Stripes for spring

/ edebock / 4 Comments

First of all, a very big thank you for all your kind responses to last Friday’s post on here, on Facebook, and on Pam Lutrell’s blog, Over 50 Feeling 40. I especially appreciate those who promised to pray for me! The medical oncology team discussed my case earlier this week and I now have an appointment on April 17 with a doctor that I haven’t met before to discuss their recommendations and make decisions about further treatment. I will keep you posted.

And now, on to fashion!

LogoStripes are a forever classic that never really go out of style, but they’re everywhere this season. Horizontal, vertical, pin stripe; on shirts, dresses, sweaters, pants, and even accessories, stripes are the print of the season. Bold, high-visibility stripes, often in eye-catching colours, are especially on trend.

IMG_6653 2

Ads for this long-sleeve crew-neck sweater from Reitmans kept popping up on my Facebook feed, but I seldom shop for clothes online. I prefer to see things in person, feel the fabric, and try things on. I also like to support brick and mortar stores that provide employment and I detest the fact that more than 25% of all returns end up in the garbage! The ads caught my attention though and I was tempted, but I waited until we went into the city for my recent treatment and shopped in person instead. I’m glad I did as the sweater fits a bit large and I probably would have ordered the wrong size.

(Please ignore my hair in the photos! I’m way overdue for a cut, but my hairdresser has been sick.)

IMG_6656

I love the relaxed fit, the length, and the soft, cozy knit. While the sweater is also available in a true white, Reitmans calls the light oatmeal colour of mine Heather Latte, an off-white that works well with my complexion. Here, I’m wearing the sweater with jeans, but it would pair well with leggings and I’ve also worn it with black pants for a dressier look.

I also came home with a second striped top, but I’ll save that one for another post, maybe next week.

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! 

428687383_10168379011675307_73446089108254976_n

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!

IMG_6619

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.

IMG_6620

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.

Images: Etsy

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

IMG_6624 2

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. 

IMG_6590

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. 

1339370298

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! 

iris-apfel-albert-maysles-fanfair

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.

464965-500w

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! 

Screenshot 2024-03-02 at 1.24.14 PM

 

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.

Book of the month – February 2024

/ edebock / Leave a comment

Many of the books that I’ve read over the past year or so have been historical novels set in the days leading up to and during World War II. Many, like the two that I featured last month, are based on the experiences of actual people who lived through those dark days. I’ve read stories of women working behind the scenes in the French resistance and children being sent overseas to temporary homes in North America where they would be safe from the bombings in London. Others have been stories of life and death in the concentration camps. Still others have told of people who risked their lives hiding Jews from the Nazis or smuggling food and medicine into the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw. My librarian friend tells me that these novels of wartime heroism are a very popular genre at the moment. I find that somewhat surprising during this time of heightened antisemitism when some might even think that the Holocaust didn’t go far enough in ridding the world of its Jewish population. But perhaps it’s also a hopeful sign. It was my librarian friend who suggested that I read this month’s selection.

The Last Train to London

Meg Waite Clayton

43386062Geertruida (Truus) Wijsmuller, a childless member of the Dutch resistance, risks her life smuggling Jewish children out of Nazi Germany to the nations that will take them. It is a mission that becomes even more dangerous after Hitler’s annexation of Austria when, across Europe, countries begin to close their borders to the growing number of refugees desperate to escape. After Britain passes a measure to take in at-risk child refugees from the German Reich, Tante Truus, as she is known by the children, dares to approach Adolf Eichmann, the man who would later help devise the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” and is granted permission to escort a trainload of 600 children (not 599 or 601, but exactly 600) out of the country. In a race against time, 600 children between the ages of 4 and 17 are registered, photographed, checked by medical doctors and put on board the train to begin a perilous journey to an uncertain future abroad. Thus begins the famous Kindertransport system that went on to transport thousands of children out of various parts of Europe during the Nazi occupation of the region in the late 1930s, immediately prior to the official start of World War II.

The Last Train to London is also the story of three fictional children, Stephan Neuman, the teenage son of a wealthy and influential Jewish family who are stripped of everything when the Germans invade Austria, his younger brother, Walter, and Stephan’s best friend, Žofie-Helene, a brilliant Christian girl whose mother edits a progressive, anti-Nazi newspaper.

Although this book really came together at the end and was well worth reading, I do admit to finding it somewhat difficult to follow, especially in the first half, because of the short, choppy chapters that bounce from one character to another.

1280px-WijsmullerMeijer1965

Geertruida Wijsmuller in 1965

You aren’t just “Someone”

/ edebock / 2 Comments

For the past while, almost everyone who has left a comment on my blog has been identified as either “Someone” or “Anonymous”. This bothered me because each and every one of you is important to me. I want to know who you are and I want to be able to address you by name when I reply.

It took me longer than it should have to figure out what the problem was, but I think (I hope) that it’s now been resolved. It appears that something in my settings had been inadvertently changed and commenters were no longer being asked to identify themselves by name and email address. Without that information, WordPress simply calls you “Someone” or “Anonymous”.

There are several valid reasons for asking commenters to identify themselves and leave their email addresses. The biggest concern is that requiring less information makes it extremely easy for spam bots to leave comments and almost impossible to filter them out. This can become a nightmare for a blogger.

I know that some of you might be hesitant about leaving your email addresses and given the number of cyber security issues that one hears about these days, I can hardly blame you. I want to assure you, however, that your email address will not be shared with anyone other than myself and that you will not receive any unsolicited emails. If you’re uncomfortable giving your full name, please feel free to use your first name only or even a nickname if you prefer.

1520093306107

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.  

7095c6222466125_400_2 

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.

8229cr501450396_400_1

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

Helen Mirren thrifting

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

Cindy Joseph

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

audrey-hepburn-quotes1

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!”