Fashion Friday!

Three years of Fashion Friday!

/ edebock / 2 Comments

LogoOn March 25, 2016 I introduced a new weekly feature to the blog. From the beginning, Fashion Friday posts have been more than simply “look what I’m wearing today” pieces. Over the past three years, I’ve written about a wide variety of topics related to how we dress, how we present ourselves, and how we feel about ourselves.

One of the reasons that I decided to add a weekly feature to the blog was to ensure that I posted regularly especially during those periods of time when we weren’t doing anything that seemed particularly blog worthy. I’d been following several fashion blogs for quite some time and had learned a lot about my own personal style, so the topic was one that appealed to me. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to keep it up, but I haven’t run out of ideas yet, so Fashion Friday will continue for the foreseeable future!

There have been a number of unexpected rewards in writing these weekly posts. I’ve challenged myself, stepping out of my fashion comfort zone and trying new looks. I’ve become more confident about my own appearance and more comfortable in my own skin. Best of all, though, I’ve connected with interesting women around the world.

My three most popular Fashion Friday posts have had nothing to do with what I wear. Two of them featured a number of the fashion bloggers that I follow and the third one, posted last July, dealt with the untimely death of fashion model, Cindy Joseph. Hardly a day goes by without someone finding my blog by searching “what kind of cancer did Cindy Joseph die from” or something similar.

Here are photos of a few of the outfits that I’ve worn on the blog over the past three years. I call my style classy casual.

As always, I encourage you to leave a comment below. What would you like to see on the blog in the future? Do you have any fashion questions or topics that you’d like to see me address on upcoming Fridays?

Capris by any other name

/ edebock / 5 Comments

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When I was a child in the 1950s and early 60s, they were called pedal pushers. I had no idea at the time that the name was derived from the style of pants worn by cyclists which was, of course, quite different from the padded spandex shorts worn by serious cyclists today.

I also remember them being called clam diggers or deck pants, both names that made perfect sense to this coastal girl. After all, who would want to swab a deck or dig clams with pant legs flopping around your ankles and getting wet and dirty?

It wasn’t until I was a little older that I learned to refer to them as capris. Apparently that name also originated in the 1950s though. It was taken from the Italian island of Capri where the pants rose to popularity in the late 1950s and early ’60s. The island was emerging as a popular European holiday destination at that time and American actress, Grace Kelly, was amongst the first to wear the new style there.

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Capris, by one name or another, have been an enduring trend ever since, but the style has evolved over time. Though some use the term as a catch-all for any pant that is longer than shorts, but not full length, the dictionary defines them this way:

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Though I’ve finally started wearing crop pants and I do occasionally wear shorts, capris are easily my favourite summer pants. A tapered pair that ends just above the widest part of the calf is much more flattering than a wider, baggy pair or one that ends at the widest point. Capris are very versatile. They can be worn with heels or flats and dressed up or down depending on what you wear them with.

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Here I’m wearing a favourite denim pair that are a couple of years old. I paired them with a t-shirt from Ricki’s that has also been part of my summer wardrobe for the past few years worn over a white camisole. Though it doesn’t show up well in the photos, a bit of bling on the t-shirt takes it from boring to attractive. I’m also wearing my super comfortable flats from Payless ShoeSource with their memory foam inner soles. This simple, casual look was perfect for wearing to a fun / sports day at my grandson’s elementary school.

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Blessings in the ordinary and mundane

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What are some of the most ordinary, mundane tasks that you perform on a regular basis? Have you ever thought about the fact that there are blessings hidden in every one of them?

I hadn’t either until I was doing my Bible study homework yesterday. Our ladies group has recently started doing Priscilla Shirer’s study, Gideon: Your Weakness, God’s Strength. In yesterday’s lesson, she asked us to list five ordinary tasks that we perform every day. That was the easy part. Later in the lesson she had us look back at the list and beside each task, write down what it indicates about God’s faithfulness and kindness to us.

Referring to the fact that Gideon had wheat to thresh despite the hardships and oppression that he and his people were facing (Judges 6:1-11), she wrote:

“Gideon’s story reveals that even your most mundane duty has a twinkle in the favour of God, for if He removed His blessings completely from you – taking away your home, your family, your work, your possessions – the need for many of your daily tasks would disappear. Don’t despise the very things that signify your seat under the umbrella of God’s goodness each day.”

What an eye opener this simple exercise was for me! One of the tasks that I wrote down was brushing my teeth. Is there anything more ordinary or mundane than that? What could possibly be the hidden blessing? Then I thought about the fact that I have access to unlimited clean, healthy water. I am not in danger of contracting a water borne disease every time I brush my teeth! Globally, approximately twice the population of the United States, or some 6.63 million people, do not have access to clean, safe water! 1.6 million people die every year from diarrheal diseases, including cholera, due to their lack of safe water and basic sanitation. Many more are plagued by tropical diseases and intestinal parasites.

Getting dressed is another routine task that we all engage in, so what’s the hidden blessing? I have a closet full of clothes to choose from and the financial resources to buy more if I ‘need’ them, while there are many who have nothing but the rags on their back. I can even blog about my wardrobe! (Come back tomorrow for the second instalment of my new Fashion Friday! feature.)

Cleaning the bathrooms is one of my least favourite household tasks, but when I consider that approximately 1/3 of the world’s population doesn’t even have a toilet to clean, I know how blessed I am! Astonishingly, more people worldwide have a cell phone than a toilet! Almost one billion people still defecate in the open, a practice that leads to the spread of disease and the contamination of drinking water sources. I don’t mind using an outhouse when I’m camping, but after living and travelling in parts of the world where I rejoiced when I found a western toilet to use instead of a “squatty potty”, I’m pretty thankful to be blessed with toilets to clean!

I could go on and on, but you get the idea. There are hidden blessings in all our humdrum, routine tasks if only we have the eyes to see them!

What are some of your least favourite tasks? What are the blessings hidden in them?

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