I've been on a personal style journey for 7 or 8 years.
You know how it is.
Corporate life, Mum life, and other moments in life that deprive you of your own version of Sartorial Splendour, are behind you, and you can find your best self.
Lord knows I'd been looking for my best self for quite some time. You can read about THAT here and here.
At times, I have been enormously frustrated by what other people said I should be wearing, as is evident in those posts. However, now that I am at a different stage of life, I am finding that listening to other people about what I should or should not wear, is a bit of a fools game.
I have learned that basically, we of-a-certain-age, are pretty much expected to fade into the background so as not to offend, nor steal attention, from anyone younger than ourselves. We are meant to dress simply, preferably in muted colours, and not stand out, in any way, shape or form.
Now...if you read the two posts I've linked above, you will note that I was of this mind myself, a few years back. Neutral and Simple was the order of the day. It was necessarily so, due to the demands of continuing Mum Life.
But there Came A Day, as it's said, when Mum Life was behind me, and it struck me, that I could now afford, and WANTED pretty dresses, heels, eyecatching jewellery....all the things that were out of my reach whilst raising children.
So off I went....
Movie themed brooches and leopard print as seen at the top of my post...sure.
Diamante boots...why not?
Dolce & Gabbbana inspired dresses...of course!
Cute and colourful accessories? Got 'em by the mile.
Faux fur vests? A boon in chilly weather when a sweater is too warm, but a tshirt is not warm enough.
Wrap dresses in fab pattern mixing arrangements worn with comet pearls...yes please.
White sneakers and cute dresses...all the time.
Metallic brogues...any day of the week...
...and more diamante boots...yay!
Designer French brooches...
...Cute Australian brooches...
...fab statement necklaces...
...it all makes me smile.
Ignore what the media, social media, style gurus and other people who don't know YOU say.
YOU dictate how you look and what you wear.
Life is short.
Wear ALL the things.
...Mimi...
I have loved seeing your style evolve into something bright, happy and very, very you Mimi! And you were instrumental in my newfound love of collecting brooches and pins that can enliven even relatively plain outfits. You inspire me to take a closer look at how I present myself when going out in the world, to look "nice for other people" but also to boost my own self-confidence. Damn anyone who says that any woman over 50 should fade into the background! Bold is beautiful and life's too short not to wear whatever you want to.
ReplyDeleteIf we aren’t true to our style personality or personalities we will always feel not quite right. You obviously have a creative, dramatic streak and your choices reflect that. So often our style personalities are subsumed because of outside factors. This is definitely your time to be you!
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