It changed my life: travels abroad. We just returned from a four-week foreign adventure, our longest vacation in over 20 years. We stayed in Edinburgh, London, and Paris, with a few side trips to the countryside. When I’m asked how ..read more

What blogging has taught me. Eleven years into my blogging experience I find myself reflecting on the lessons I’ve learned. Some have been bonks on the head, others have seeped into my consciousness, like a lovely scent. Today I want to jot down some of the lessons, before they slip away. They do that more and more, you know. Blogging for over a decade has taught me: Innumerable computing skills, including how to use WordPress, Instagram, Pinterest, photo-editing, Blogger quirks and video edits. I’m young again! Better composition skills. I have always been an adequate writer, and often go ..read more

How to upgrade your wardrobe, if you feel like it. I go through chapters with my wardrobe — do you? I feel like I am moving in and out of phases, and I think that’s perfectly healthy. One recent phase could be characterized by: let’s buy a lot of inexpensive (i.e., thrifted and consigned) items, have fun playing with them, then recycle them to the thrifts. This is good for experimentation and ecologically friendly. There’s nothing bad about this approach. It has been a lot of fun, especially in my trips to NYC (soon to return!) for which I packed very little and “lived” in items I acquired t ..read more

Find your signature style: shop smarter. We’ve been following the RealSimple article, Define Your Signature Style. You can find Parts 1-3 here, here and here. We’ve found our favorite items, analyzed our mistakes, and identified the missing pieces. Today, we Shop Smarter! (Never too late for smarter, right? I didn’t marry my dream man till I was 46, so I may be late out of the gate but I get there.) Here’s the article: Take your lists of likes, dislikes, and needs and head to the mall [my note: preferably the thrifts, or Etsy, or Poshmark] . But before opening your wallet, run through this c ..read more

Your signature style: find the missing pieces. After the less-than-cheery step of “analyzing my mistakes”, we are back on track for fun with step 3: Identify the Missing Pieces. It requires analysis and reflection. The questions below, verbatim via the Real Simple article, are spot-on for discerning what’s needed to round out your wardrobe: Step 3: I.D. the Missing Pieces in Your Wardrobe Separate your clothes by type. Ideally, you want to have three times as many tops as bottoms—the same ratio you see in stores, says Julie Watson, a wardrobe consultant and a former senior director ..read more

Find your signature style: analyze your mistakes. Picking my favorite “go-to” pieces was fun and easy! I am not so happy-faced about the second step in Real Simple’s series, Define Your Signature Style. As it reads: Step 2: Analyze Your Mistakes Like rehashing a bad relationship, this cringe-inducing ( yet cathartic) exercise helps ensure that you don’t go down the same dead ends again. Ready? Take out five things you wish you hadn’t bought and ask yourself the questions in step one, plus the questions below. Then let go of those items, plus anything else that’s not pulling it ..read more

Find your signature style. Although I dress confidently, I am a sucker for how-to’s, lists, do-overs, et al. I’ll read any fashion article that starts with “Five Ways To . . .” I swear I found one that was titled “How To Dress More Elegantly” and started with “Buy more elegant clothing”. This little article from the magazine Real Simple has some gold in it: Define Your Signature Style. It’s real simple (heh), can be applied to any wardrobe, and appeals to my sense of orderliness without being oppressive. I’m going to apply the guidelines to my own wardrobe, and hope that you’ll play along ..read more

Color of the year: I’m so blue (not really). Pantone just announced the Color of the Year for 2022, and it’s . . . Very Peri. Speaking technically: PANTONE 17-3938. I’m a little bit sad because Ultimate Gray (the 2021 color) and I are getting along famously and I don’t want to break up just yet. I don’t love Very Peri, at least not yet. It’s very deep and cool. (Like us, so that’s good.) Hello Very Peri. I must sound like a serious Scrooge, because the Pantone people say this about Very Peri: “Displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit, inquisi ..read more

What’s your dreaded wardrobe malfunction? Did that phrase (“wardrobe malfunction”) originate at the 2004 Superbowl? I’ll have to perform fashion due diligence to find out, but in any case, it’s caught on! Very few of us will have the opportunity to experience Janet Jackson’s degree of malfunction, but in an imperfect world, sartorial stuff does happen. “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” -Mahatma Gandhi Here are some of my dreaded W. M.’s, taken from my actual daily life: Wayward bra straps. Everything is nice and sleek as I leave the house ..read more

The style rules I love to break. I like to follow many rules; they make life flow smoothly and reduce chaos, e.g.: drive on the right side of the road, show up for appointments on time, and never touch the Queen. OMG this kitten is all I need. But there are rules (guidelines at least) that show up in nearly every list of fashion tips for Women of  a Certain Age. Many of them are terrific, and others I just can’t help breaking, with gusto. Please note, I’m only speaking for myself, not judging these rules per se. Here are some of my fashion acts of everyday rebellion: Get a profession ..read more