All Things Woompty

I like to joke around with Kevin that I’ve been aging backwards while he ages forward.  It’s not just the obvious things, like the fact that I have no grey hair (thanks, L’Oreal!) and he is rapidly developing that refined “grey at the temples” look (he blames most of those greys on me, which is probably true).  It’s things like…my wardrobe choices.  I look back at pictures of myself from the late 90′s and I cringe.  I mean, I know my fashion philosophy at that time was “get things that fit” but man, that still doesn’t excuse the denim “mom dress” I wore as a student teacher.  I looked like a damn extra from Big Love, for crying out loud!   And yeah, I was fat but I had options.  I just never figured out what looked good on me, what felt right and moved with me.  And I certainly wasn’t going to dare to follow a trend like bright colors or patterns, because that would draw attention to me.  I was using my clothes to hide, not to stand out.

That’s all changed over the past couple years.  Drop 100+ pounds and you need a new wardrobe.  And I needed mine pretty damn fast.  Once again, my fashion philosophy was “anything that fits” but this time, I was shopping in friends’ closets.  My best friend wears bright colors and patterns, so suddenly I was wearing bright colors and patterns.  Another friend a friend with funky good taste in clothes, let me pilfer her closet and take home BAGS of clothes and all of a sudden my closet looked like it belongs to someone young and exciting with a sense of trends.

And I didn’t have a clue how to wear any of it.

So I started with the shirts, adding their patterns and colors in to my rotation with jeans and black pants.  And then the pencil skirts found their way into the mix.  Then I decided I needed some boots to go with one of the skirts, and a dress to go under one of the sweaters and all of a sudden it all started to click.  Funky wasn’t entirely me, but some of the new trends started catching my eye. Classic looks were a little too boring, but I liked the elements of them…who doesn’t like a crisp white button-down shirt? (My best friend, that’s who)  Add to this the fact that suddenly, I could afford to shop more (because well-made plus size clothes are quite often pricey, I didn’t buy very much very often) AND I had 10 times as many places to shop and suddenly, it was a whole new ballgame.

I went shopping with a new appreciation for the cut of a dress, the way shirts skimmed over my shape, the way a sweater could change the look of an outfit.  And last year, when I finally hit The Stopping Point, the size and shape and place that I have every intention of staying at or below for the rest of my life (knock on wood), I had the perfect wardrobe for me.  Lots and lots of dresses (oh, I love dresses), lots of jeans and shirts to mix and match and dress up or dress down, accessories that ranged from being all funky and “NOTICE ME” to classic understanded strands of pearls.

This is basically a really long-winded way for me to say that I look really cute today.  In fact, I look really cute almost every day because I finally, FINALLY have a good grip on what I like to wear and what I look good in.  Today’s outfit? Knee-length A-line denim skirt, long sleeved white v-neck tee, dark turquoise long cardigan and knee high black boots, all topped off with this awesome crazy scarf that I made a few years ago. (And a bunch of jewelry, because I do like to sparkle!) Tomorrow, I think I will go with my gray Mad Men-esque dress with the 1/2 sleeves, the black patent pumps that make my legs look AWESOME, and my red long wool coat.  And I will look cute all over again.

Maybe someday my unadulterated glee over looking cute will ease up a little.  In the meantime, I apologize fror my adorableness.