Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Spring Shopping!

It's spring here in Virginia; the daffodils are up. If I wasn't so busy with work, I'd have a photo of my flowers that have emerged from last week's 10 inches of snow into the 80 degree temps we enjoyed this past week!

So Spring clothes are on my mind. On Sunday I went to a CAbi show, which is a clothing line sold sort of like Tupperware. I love my CAbi representative because she makes me try on things I would never consider. Sometime I take her point; sometimes I just know the garment isn't "me". But she has a great point of view and she knows her clothing line.

Which got me to thinking about my "rules" when I buy or make clothes. Here are the highlights:

1. I don't wear tunics. Tunics are poor, unfortunate garments with an identity problem. They are too short to be dresses; they are too long to be a blouse. I've got no use for a tunic. And I don't understand why anyone would wear one. If you wear a tunic because you are worried about how your assets look in pants, might I suggest wearing a skirt or dress instead? Skirts and dresses hide all sorts of figure issues, including stomachs and heavy thighs.

2. I don't wear anything that shows cleavage. Six days a week I am either at work or church. Neither my co-workers nor my priest need to look at that. So it really annoys me that Boden keeps making low cut dresses. They are cute as all get out, but I'm not wearing one to a staff meeting. Or to Mass.

3. I don't wear green. No kelly green, no lime green, no green at all. I look sickly in it.

4. I don't wear wedges. I'll wear heels or flats, but like tunics, wedges are just shoes that don't know what they want to be. Plus, I think they make your feet look clunky.

Those are my issues about clothes. This is my biggest issue about other people's clothes:

Everyone assumes that everyone looks good in black. They are incorrect. (If you have red hair and freckles, I suggest wearing bright sunny yellow once in a while instead of black.) I even get tired of seeing people wear black who look good in black. I actually staged an intervention at work several years ago for a poor girl who wore black every day. For years. I browbeat some of the other women in the office to invade her cubicle and tell her, seriously, that her complexion was crying out for some color. She took it pretty well. She didn't give up the black, but a few times a week she started wearing a few brightly colored tops with her black skirts and pants, which she pointedly and proudly showed me each morning she wore them. Mission accomplished.

Next time someone says "That color looks great on you", pay attention. (It will probably be me.) If it is turquoise, buy more of that color. If it is bright pink, buy a LOT more of that color. Life is too short to dress like a widow this soon.

7 comments:

Claire S. said...

I know someone who has been told black is slimming and owns no other color in her entire wardrobe !

We can't even get her into a navy blue.

Clothes that 'fit' are slimming - if they don't fit, the color cannot do it all alone.

Vicki W said...

Are you commenting on your dear friend's lovely black wardrobe? Black is my "signature color" and you aren't getting me out of it!

PS - I like tunics too.
PSS - You still have to be my friend and if you talk about my black wardrobe I will talk about your crab dress. So there!

YankeeQuilter said...

I can't part with my black skirts or black pants but I'll admit that I can no longer (if I ever could) wear black tops. My favorite...any green! (sorry!) What makes me crazy when I see it - Velor sweatsuits...women over 30 with really low riding jeans...

KimP said...

I want to make it absolutely clear that I'm not talking about VickiW! My beloved Crab Dress depends on it!

Siobhan, I love green on other people, just not me!

Summerset said...

Late to the party, but yes, keep Vicki away from the crab dress.

Amen and pass the collection plate for #2! When I was teaching high school this was an especially sensitive issue. Furthermore, with a 10 year old daughter, I don't think it is a good example to see her mother letting it all hang out. I actually am ok with tunics, green, and wedges. I do wear a lot of black and am trying to break the habit, but it is sort of like a security blanket. I look good in it, everything matches it and I have a lot of black shoes!

Anonymous said...

I like black pants and skirts - mostly year round although I can't really wear black near my face unless I relieve it with color in the form of a scarf or something - otherwise I look embalmed. And I do think it's more slimming - anyway, that's my story...
Eileen

Anonymous said...

Yellow, huh? I'll try it! I gave up black tops when I became a redder redhead...I felt like a walking advertisement for Halloween.ca

Rule 2: I have the same trouble with cleavage baring clothes. Some ladies I see have so much showing that I want to shield my eyes and scream "TMI! TMI!" lol