I work at a technical college. We have a mix of traditional college-age students and older students. They're a great group of people who are really focused and in a lot of instances, amazing -- juggling multiple jobs and a family in order to get their education.
Yesterday, I was taking photos of an event and one of them said, "Mrs. Miller, you always dress so pretty. You always look so nice."
I thanked her, and told her that once you get to be old like me, you realize what you can wear and what you can't, and don't really bother with a lot of the trends. That is my secret.
When I go back to my 20s, I cringe thinking about what I wore. I didn't really know how I was supposed to dress as a 20-something, so I followed trends, even if they didn't work for me.
Then I had babies and well, maternity clothes aren't the most stylish things in the universe. I think for the last week or so of my pregnant with Katie, I wore the same pair of maternity overalls over and over and over, washing them every night. They were the *only* thing I had that was remotely comfortable.
Then the babies were here, and I was doing good to shower and brush my teeth every day. Clothes were a necessary evil, because of the time issue (I had very little) and the weight issue (I had quite a bit). I wasn't a priority; the babies were.
With age comes wisdom, and with the babies getting older, I have been able to figure out things.
1. Trendy doesn't work for everyone. And just because something is trendy doesn't mean it's bad. I fought against the lower-rise jeans for years, mainly because I was heavy. When I lost my weight a few years ago, I found some (The Gap Long & Lean) that were lower-rise, but not indecently so. I thought skinny jeans were ridiculous this time around, until I lost the weight and bought a couple of pairs, again from The Gap. Trends that don't work for me: Pretty much everything at Forever XXI.
2. Basics are best. A good black skirt. A nice, crisp white shirt. A pair of khakis. Two nice pairs of heels in black and brown. If you have the basics, you can go for some of the trends and pair them and it works. I wore a brown skirt, pink cardigan -- two basics -- and a fabulous (and cheap!) bib necklace the other day. The end result was nice -- classic but a little trendy.
3. Whenever I'm in a quandary, I think, "What would the ladies of 'Mad Men' wear?" Silly, but I love that show, for the storyline, the actors and actresses, the set design, and the CLOTHING. Back in the 60s, designers knew how to dress women who had real bodies. With the popularity of the show, those clothing styles are making a reappearance and I snap up dresses and blouses and skirts like that when I can.
4. If you like something, you like something. I love Caro-Nan basket purses from the late 60s/early 70s. I have three or so, and whenever the first breaths of spring appear, I drag them out. They're not trendy and I'm sure there are many people who think they are positively ugly, but I LOVE them so much! Also along the same lines: I started cutting my hair short when I was in high school -- in the days of BIG hair -- and I haven't stopped. I don't care what they're showing on the runways. I don't care if short hair is out. I look best in short hair, and so every five weeks, I'm at my hair stylist, getting it cut.
I'm not the most stylish person in the world, I assure you, but I've figured out what works for me. I think that's all real style is.
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I ran last night! That's the battle I fight with myself if and when I take a day off: Am I going to go back out there the next night? If I do, then I know I'm going to be OK. If I don't, then that's a problem.
I have decided to just run the half-marathon in The Gusher. With our trip this past weekend and the rainy weather cutting into my running time, I'm not going to be able to build up my mileage in time.
So I'll run 13.1 miles and then join the party!
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