyday closet and I’ve already worn 4 of those in the past week! That left 4 pieces. After trying them on, 2 have been set aside for some simple upcycling. Perhaps I’ll share those projects with you in a later post. That leaves me with just 2 pieces that I’m still undecided about. 

While I continue to ponder those two pieces, let me share three of the items that I decided to keep and how I styled them this week. 

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This cozy grey cardigan that had been hanging near the back of my closet all winter felt just right on a cold morning. I wore it over a column of navy made up of a basic t-shirt from Uniqlo and a pair of Old Navy jeans. I tucked the t-shirt in and added a belt. That bit of belt showing under an open cardigan or jacket creates the illusion of a more feminine waist for someone with a boyish figure like mine. Finally, I added a pop of colour with my red ankle boots. I wore this outfit while providing childcare at our church during a young Mom’s Bible study and then for a casual lunch date with hubby.

The black t-shirt, also from Uniqlo, and the animal print shirt are two of the other items that I hadn’t worn all winter. I don’t usually wear black close to my face because it makes me look washed out, but it can work well as a base layer under a colour that complements my complexion. For church on Sunday, I wore the t-shirt and my dark brown button front cords with a dressier jacket. Afterward, for a relaxing afternoon at home, I changed out of the jacket and into the shirt which has been in my wardrobe for many years. Later, when hubby suggested that we go out for dinner, I thought about putting the jacket back on, but decided not to. 

Now… back to deciding what to do with those last two items! 

Farewell to a fashion icon

/ edebock / 5 Comments

I usually only post about fashion on Fridays, but I didn’t want to wait a whole week to acknowledge yesterday’s passing of one of fashion’s most colourful personalities. 

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American fashion icon, Iris Apfel, famous for her eclectic style and her oversized glasses, was 102 years old! Born on August 29, 1921, Apfel was renowned for her irreverent, eye catching outfits mixing high end fashion with flea market finds and oversized costume jewelry and always, those big, round, black-rimmed glasses! 

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Apfel was an interior designer and an expert on textiles and antique fabrics. She and her husband, Carl, who passed away in 2015 at age 100, owned the textile manufacturing company, Old World Weavers, and specialized in restoration. Their work included projects at the White House under six different American presidents. 

In 2005, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City hosted an exhibition about Apfel called Rara Avis, Latin for “rare bird”, and that she most certainly was! The museum described her this way, “An American original in the truest sense, Iris Apfel is one of the most vivacious personalities in the worlds of fashion, textiles, and interior design, and over the past 40 years, she has cultivated a personal style that is both witty and exuberantly idiosyncratic.”

Apfel never stopped working. She modelled for Vogue in 2018, the same year Mattel made a silver-haired Barbie in her name. The following year, at age 97, she landed a modelling contract with IMG Models. “I’m a total workaholic, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a cover girl in my nineties,” she told The Times of London, but cover girl she was several times over. At age 99, she curated a line of home products for Lowe’s and partnered with Zenni Optical to offer frames in her favourite eyewear shapes and styles. She also teamed up with Etsy to offer “Iris Apfel’s Fashion Favorites” on the online marketplace.

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Here are just a few of the words of wisdom that Iris Apfel offered about fashion and style…

“Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years. There’s no how-to road map to style. It’s about self expression and, above all, attitude.”

“Everybody should find her own way. I’m a great one for individuality. I don’t like trends. If you get to learn who you are and what you look like and what you can handle, you’ll know what to do.”

“People should try to personalize their own outfits. It gives them a chance to be a bit creative and then they don’t look like everyone else. I think the biggest fashion faux pas these days is looking into the mirror and seeing somebody else. It doesn’t work. You’ve got to know who you are.”

“I say dress to please yourself. Listen to your inner muse and take a chance. Wear something that says: “Here I am!” today.”

“I’m not pretty, and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter. I have something much better. I have style.” 

Yes, Iris, you most certainly did! 

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Feeling uninspired

/ edebock / 7 Comments

Logo by SamHere on the Canadian prairie, I’ve been wearing my winter clothes for the past five months and as I look out the window at the big dump of snow that fell earlier this week, I know that I’ll probably be wearing them for quite a lot longer. Perhaps it’s the fact that the days are getting longer and we’re all beginning to yearn for spring, but at this time of year I become bored with my winter wardrobe. Staring into my closet each morning and trying to decide what to wear, I find myself feeling very uninspired.

So what am I going to do about that? I tried picking up a couple of new-to-me pieces at one of our local thrift stores in an attempt to add a bit of variety to my late winter wardrobe, but that didn’t do the job. One is a basic t-shirt that will probably show up on the blog at some point in the future. It fits into my wardrobe well and can be worn year round, but I wouldn’t exactly call it inspiring. I had thought about showing you the other item today, but when I wore it earlier this week, I still felt blah.

So, here’s what else I’m going to do. I’m going to take a deep dive into my closet with two goals in mind. First, I’m going to pull out anything that hasn’t been worn this season. That’s easy to do because at the beginning of each new season, I turn all the hangers backwards. Once I wear an item, I turn the hanger around. Anything that’s on a hanger that is still backward hasn’t been worn since I switched over to my winter wardrobe at the end of September. I’m going to take a close look at each of those items and ask myself why it is that I haven’t been wearing it. Then I’m going to either wear it or set it aside to be donated.

Once I’ve completed that midseason cull, I’m going to spend some time trying to figure out new ways to wear what’s left in my closet. It’s so easy to reach for the same old, same old over and over again, but that just leads to boredom. Hopefully I’ll come up with some new outfit combinations that help me feel a bit more inspired about getting dressed and if I’m successful, I’ll share some of those with you on the blog.

In my search for inspiration, I’ve also been checking out Merrick’s Art, especially her 4 Ways to Wear It blog posts and her videos on Instagram. You might want to check her out too.

Embracing the blues

/ edebock / 12 Comments

Logo by SamNo, I’m not talking about a music genre or even that melancholy feeling that sometimes overtakes us. In fact, I can’t help wondering why a beautiful, soothing colour like blue is associated with sadness, but here I go waxing on about words again instead of the topic of today’s post which is the many shades of blue that are said to be on trend for spring and summer 2024.

As a child, I wore a lot of blue. Whenever my mother, my aunt, or my grandmother bought clothing for my sister and I, they gave us the same thing, but hers was always pink and mine was blue. That was okay with me. I preferred blue and I still gravitate toward it today. The fact that there’s still a lot of blue in my wardrobe definitely bodes well for the coming season.

An icy powder blue was one of the colours that dominated this season’s runways. It was shown in everything from sweaters and coats to lighter gauzier garments as well as accessories. If you’re looking to add a pop of colour to your wardrobe this spring, pastel blue would be an easy, versatile choice that isn’t too bold or overbearing.

In between working on this post, I was scrolling Facebook when an ad for this handbag popped up, a perfect example of this season’s most popular blue.  

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While pale blue was the most popular, many other shades of blue were also evident on the spring/summer runways. Chambray blue is a soft grey blue that has the look of well-worn or light wash denim and is great for a casual look.

Bright, clear cobalt blue is a bolder look, but because it’s neither warm nor cool, it’s a universal colour that looks good on everyone and works well with almost every other colour.

Of course, once you look at one ad on Facebook, others begin to pop up, so here’s a lovely tunic in cobalt. Just so you know, I’m not an ambassador for Cleo, nor do I receive any compensation if you purchase from them, but they are one of my favourite Canadian fashion retailers.

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Midnight blue or “almost navy” is another popular choice for this season. Darker than the traditional navy, midnight blue is generally considered the darkest shade of blue and can almost be mistaken for black. Projecting sophistication and elegance, midnight blue, like black, conveys formality. It would be a great choice for those of us with warm skin tones who don’t look good in black.

Blue doesn’t always represent sadness. The colour of the ocean and the sky, it often symbolizes serenity and tranquility and is thought to have a calming effect. Perhaps that’s why it’s commonly used for hospital gowns. I’ll be wearing one of those on March 11 when I finally undergo my radioembolization treatment, so hopefully it helps give me a feeling of peace!

The top three

/ edebock / 2 Comments

LogoOne of the things that I enjoy about blogging with WordPress is the stats that they show me. While I can’t actually see who you are, at any given time I can see how many people have visited the blog on a particular day, week, month, or year as well as how many posts they’ve read and where the readers are from. It’s always fun to see different countries around the world light up on the little map on the stats page!

But what does this have to do with fashion, you ask! Out of curiosity and also to help me determine what most appeals to my readers, I recently checked to see which of my fashion posts have been the most popular. Since quite a few readers have joined us recently, I thought today I’d share the top three again. If you’re interested in looking back and reading any of these posts, simply click on the titles.

#1  How to shop like a celebrity

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Published on August 2, 2019, this post about celebrities who shop thrift stores has been read a whopping 14 530 times! Of course, that probably has more to do with search engines picking up famous names like Helen Mirren and Julia Roberts than it does with my writing skills or my popularity as a blogger!

#2  A model who embraced her age

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Cindy Joseph on the front cover of Viv magazine – July 2007

This post, now read 9306 times, was written on July 27, 2018 to share the sad news of the untimely death of Cindy Joseph, model and founder of BOOM! by Cindy Joseph, a pro-age skin and cosmetics line. The company, now BOOM! Beauty, continues to honour Cindy’s legacy with their pro-age, as opposed to anti-age, philosophy. Amongst their products are the popular and easy to use multitasking “Boomsticks” that act as lipstick, blush, and eyeshadow all in one.

#3  50 characteristics of an elegant woman

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At 1809 reads, this post, published on September 11, 2020, is a distant third, but it seems to be gaining in popularity as it has been showing up in my stats almost daily lately. In fact, it was read over 200 times in the month of January alone. That makes me wonder if there’s a growing interest in elegance among today’s women. That’s food for thought and perhaps a topic for a future post!

On an entirely different note, for those who are interested, I’m still waiting for a date for the treatment that I’m to have to destroy the tumour on my liver. I would say waiting patiently, but that would be a lie and #51 on my list of characteristics of an elegant woman should probably be “Is a woman of integrity who always tells the truth!” 

One top, several looks

/ edebock / 11 Comments

Logo by SamI didn’t do a post about what I packed for our recent trip to Mexico, but regardless of where you’re going or for how long, the key to packing successfully is to choose pieces that coordinate well with one another so that they can be combined in different ways. One easy way to do that is to choose a limited colour palette. For our recent trip, I chose mainly blues and neutrals.

Today, I’m going to show you several ways that I wore one top with other pieces from my suitcase. The photos were taken in our hotel room as I didn’t want to climb up and down Mount Dunamar (our nickname for the 60 stairs from ground level to our fourth storey room) in between outfits.

First, let’s look at the Calvin Klein top that I bought second-hand at one of our local thrift shops in the summer of 2022. Simple and sleeveless with a gathered neckline, it can easily be dressed up or down. The timeless animal print pattern in black, white, and beige coordinates well with other neutrals.

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For a casual daytime look, I wore the top with a pair of white shorts.

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To go for dinner, I wore it over a little black sheath dress that I’ve probably had for 30 years or more. It originally came with a separate chiffon overlay, but all I remember about that piece is that it was predominantly red. That’s how long it’s been gone from my closet! The little black dress is perfect for travel because it doesn’t wrinkle, hardly takes up any space in a suitcase, and while I probably wouldn’t wear it alone, it can be worn with so many other things. 

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The wide-legged pants in the next few photos didn’t actually go to Mexico in my suitcase, but they did come home with me. I fell in love with them in the resort gift shop. When I discovered that they were made in Mexico and that they were on sale for more than 75% off their original price, I knew they were meant to be mine. Since a general rule of thumb is that a fuller shape on the bottom looks best with a more fitted top, they paired well with the animal print top, but my dilemma was whether or not to to tuck it in. I rarely tuck my tops in because I think that that emphasizes the fact that I don’t have a very feminine waistline, but I liked the interesting waistband and wanted to show it off. 

I decided to step outside my comfort zone and wear the outfit to dinner with the top tucked in. Which look do you like better? 

The pants are very lightweight, totally unsuitable for winter in Alberta, so they’re now in storage with the rest of my warm weather clothes, but I’m looking forward to wearing them again when summer returns. The top is one of those pieces that stays in my closet year round though because it can easily be worn under a cardigan or jacket. 

Resort fashion

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Logo by SamA resort is a great place for people watching and with more than 700 rooms, Riu Dunamar certainly provided us with lots of people to watch! I was, of course, particularly interested in seeing what everyone was wearing. The introvert in me has never been bold enough to approach a stranger and ask her if I could photograph her for the blog, but I did spend awhile one afternoon surreptitiously taking pictures so that I could share some resort wear with you today.

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Lightweight swimsuit cover-ups that went from beach or poolside to buffet were by far the most popular item for women and it seemed that no two were exactly alike.

Some were colourful and flowy…

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while others were black…

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Some were long and others were short…

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Crochet styles were very popular…

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This was one of my favourites…

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I also loved a versatile blue and white striped shirt style cover-up that one woman wore. Though I saw her several times, I didn’t get a photo, but her cover-up looked very similar to this one. Not only could it be worn open or buttoned up over a swimsuit, but she could also have worn it over shorts, capris or leggings or even layered over a dress on a cool evening.

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Overall, the resort was pretty casual as far as dress was concerned. Swimsuits were not allowed in the main buffet restaurant without a cover-up and while the dress code for the other restaurants states that men must wear long pants, collared shirts, and shoes, not sandals, that doesn’t seem to be very strictly enforced. We definitely saw men in dressy shorts and sandals. Some women dressed similarly while others wore dresses. Next week, I’ll show you a little bit of what I wore.

Is thrifting ethical or not?

/ edebock / 12 Comments

Logo by SamIf you’ve been following my blog for long, you know that many of my clothes come from second-hand stores, not because I can’t afford to buy new, but because I love thrifting and because one of my fashion goals is to be a more ethical shopper. The benefits of second-hand fashion are undeniable. Instead of going to the landfill, clothing that is no longer wanted finds new life in someone else’s closet. Textiles are reused and the harmful environmental impacts that result from producing new garments are reduced. Sadly, however, thrifting is not without ethical concerns.

One of the most common criticisms of thrift store shopping is related to supply and demand. If people like me, who can afford to buy our clothes new, instead choose to shop second-hand, will there be enough for those those in need? While this fear of “stealing from the poor” may be a good-hearted concern, it doesn’t accurately portray the situation. In reality, because we are such an affluent society, most second-hand stores receive far more in donations than they can possibly sell. The sad reality of thrifting is that while some of the clothes that go unsold are donated to women’s shelters and other charitable organizations, a large percentage end up in landfills or are shipped to third world countries.

While there is little danger of second-hand stores not having enough stock to meet the needs of low-income customers, thrifting as a fashion choice among the more well-to-do has led to a different problem. The “gentrification” of thrift stores, as this trend has become known, has led to some second-hand stores raising their prices making it more difficult for those who are in need to access clothing that they can afford. I do the vast majority of my thrift store shopping at two small shops in my local area where prices have been kept very low, but I have definitely noticed an increase in prices in the larger city stores that I visit occasionally. For example, three of the thrifted items that I bought in the past year were purchased in city second-hand stores for between $7.00 and $14.99. They would have cost $2.50 each at one of the shops in our small rural community.

The most valid criticism of thrift store shopping, however, is not directed at those of us who purchase clothing to add to or fill gaps in our own wardrobes. It zeroes in on those who frequently buy far more than they can reasonably use so that they can feature their “hauls” on TikTok and YouTube and on those entrepreneurial thrifters who buy quality items at thrift store prices and then resell them for more on popular apps like thredUp. For some, thrifting has become a lucrative business, but how ethical is it to buy donated items at not for profit shops like Goodwill and use them to turn a profit?

So, the question remains: Is thrifting truly an ethical way to shop or not? Personally, I think it is, especially if you live in an area where there is a high volume of second-hand clothing available. Thrifting is the recycling of the fashion world, but being an ethical thrifter requires mindfulness and discipline. It requires shopping with your practical needs in mind and not falling into the trap of overconsumption simply because the prices are so low. As a conscious shopper, you might also ask how you can strengthen or support the industry. This might look like volunteering your time and/or donating your own gently worn clothes to continue the cycle.