Tuesday, August 27, 2013

OOTD ~ the basic black dress

The basic black dress has been my best friend throughout my recent weight loss experience.
I have been alternating wearing two Gilmour black dresses...one is to the knee and the other one you see here.

This Gilmour bamboo shift has been worn many many times in the past 4 months...
the fabric is cool and comfortable in the heat and the style is simple yet able to be worn for day or evening.


The hemline is slightly higher in the front ~ longer in the back

It is versatile enough to wear to the beach or to a BBQ...
when I am running errands I wear a summer weight cotton cardigan over top by Velvet.


The fabric is weighty and drapes beautifully as it skims the body.


I wore this OOTD out for lunch with Mother.

In this picture you can see why older women often wear scarves and turtle necks...
it's probably the reason Nora Ephron wrote her book...

 I miss her writing...

Seriously though, 
do we honestly believe that we are going to look the same as we did when we were in our 20's or 30's?
If we do I think we are kidding ourselves.
Either that or totally brainwashed by the advertising that we are bombarded with in almost every magazine...
baby boomers are the largest demographic group so you'd think the pendulum might shift sometime soon.

My grandmother was a wonderful woman filled with passion, wit and energy.
I never asked her, but I would be surprised if she looked in the mirror and lamented on her wrinkles and slack jaw.
Her no nonsense approach to life was an inspiration.
In her day she did not wear much make up...
 a bit of red lipstick, perhaps a light dust of face powder and a spritz of Yardley's lavender scent.
She was the wholesome soap and water kind of gal who used Noxema...
do you remember the blue jar and their signature scent?
(I think of her whenever I get a whiff of that scent.)


Look at the grey creeping in...
I like to think of them as tinsel highlights.
I've been keeping my hair bobbed quite short throughout this process.
I explained to my hairdresser that I did not want to look like a skunk as we transition to grey.
Having had my hair coloured for so many years I was not sure how much grey to expect...
 so far it's just a smattering here and there.
Still it is an obvious indicator of the aging process...
but it's an honest reflection of myself.

I am comfortable in my own skin.
It might have taken me a few years to get here but thankfully I have finally arrived.

 I will need to add some brighter shades to my winter wardrobe...
perhaps a plum or robin's egg blue cashmere cardigan 
to wear with jeans and the black pants in smaller sizes that I still need to buy.

I have been wearing softer lip colours 
(not the nude that they are showing on the runways though as I look positively ill wearing that shade!) 
I love the creamy texture of the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters.
They are full of moisture and silky on the lips with a lovely assortment of colours.
The price is good too, a budget friendly basic.

I've been noticing a lot of DD or double denim in the stores and in magazines...
not too sure if I will embrace this trend 
as I can still hear my lovely daughter admonishing me when I wore it many years ago!
"Too matchy matchy Mom!"
Things that match top and bottom are what old ladies wear!
Her style expertise has stood me in good stead over the years and I appreciate her honesty.

Speaking of DD 
I think the cosmetic industry has taken on a new way of marketing their products...
rather like the alphabet mystery writer Sue Grafton.
 AA (anti-aging)
BB (beauty balm)
CC (colour correcting)
DD (dynamic do-all)

Do you think they are working on an EE cream?
I might suggest Excellent Epidermis...

If you are a cosmetics company executive please feel free to email me if you'd like to use my idea...
I am "retired" and living on a pension and I am in dire need of a new basic wardrobe...
Today it feels a bit like Fall is in the air so these LBD's will be far too chilly to wear much longer.

Hope that your week is off to a great start!

Hostess

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You look wonderful!
Funnily enough, mum who will be 92 in October, does lament her lost looks, just the other day she was talking to me about the fat loss around her eyes, they sit under a very well exposed orbital bone now and look very different to her old eyes, I think I will too lament the passing of the years.
I think it must be hard to see one's skeleton reaching out as the years go on.

The Silver Bunny said...

Funnily enough I am exactly at that junction : to mourn or not to mourn ! It is very difficult to accept change and when it is in oneself, it is even more of a trauma. Lovely thoughtful post, thank you ! (and so wise, too, I think I haven't achieved that amount of wisdom yet ..)

Anna said...

Wonderful post -- especially the "tinsel highlights" -- which I also have. As for Noxzema, I don't have to remember it; I still use it, even in my declining years! Supposedly that isn't wise for women our age, but I seem to benefit.

dannie said...

I love Noxzema smell; my grandma used it! You look lovely--I like your comment about the tinsel highlights--a good way to go I think. We girls approaching 50 need some lovely mentors for our next decade. Thank you!

Sandra Sallin said...

OK, I admit it. I'm 72. You're aging with grace. Can there be anything better? I recently wrote about my new obsession with Le No makeup Look. I also wrote about being a 72-year-old blogger. You might enjoy these. We;re all in this together. We're lucky to be again. Consider the alternative.

My hair is grey and I love it. My neck? Yes, I do wear scarves often but it's mostly for the sense of style. Love your dress. You've got style and grace. Go for it.

Madame Là-bas said...

I like your tinsel. It's soft and pretty. I think that either blue or plum would be lovely. Necks are a bit scary because I remember my grandma and I'm getting there fast. I always loved the smell of Noxema. I really enjoy Sue Grafton's books but I haven't read one for a while.

Susan said...

I'm 61 and yes, I am always a bit surprised when I see a photo of myself as the aging process progresses. My only regret is not fully appreciating my youth years ago. Even at my age, I wear sleeveless dresses, open necks, etc. And my scarves are not to cover up but to brighten up.

I think your LBD is lovely.

My mother is 90 and asked for "a very good wrinkle cream" as her Christmas gift last year. I bought her the lovely cream put out by L'Occitane. She was pleased

Janet Higgs said...

Hostess, you look beautiful. I haven't been wearing many scarves this summer, but there's a definite autumn feel to the mornings now, so I'll be reaching for them soon.

SusanG said...

I used Noxzema just last night. I keep it around and use it every few weeks. Ah, nostalgia!

LPC said...

You look wonderful. I'm like Susan, I only regret that I didn't revel in my relative juiciness as a young woman:). Sometimes I try to rearrange my face with my eyes a bit, as though squinting could remove that under-chin wattle, but for some reason it just doesn't work. So never mind:).

Northmoon said...

Like Susan and LPC I have some regret that I didn't realize how pretty I was as a young woman. Oh well there's nothing I can do about the past. Your refreshing attitude is one I need to adopt and just accept the sagging and silver hair now. It does help to have all the women blog-friends who care about their appearance and are dealing with the same issues in a positive way as you are.

La Vie Quotidienne said...

Love the dress and your hair is wonderful; so pretty. I don't think that anyone appreciates youth and how just being young is attractive, it gets harder as we age but maturity also has it's beauty. My Mother was lovely up to the day she passed away at over 100 and she never, ever, thought about age...maybe that is the secret.