Bubbled

I can't do a lot of the current fashions because of the way my body is built. I haven't seen a real beltable waistline in years. And yes, I should do something about it. I hate to exercise. I hate to sweat. Etc. But I'm trying to incorporate some of the things I see on the fashion blogs into my old lady wardrobe. In the days of my grandmother, dresses were the thing. The only grandmother I remember lived in Georgia and it was fairly warm there. I remember heavy stockings, what I call granny shoes, and dresses of somewhat flowy material. Belted. With the worst bras known to man. And my grandmother didn't seem to know there was such a thing as makeup. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with her. I admired her way with crafts, especially crochet, and with her African violets.

When my mother got older she had a problem with heavy sweating and wore no makeup, and mostly polyester shorts and t shirts even in the Winter. So I
didn't have much of an example there about fashion. When I was a teen we 

were still wearing matching shoes and bag with our dresses to church and of course there were hats, gloves, and jewelry to match. I loved gloves but I have such large hands they are hard for me to find.

When I was growing up we would visit my mom's aunt and she finally was someone I would drool over as a role model for growing into old age. Of course so many things have changed since then. But she curled her hair, wore makeup, and had some of the most beautiful jewelry I'd ever seen. I don't mean expensive stuff either. I mean shiny, colorful, pearlized, and
just beautiful. She had lots of colognes. And I thought she looked like an angel.

I may have gotten my start at loving jewelry from there. When we went to visit I would, with her permission, go through her jewelry box and repeatedly try things on. I think that for me that was the stuff of dreams. Aunt Mae lived in a mobile home at a motel where my great uncle was caretaker. They weren't even well off. They did live in a pretty setting and I loved the few visits we had.

When I was getting married, it didn't occur to me to follow my dreams. The person I married didn't like jewelry or pretties as I call them. He was not into fancy, though his mom did like her tea and lady sandwiches. For some reason I completely left the teen dreams behind. I did want a bigger engagement ring and I still loved pretty jewelry. I had pierced my ears in college and loved earrings. But lack of funds and frowns from the ex inhibited my purchases. So, for the whole 22 years of marriage I tried to put pretties out of my mind. I managed to

decorate a pretty home and take care of the three children and cook well. I was definitely not encouraged to do things to fulfill my needs. I did do some art and some crafts in spurts but that was not what I should have been doing. Guilt took away those things. When the marriage ended I was alone(he took the kids) and at wits end. So I bought some jewelry. I used pretties for a long time to make myself feel worthwhile. And now I have a collection of jewelry that blows me away. I made a lot of jewelry too. So I think the time has come to begin selling some things. After all it's dumb to have so much you can't use it all.

Glum face on the right is showing more of the bubbles. I fell in love with them and use them in some ways as an alternative to scarves. I have such a short neck and large chest that scarves make me feel stifled. So the bubbles. I see them all over the internet. I haven't purchased any of the expensive versions. These are from eBay. I was so excited when they came. I have always loved statement necklaces and one of a kind pieces. I will be showing some more of them in future blogs. I also have yellow and turquoise in the bubble necklaces. But now I am trying to turn more toward some other ways of showing my style. The tops you see are slinky fabrics and most are from Susan Graver at QVC. I love the way the fabric feels, launders, and the way they fit. It's time to move to more mixing. During the summer I had a uniform. Slinky top, slinky pants, jewelry, and shoes. I don't wear layers because of my tendency to heat up. But it's Autumn now. I'm so pleased to be able to put on more items and make my outfits more interesting. You see, I have become more interested in fashion as I get older. 

I have again been searching for "my style" and I think I have found the direction I want to go. I have become aware that I always have wanted to be bohemian in some ways. Since the divorce I am adamantly against anyone telling me how I should look and what I must like. So in the book I'll talk more about  later I have found that my style is Simple Bohemian. I was squarely into upscale country type stuff when I was married because that's what he seemed to expect. And it was fun to do the decorating. I still love antique stores. But I also have gotten to the point of not wanting so much stuff around. You couldn't tell it by my house at this point but I am drowning. I have enough stuff to outfit an army of young marrieds and I've already sloughed off a ton of stuff. Now in my old age I am yearning for organization and calm. Peace. And for me it is not possible with too much stuff around.

I am bringing this up because I know that from the pics you can tell that I am not hesitant to bring more stuff into the house. I think that getting carried away is part of the insanity of not knowing what I like. I went nuts over the bubble necklaces. So I bought 5 of them. And while I love them, I need to be more aware of what I want and what I plan to do with it. You see, I bought the necklaces because they were a good price and made me feel expansive and up to date. I still feel that way about them. But I am not going to buy the black one that I want. I have enough bubbles to last me.

I am looking forward to trying out some new things. One is shopping with a style in mind. I need to get away from getting something just because it will go on my body. Another is making things I have into things I want. That sounds like fun too. Am I ready? Getting there.