Fashion

Who makes the rules?

/ edebock / 9 Comments

Apparently when women reach the advanced age of 40 we must lose the ability to think rationally. The internet is full of lists of rules to help us avoid making complete fools of ourselves.

A good example is the list of “10 things a woman over 40 shouldn’t wear” that’s plastered all over the net. What things, you ask?

  • black leather pants or jackets
  • jackets that are mid-thigh length
  • pleated pants
  • fluorescent colours
  • capri pants
  • low rise jeans
  • plunging V necklines
  • mini skirts
  • bikinis
  • sleeveless clothes of any kind

Says who? And what was I supposed to wear on the zip line; a frumpy housedress? Oh right, zip lining is probably on someone’s list of things a woman my age shouldn’t do!

According to a slightly different list horizontal stripes and double breasted blazers are also out. Still others will tell you that women over 40 shouldn’t wear long hair and there are even those who say that jeans are out for those of us who’ve passed our 40th birthday! I guess I’m just a rule breaker! After all, I’m wearing horizontal stripes as I write this and I practically live in jeans all winter long! The right pair of jeans can be very flattering and they can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Why, I’ll probably be buried in my blue jeans! I’m just that kind of girl.

As far as I’m concerned, as long as something is comfortable, fits well, makes you feel confident and isn’t beyond the bounds of decency, I say wear it with pride regardless of what age you are! There are 20 somethings who look ghastly in mini skirts and older women who look downright classy in low rise jeans and black leather.

A much more useful list is More magazine’s “8 warning signs women over 40 shouldn’t ignore” which includes

  • flu-like feelings including fatigue, nausea, sweating and chills
  • not feeling rested regardless of how much sleep you get
  • pain and swelling in your calf
  • a new mole
  • trouble finding the right words
  • bloating and pelvic pain
  • burning, tingling or numbness in your feet
  • a persistent cough

After all, regardless of how we dress them up, our bodies are wearing out and if we want them to continue looking good into our 60s, 70s and 80s we need to take good care of them.

p.s. Thank you to Jeannie at gracefully50 for inspiring this post. If you enjoyed it, you might want to check out her post Am I wrong?

From drab to dramatic

/ edebock / 3 Comments

It’s amazing the difference a change of colour can make. After visiting Matt and Robin last month while they were in the midst of renovating their new house then stopping at Melaina’s on the way home and seeing how a coat of paint had taken her small bathroom from drab to dramatic, I came home all fired up to do a bit of redecorating of my own.

I began by tackling the feature wall in our bedroom. Down came the 1980’s wallpaper and on went several coats of paint. Choosing the colour took awhile and involved consultations with several friends. I wanted a colour somewhere between brown and burgundy but who knew that there would be so many shades to choose from. We looked at colours with fanciful names like Avent Garde and Arabian Nights but settled on Burnt Brick. It isn’t easy to imagine what a finished project will look like based on a 2 inch colour chip but I’m delighted with the outcome.

Before

After

Did you notice that we also raised the headboard on the bed?

So, if a new colour makes that much difference, is there something here that I should change? So far, I’ve chosen not to cover my ‘silver highlights’ but what do you think?

   

First snow

/ edebock / 6 Comments

Winter’s first snow fell this morning; tiny flakes sifting down and gathering on the streets and between the grass. I’m not a fan of winter. Here in Alberta, it’s long and bone chilling cold with temperatures that drop well below -30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit). This year’s snow came late. It’s often here before Halloween and it doesn’t melt away again until sometime in April. Roads are often icy and travel can be treacherous. I almost did a full circle in an intersection this afternoon and that’s with good winter tires on!

It’s easy to dwell on the negatives but this year, as winter approached, I began thinking about the things that I like about winter. It’s not a very long list but here are a few.

Winter sunrises

I’m sure that there are beautiful sunrises at other times of the year but that’s another thing about Alberta, long hours of daylight in the summer and equally long hours of darkness in the winter. I’m never up early enough to see the sun come up in the summer but, as difficult as it is to crawl out of bed in the dark of winter, I’m often rewarded with a glorious sunrise.

Cross country skiing

Winter can be pretty depressing but when the weather allows, getting outdoors and getting active is invigorating. There’s nothing better than the swish of my skis under a crystal blue sky with snow sparkling all around me to lift my spirits.

Drama

Drama is my other favourite winter activity. This winter’s play will be The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, a story about curling, the quintessential Canadian winter sport. More than a few curling fanatics would consider selling their souls to the devil for a chance to compete in the national championship known as the Brier. Set in small town Alberta in the 1930s, W.O. Mitchell’s hilarious story tells what happens when main character, Wullie MacCrimmon, has the opportunity to do just that! Auditions were held on Wednesday evening and now I wait to find out whether or not I get the role I really want.

Boots

Last but not least, one of the best things about winter is boots. I’m not sure why but I really like wearing boots! My absolute favourites are my old well-worn brown leather ankle boots. I loved them the moment I first saw them and was thrilled when Richard gave them to me for Christmas many years ago. They’ve been reheeled and resoled and fit like a glove. Then there’s my brand new pair of tall black fashion boots. The slouched look and the strap detail around the heel give them an edgy look that I really like. Of course, when the temperature plunges neither of these pairs would keep my feet from freezing for long so I also have my trusty Cougars. With warm insulated lining and deeply treaded rubber soles, they’ll easily take me through the long snowy winter that lies ahead.

      

 

Thrift store chic

/ edebock / 4 Comments

I love shopping thrift stores. It’s not usually about looking for things I need. After all, I really don’t need more stuff filling my closets and cluttering up my life! It’s more about finding something I really like and paying almost nothing for it. That definitely appeals to my frugal nature! Thrift stores are also a great place to find cute stuff for the grandchildren.

There are two great little second hand shops in our area, the Good As New here in town and Killam Twice Nice a few miles away. Melaina and I visited both of them on Friday and found some wonderful bargains. Between us, we spent $11.10 and came home with 8 tops (four for each of us); three necklaces; a pair of earrings; a belt; a hardcover book; two Tupperware canisters; two  t-shirts, a pair of jeggings and a cute little dress for Jami-Lee; and two shirts for Drew! Amazing!

Here we are modelling a few of our finds:

 

This one's my favourite - blue and brown are my colours.

Island girl

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Following Augustine is not a fashion blog but once in awhile I have to depart from the norm and I know that at least one of my regular readers is a fashion blogger so this one’s for you, Nini.

Before Helen Ann left the island, she had to drop something off at a tiny dressmaking shop called Sea Shell Pink. One look at that cute name and the items in the window and I knew that I had to go in and look around. The first thing that caught my eye was one of the cotton skirts that are popular here. I’d already decided that I’d be interested in buying one if I found one that I liked and oh, did I like this one! When I tried it on, it fit like it had been made for me. It cost a little more than the mass produced ones that are sold in the touristy stores but the fabric and the workmanship are much better and it’s one of a kind.

 

It looks a little greyer in the photos than it really is. It’s actually more of a khaki green.

 

 

 

 

 

The flower in my hair is a plumeria. They grow on trees all over the island. The fragrant blooms last a day or two then fall to the ground. It’s quite common for a woman to pick one up and tuck it over her ear where she can enjoy it’s heavenly scent until it wilts a few hours later. There are three tiny plumeria trees alongside the driveway here and though they’re only about waist high, they have provided me with quite a few blooms.

 

 

If I really wanted to be an island girl, however, perhaps I’d have to add a couple of coconut shells to my wardrobe! I saw some of these in a shop today for only $6.95 but I think I’ll pass! They’re actually only worn by the traditional dancers.

Work for Widows

/ edebock / 2 Comments

We had a fabulous ladies retreat at the church this weekend. Our guest speaker, Jodi Faith, is in her own words “a living sign and wonder”. She has an amazing testimony and in addition to being a dynamic speaker, she’s an international recording artist. She’s also an ambassador for Work for Widows, a humanitarian organization that offers hope for a brighter future to widowed and abandoned women in Sri Lanka.

In the aftermath of the massive tsunami that devastated much of Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, Canadian, Pamela Porodo, who was semi-retired and living in that country with her husband, Jerry, was introduced to a young woman at one of the camps for displaced people. Six months pregnant, this beautiful 21-year-old had lost her mother, father, husband and three year old child. Without hope for a future, she was taking medicine from other survivors and hoarding it so that she would have enough to kill herself. Pam managed to talk her into giving up the bag of medication. In return, she visited a local bead shop and brought her all the requirements to begin making jewelry and Work for Widows was born. Within days, there were 14 women in the program and today there are over 120. Over 350 children being raised by mothers and grandmothers are in school today because of the income it provides. $60 a month, the price of two or three pieces of jewelry, is enough to support one of these women and their children for a month! WFW has recently been asked to move into Haiti and is in the process of doing so.

If there’s one thing that most women love to do, it’s shop so we were delighted to have Jodi bring a suitcase full of jewelry to the retreat to sell! We poured over the colourful array with delight and most of us went away with at least one piece. Each necklace, bracelet or pair of earrings came with a tag carrying the name, photograph, signature and brief description of the woman who made it. After pondering several pieces and trying a few on, I finally made my selection. Unlike most of the other pieces, my beautiful necklace had two tags. When I asked Jodi why, she told me about Pieces for Peace, a special project of WFW.

I literally got goose bumps as Jodi explained that Pieces for Peace brings ladies from rival factions within Sri Lanka together to work on single pieces of jewelry. Both the Canadian High Commissioner and the Swiss Ambassador have recognized the Pieces for Peace program as a truly successful peace-building mission. One half of my necklace was made by Kanthi from Matara in southern Sri Lanka and the other by Meeramohaideen in Ampara in the north. By creating jewelry together and writing to each other on a weekly basis, these women, one Tamil and one Singalese, have learned that though civil war raged between their peoples for more than 25 years, they can work together in harmony. Kanthi uses the proceeds of her jewelry to care for her parents while Meeramohaideen, who was abandoned by her husband when she was three months pregnant, uses hers to support herself and her 13 year old daughter.

At $40, mine was one of the most expensive items on the table but it cost far less than similar items that I’ve seen shown in fashion magazines and it was a small price to pay to contribute toward the well-being of two women! I firmly believe that empowering women in a society that traditionally discriminates against them helps not only the individuals involved but also their families and their communities.

I love the tiny hand that dangles from the clasp of my necklace. It reminds me that this unique piece of jewelry was hand made. Not only will the necklace remind me of a great weekend spent with my daughter, my sister and the women of my church but each time I put it on, I’ll also remember the hands that made it and pray for Kanthi and Meeramohaideen.


Lovin’ my toe socks!

/ edebock / 2 Comments

In keeping with my desire to try all things Japanese, it was essential that I buy a pair of toe socks. These are very popular here and I’d been assured by my kids, who were introduced to them when Matt and Robin lived in Japan, that they are very comfortable. I recently found a cute pair in the 100 yen department of one of our local stores and decided that that was a good opportunity to give them a try. If I didn’t like them, I’d only be out a dollar. After wearing them for the past several hours, I can only say that I’ll be shopping for more! They are indeed comfortable as well as warm which will be especially nice as the days get cooler.

I assume that the style is an adaptation of the traditional tabi, ankle socks with a separation between the big toe and the other toes that are worn with the thonged footwear that both men and women wear with kimono and other traditional clothing.

In addition to both types of split toe socks, we often see jika-tabi which are heavy duty rubber soled shoes with a separation between the big toe and the other toes. These are most commonly navy blue and are usually worn by workmen but Matthew was able to buy a colourful designer pair on his recent trip to Japan.