How badly do you want it....fifty and fabulous and the stylish walker...

This post should be called 'why are exercise clothes ugly and why are we expected to look frumpy when we're exercising'.   When I was young I looked different than I do now.   I was slender, let's just leave it at that.  

It was a long time ago.

  Strangely back then, I lamented not having a fuller bustline.   Well, now I have the fuller bustline, and I'm not happy with the rest of me.   Honestly, we are never happy are we. My Mum used to say 'Be careful what you wish for'.   She was right.   So I'm failing this whole fifty and fabulous thing big time. Oh I've got the hair happening, and the skin care regime, and the whole French outlook on moisturising top to toe and never leaving the house looking less than the best I can be. But body wise.....er....nup.   I started blogging about how badly I wanted to lose weight a while back, and then I've drifted back to my evil ways.   Just one wine, just one sliver of cake, just one, just one, just one. Trouble is, all those ones, add up to thousands of naughty little calories.   So, this time I'm serious. No. Really I am.   I'm cutting back, stepping up, leaving my naughty 'just one' habits behind.   First step is to exercise EVERY day. I've been giving myself weekends off. Well, this is just plain daft as the weekends are when the calorific consumption is off the scale. Pardon the pun.   So I'm dragging my baggy butt out of bed at 6:30 every morning and just walking for 30 minutes. I really am not cut out for the whole sweaty, heaving, unattractive setup.   I can't even wear 'exercise gear'. I've tried, really I have. But I think getting in to the exercise gear is actually the worst part. It's all so ugly and it clings where it shouldn't and just makes you feel terrible and frumpy. Where oh where is the attractive exercise gear for the person who really NEEDS to exercise? Forget that label stuff that exhorts you to 'Do or Die' and 'Just Do It' or that claims that 'Chocolate makes me go faster'. Well it doesn't. Chocolate just makes me go fatter. Maybe it was a typo. S and T are next to one another in the alphabet. Maybe someone just made an error.   I now walk in my Moda tapered trousers with the nice little slimming seam down the front of the leg. I top them with a polo shirt in a flattering colour, and as it's a bit nippy in my part of the world, I also take a silk scarf. Not the Hermes....quelle` horror! Just a nice wispy thing I bought on eBay.   I refuse to wear 'gym shoes' or 'runners' or whatever you want to call them. They're ugly and heavy and a trial to get on and off, and you have to wear *cringe* socks with them. Socks are for wearing in front of the TV at night. Ladies of a certain age, do NOT wear socks. Or this one doesn't anyway.   So here's my list of must haves for the stylish walker. Coz let's face it, we're walking, not running. No sweat, red faces here.   1. A polo shirt in a flattering colour.  

 

  2. Neat, attractive, lightweight cushioned walking shoes. My choice is these metallic CC resort moccasins.  

 

3. Flattering pants. I can't abide bike pants, or yoga pants, or cargo pants and track suit pants send me screaming from the room. I wear neat, slim fitting (but not tight!) cropped capri pants in Summer and ankle length tailored pants in Winter, both in a good quality breathable fabric.

 

 

 

4. Ballet Pink silk scarf....well that's my favourite colour. Yours doesn't have to be Ballet Pink. I do however highly recommend the wispy silk kind. They drape beautifully, don't add bulk, yet are surprisingly warm, and give a softer look around the more mature face.

  5. Finally, I put my hair in a pony tail and put a jaunty ribbon on it. Many beauty specialists suggest that a high ponytail is like instant botox. It just lifts the face and gives you such a clean and chic look.   Chic when exercising? Of course! Why ever not?   And guess what? I've discovered that I like exercise when I can look nice doing it. Am I mad? I've realised after all this time, that the reason I didn't like exercising was because it required wearing ugly clothes, even uglier shoes, no makeup and a hat that squashes my hair.   No more, I say!   Vive` the stylish walker. The woman who cares how she looks even when she's sweating. Oh, sorry. GLOWING. Mum always said, 'men sweat, women glow'.   So I'm taking my glowing, groomed, metallic shoed self off for a walk now. That old me is many a long walk away, but for some reason, I think I can do it this time.   See you soon.   ...Mimi...