Part Four: the basics jeans and jackets.

 I am wearing the same T-shirt in each of these photographs. I changed the jacket and style of jeans. I am wearing bell bottom dark wash jeans and straight leg dark wash jeans. I added a few different accessories and shoes. I tried to consciously choose the colors that are best on me the muted browns and greens and golds. I still have a few with black in them but paired with the khaki Tee I think they can work. The next step is to jazz these basics up with accessories and shoes.

Style evolution part 3 the color Green

 I'm a color nut. I think that I look good in most green colors. I have consistently bought green items of clothing. Here are five photos of my green outfits.

Part Three: Jeans looks Good bad and the ugly

 The top two looks are where I started out. Totally the wrong color fit and style. The bottom left is so much better color paired with a nice jacket the one on the right is okay but the top is cheesy.

Day 29: When is red too much?

I Love this dress, so I decided to winterize it with a blouse underneath. I have worn this dress with a red coat and got some good reviews. So again with red but a blouse this time. Do you like the pointed toed pumps? I think they are too pointy for me. My nose isn't that pointy so I should switch to a more rounded toed pump.I will have to try to find a more suitable pair somewhere.

 

Style evolving part two

Silhouette: I realized a while back that until I embrace my figure and deal with it and accept that I will never look any different despite weight loss or gain.

Examples of bad silhouettes for me: The fabric in this shirt dress is just too stiff and there is so much of it that it was not flattering even though the sales person said a wrap top is always flattering.

The scarf just add emphasis where I don't need it. The added width of the sleeves just hits me at an unflattering place.

This is all wrong. The emphasis is on the bust line. Something I don't need to do. The colors are unflattering. Black and white and red not a good color combo for me. I got talked into this dress too.










BETTER OPTIONS: All of these dresses are knits. They flow over my curves. I tried to hem them at knee length. Although the one on the left is black I tied a scarf around my neck that has flattering colors for me in it.
 

 

My style ID updatepart One

The Process:Throughout the past 3 years I have worked on improving my style and trying to developing my 'look'. As a more mature woman I wanted to have a 'look' that is mine. I refuse to be jerked around by the fashion fads anymore but want fashionable wardrobe. Don't get me wrong I love to look at fashion but trying to figure out what will work on me has been a daunting task. 

Silhouette: I have learned what is my optimum silhouette, by figuring out what isn't. I  have never seen my body type in the fashion magazines. Plus size models don't look like me either. So that makes it even more difficult. The other issue is realizing which fabrications will work on my body. Kendal Farr talks about this in her book and it is a very good point. I have a fleshy body so fabrics that drape with some structure work well on me. Too much flimsy fabric doesn't work too much stiffness doesn't work. Knits with enough body work well on me, this was a surprise.

Colors:The second criteria was to find fashions in the colors that look best on me. This is easier said than done. The fashion industry has colors that they use each year. Sometimes they favor individuals with warm coloring but usually they favor the cool color complected women. If you have black hair and that color complexion you have it made, because you can wear black. Black is always in style. If you look good in  primary colors they are always available in every cut and style. If you are like me then it will be more difficult I have a warm based complexion and need muted shades. This is great for blouses and sweaters but try to find a brown suit jacket in the past 3 years. Oh you can find tweed and plaid but not any warm brown. And dresses tend to be in primary colors or bright spring colors. I can find neutral colored dresses but usually there is something else I don't like about them.Thank goodness blue suits are coming back because I can wear a shade of this color.

FIT and Proportion:The third criterion has to do with fit and proportion. I am an 'in between' person. Some of the X-large tops fits but most don't across the bust. When I find a 1X it is way too large in the hips or the sleeves are way too long. I seem to have an easier time with pants as I usually wear a regular length in a 12 or 14 or sometimes a 16 depending on how they are cut. The other issue is that my weight fluctuates because of my inconsistent exercise and diet habits. So as a result things that fit me last year may be too big or too small in 6 months depending on where I am weight-wise. (This is very self defeating behavior.) Oh and I went for a professional bra fitting this past fall and lo and behold I was wearing the wrong size, too big a band size too small a cup size. I am now looking "lifted".

THE Details:Accessories are my weakness. Whenever I get frustrated with clothes I just get a new accessory. I have way too many scarves. I have way too many necklaces. I always wear a watch and earrings and my wedding ring as a minimum.I love bracelets and wear them too.  I love shoes but they giving me fits now and I have a hard time finding ones that are comfortable and stylish.

In Part two I will start showing you some photos to illustrate my points.

DAy 28: Channeling Great Aunt Helen

Today I am channeling my Great Aunt Helen Boulay-Beardslee. She always wore multiple bangle bracelets. Never took them off that I knew about. I am also wearing shoe clips. Mine are from my mother probably from the 1970's. They are brass and square shape, otherwise the shoes a plain black sling back pumps.

Day 27: Look at the shoes I found in my closet

Look at those shoes. I forgot I had them and they are comfortable. I didn't wear them for a whole year because they bothered my old hip. Now that I have a new one voila they work.

Day 26: same dress different shoes

This is my guest Bill Toohig. He is the accompanist at my church and a dashing Irishman who wore his kilt to the Christmas service.

Day 25: Merry Christmas not dressed up

This is a very cheesy smile because I am glad Christmas is here. Time to relax with the family. I am wearing a moo-moo dress my mother bought in Hawaii in the 1980's. I guess all of the tourists were talked into these dresses... a bit bright for me but fun never the less.  Enjoy your day. I'm going to spend it cooking and eating.

Day 24: Purple is my go to 'black dress'

Purple it turns out is my 'black'. I am a soft autumn and black just washes me out. But I am discovering that by wearing purple it is just as appropriate as a black dress. I found this one with some slimming draping in the front that doesn't show up in the photo. I also am wearing purple shoes that are my go to comfortable dress shoes. Perhaps it is too matchy but I like to be subtly stylish.
I'm discovering that when you are a big girl you don't need too many accessories. 

What a BIG girl wears to a Party

I styled this dress with the black hose and shoes originally. It didn't look right to my eye so off came the black hose and on came the flesh hose and silver/gold shoes. I think it gives it a better overall look.

Day 22: i've been scalped

Here is the new haircut, short again and my green sweater dress. I love it because it feels like a comfy bathrobe.

Day 21 dressember challange wear a wedding dress.

Never wore this dress(one on the left) to a wedding.When I was getting married for the second time. I originally thought that it would be a summer wedding. I thought this was a beautiful dress and bought it. It fit me then. Well as planning progressed we decided to get married in the fall and this dress would not be warm enough for an outdoor wedding. So poof I didn't wear it but wore this one instead.(one pictured on the right)

Day 20:Maybe Plain is better called Minimal

 Wearing a dress everyday I have noticed that perhaps this is a good look for me. My legs are my thinnest asset as are my arms. If I find the right dress in the right color and fit and fabrication it seems to work. I also noticed that I don't need many accessories. I actually seem to disappear under all of the accessories and look overdone. So today I kept it simple: dress, shoes, earrings, watch, rings, glasses.

I am showing another shot with a jacket the color of mud. I also realized that mud is a good color on me.

Day 19: Im in a plain Jane mood.

Today I was in a hurry and had to get somewhere so I popped on my ubiquitous brown dress and layered it over a bow tie blouse. Added the new brown hose comfy easy spirit shoes and off I went. Hair needs an attitude adjustment so off to the hairdressers on Wed.

Hat Collection some I've kept

I have made these hats. When you make hats they tend to get sold as a result you end up with none to wear yourself. So I've kept some for myself to wear. Here is the winter collection.