Style adjectives

What I wore for a Christmas event

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I really didn’t want to buy anything new for the few Christmas events that we’d be attending this season, but I did take a look at what was in the stores. It quickly became obvious that I didn’t need to buy anything. Everything I saw was either black, red, or sparkly and I already had similar items in my closet from Christmases past. Here’s what I wore for a banquet that we attended last Sunday evening.

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I started with a pair of wide-legged black pants that have been in my wardrobe since the last time wide legs were in style! A sleeveless top, also several years old, added a bit of sparkle and a hint of red. After trying on several possible toppers, I settled on a cozy sweater jacket that I purchased at one of our local thrift stores a few winters ago. I tend to feel chilly much of the time, but I knew that even if the venue was a bit cool, I’d be warm enough dressed this way.

I accessorized the outfit with a pair of sparkly earrings and a necklace that also has a bit of sparkle. The little vintage evening bag is big enough to hold everything I need for an evening out and is one of my favourite second-hand finds. While I could have taken a pair of dressy shoes to change into, I decided that I’d just wear my red ankle boots and leave them on.

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Although a few women were dressed more formally or fancier than I was, others were dressed more casually. Neither overdressed nor underdressed, I felt very much at ease in my ‘middle of the road’ outfit.  It fit my five style adjectives… classy, comfortable, casual, confident, and authentic.

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What’s your style uniform?

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Logo by SamAnyone who has ever had to wear a prescribed uniform for school, work, a sport, or as a member of an organization knows that it has its benefits. Wearing a uniform is a great equalizer and it eliminates questions about whether or not what you’re wearing is appropriate for the setting or the activity. A uniform can also be a form of identity shorthand. We know that a person is a police officer because of the uniform that he or she is wearing.

But what is a style uniform and how does it benefit you? Essentially, it’s a combination of clothing that you know you can always rely on and feel comfortable wearing. It’s an outfit formula that you wear consistently, that you look and feel good in, that represents who you are, and that is practical for your lifestyle. It doesn’t have to look the same every day, although it can if you want it to. Having a style uniform takes the stress out of dressing and frees up your brain to focus on other things.

It was the great philosopher, Socrates, who gave us the key to discovering our personal style uniform when he said, “Know thyself!” Considering your habits, the level of comfort you prefer, and the types of activities you participate in will help you define your uniform. This is also where your personal style adjectives come into play. Choosing three to five adjectives to describe your personal style can be very helpful in building a style uniform that says what you want to say about yourself. For example, I want my outfit to say that I’m classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and authentic.

My style uniform consists of pants (usually jeans or cords), a pullover top, a third piece (cardigan, blazer, denim shirt, etc), earrings, and depending on the time of year and whether there is snow on the ground or not, sneakers or boots. Of course, there are occasions when I dress differently, but this is what you’d find me wearing most days.

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Here’s what I’m wearing today. None of these pieces is new and all have appeared on the blog before. This combination works for my lifestyle. The sleeveless top made it easy to have blood taken at the hospital lab this morning and with the cardigan over top, it gave my on-screen presence a semi-professional look for my online tutoring session this afternoon. In my opinion, it looks classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and authentic and when it comes to style, it’s truly our own opinion that counts!

So, what’s your style uniform? Do you have one?

Wear what makes you comfortable

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First of all, a big thank you to everyone who responded to last Friday’s post, both here on the blog and on Facebook! Clearly, the consensus is that the top with the unusual neckline is not weird.

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I especially appreciated those readers who reminded me that what matters most is whether or not I’m comfortable wearing it. That leads me to today’s topic. I recently read another one of those stupid articles about what older women should or should not wear. Believe it or not, this one actually said that “a woman over 40 should never be caught in a jean jacket.” Really? What absolute balderdash! A jean jacket is a classic fashion staple that never goes out of style. If you’re comfortable wearing one at 101, why in the world wouldn’t you?

Created in the United States in about 1880 by Levi Strauss, it was originally designed as a durable, heavy-duty jacket to be worn by cowboys, miners, and railroad workers. Over time, however, the jean jacket has become a wardrobe staple for both men and women of all ages.

I have two of them, both thrifted several years ago. 

The one on the left is a very traditional style from Gap while the other, from Jones New York, is a bit dressier looking.

I love the versatility of a jean jacket. You’ve seen me wearing one with a dress both here and here, but they can, of course, be much more casual. You’ve also seen me in a “Canadian tuxedo” here.

I wore this outfit to church on Sunday. It fits my style adjectives… classy, casual, comfortable, confident, and authentic. 

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I paired the Jones New York jacket with white jeans, a sleeveless top, and sandals. It wasn’t until I looked at the pictures that I realized that everything except my accessories was thrifted! According to someone, I’m 30 years too old to be wearing a jean jacket, but as some of you reminded me, we ought to wear what we’re comfortable in and I’m definitely comfortable in a jean jacket! 

Time to purge!

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Logo by SamSpring has finally come to the prairie! All of a sudden, the days are gloriously warm and sunny. Earlier this week, the time finally came to do my seasonal closet switch; to put away my winter wardrobe and bring out my spring/summer clothes.

Over 40 years ago, when we first moved into our present house, I thought the closet in the master bedroom was big. That’s because the one in the master bedroom of our first house, one of the original CPR homes built in the very early 1900s to house new settlers, wasn’t just small. It was tiny; smaller than my present broom closet!

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In comparison, the closet in the new house seemed spacious. Only it really wasn’t, especially for two people. When he built a large storage room in the unfinished basement, I had hubby include a rod across one end where we could hang our off-season clothes. Though there are some pieces that remain in the closet year round, much of my wardrobe spends approximately half the year in the basement. Even so, the bedroom closet is full. Too full!

When I do the seasonal switch, I also try to edit my wardrobe. The only problem is, I’m not very good at that. Oh, I have the best of intentions and I know what I need to do. I just don’t do it well! When I hang the new season’s clothes in the closet, I turn all the hangers around. Once I wear an item, its hanger is turned back the right way. At the end of the season, it’s easy to see what has been worn and what hasn’t. Realistically, I could/should get rid of most of the items that weren’t worn that season, but do I? No, not often enough. This time, I’m trying to be a bit more ruthless.

One pair of well-worn pants is in the garbage. They’d reached the stage where I wouldn’t wear them outside the house for fear of a major wardrobe malfunction. As much as I loved them, it was time to let them go. Five pairs are in a bag that’s going to the second-hand store. Those were mostly low rise skinnies that I’m quite sure I won’t wear again. Several tops have been set aside for this weekend’s garage sale. If they don’t sell, they’ll go to the thrift store too.

Still, the closet is too full and it’s not hubby’s section that’s overflowing! As I wear my spring/summer clothes for the first time this season, I’m determined to analyze each item carefully. Is it in good condition? Does it still fit well? Does the colour suit me? Do I feel good wearing it? Does it fit my style adjectives… classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and authentic? If I answer no to any of these questions, I’m determined to let it go. It’s time to purge!

Speaking of purging, our garage sale starts at noon today. If you’re in the area, come on over! Perhaps you’ll find a treasure and if not, at least we can have a visit!

Analyzing an outfit

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Sometimes I like to analyze an outfit to figure out why it works, or in some cases, why it doesn’t. Let’s do that with this outfit today.

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The L.L.Bean tunic is new to me, purchased recently at one of our local thrift stores. There was a time in my younger (and perhaps more foolish) days when I might have worn this fingertip length garment as a dress, but not any longer! Instead, I could wear it with leggings, but here I’ve chosen to wear it over a pair of dark wash jeans. But what is it about this outfit that makes it work for me?

First, as with any outfit, I ask myself whether or not it fits my 5 style adjectives. Does it say classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and authentic? This is, of course, a personal judgement call, but I believe that it does.  

A garment that fits well can accentuate good features and disguise less desirable ones. I have a boyish figure; straight up and down with very little waist definition and narrow hips. The shape of this tunic gives me a more feminine profile by creating the illusion of girlish hips. It’s loose enough over my midsection not to reveal any bulges and the three-quarter length sleeves draw the eye away from my waist area. 

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If you’ve been reading Fashion Friday for long, you know that I really like horizontal stripes and contrary to what we were taught years ago, research has shown that they don’t make you look fatter. In fact, they might actually make you look thinner! And then there’s colour. Teal is known as a universal colour because it looks good on everyone; it flatters every skin tone. 

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Accessories add the finishing touch to any outfit and in this case, I chose to wear my Nordgreen watch with its navy leather strap, a wide bracelet made of multicoloured beads, and a pair of iridescent earrings that pick up the teal colour of the tunic. Try as I might, I couldn’t seem to get a decent picture of the earrings, but this one shows off the bracelet well. I like its boho vibe which adds a bit of creativity to my look without being too over the top. 

PS.  Did you notice a recent change to the blog? No more ads! After blogging free for over 15 years (except for a small fee to cover extra space so that I could include lots of pictures), I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to a paid plan so that I could bring you a cleaner, ad free read. Until now, those ads have been paying my way, but I was finding them more and more intrusive and annoying. I suspect that you were too! 

7 years of Fashion Friday!

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Logo by SamWhen I introduced this weekly feature to my blog seven years ago this week, I had no idea that it would last this long. I knew that I could keep it up for awhile, but I wondered how quickly I’d run out of ideas. More than 300 posts later, here we are! I have learned so much and I’ve connected with so many interesting women around the world. Sometimes I wonder what this 70-year-old woman with no formal fashion training has to offer, but your feedback definitely encourages me to keep going!

Today I thought it might be fun to look back at the very first photos of myself that I posted on Fashion Friday.

As I look at these photos, I notice several things:

  1. My style hasn’t changed much in seven years! Though I don’t have all of these pieces anymore, I’d still feel comfortable going out dressed like this because this outfit fits all five of my present style adjectives… classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and authentic.
  2. Seven years later, I still have the blazer and the shoes! The blazer is left over from my teaching days. Though I don’t wear it often anymore, it’s a classic piece that really doesn’t go out of style. The shoes are a comfy pair of flats that I last wore to the symphony in Xalapa, Mexico last month!
  3. My hair! After letting my thick, naturally curly hair grow out and wearing it considerably longer than this for the past several years, I had it cut short again a couple of weeks ago! It looks almost exactly like this except that it’s a bit greyer now!
  4. The lack of snow. If I was standing on the stairs that replaced those ones when we added a small deck to the front of our house and hubby was taking my picture today, he’d be up to his knees or more in snow! Though daytime temperatures are occasionally creeping up above the freezing point, it will likely be awhile before we see bare ground and start taking outdoor fashion photos again.

While preparing this post, I also decided to look at some stats and see which of my Fashion Friday posts have been the most popular. Far and away the winner, with over 12 000 views, is the post entitled How to shop like a celebrity published on August 2, 2019. It would appear that a lot of readers have found it on Pinterest. My second most popular Fashion Friday post, A model who embraced her age, announced the death of 67-year-old model, Cindy Joseph, in July 2018. That one has had more than 8000 hits. I guess it pays to mention celebrities!

And now, let’s see how many more fashion posts I can write before I run out of ideas!

Fighting invisibility with fashion

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Logo by SamIf you haven’t read the first two instalments of this series about age related invisibility or Invisible Woman Syndrome, you can find them here and here. Today we’ll bring the series to a close by looking at how style can help us be more visible.

We could dress like 101-year-old style icon, Iris Apfel, but that might not be our best option!

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Instead, let’s begin by thinking about style adjectives. What do you want your appearance to say about you? I’m sure you wouldn’t pick words like old, tired, or boring. No! Instead, we want to tell the world around us that we are current, confident, approachable, and comfortable with who we are. So, how do we do that?

Notice that I didn’t include words like young, youthful, or trendy. We want to be noticed for who we are, not for trying to be something we’re not. Those of us who’ve been around for 50 years or more are never going to be young again, nor do most of us want to be, but great style is possible no matter how old you are. Pay attention to trends, but add them to your wardrobe judiciously. Stay abreast of what’s modern, fresh, and relevant, but consider adding bits that are on-trend to an otherwise classic wardrobe.

Vibrant, visible women ignore so-called fashion rules and dismiss antiquated ideas of what’s “age-appropriate”. Instead, wear what makes you feel confident and present. Wear what makes your heart sing! When you do that, you’ll walk into a room with a bounce in your step and your head held high and people will notice. Being visible is about more than what you wear; it’s about attitude!

Don’t be afraid to wear colour. Neutrals might form the core of your wardrobe, but you don’t want to look drab. Even a small pop of colour can add interest and visibility to an outfit. Just make sure that you know which colours suit your skin tone and wear those close to your face.

Play with accessories. A statement necklace, an interesting bracelet, a colourful scarf, or a unique handbag will help you stand out.

Finally, wear a smile! It’s an inexpensive fashion accessory that’s available to everyone! Research has actually shown that people who smile regularly appear more confident and are more likely to be approached by others.

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And it doesn’t cost a cent!