Why Dress Up For the Movies?

On Friday I did a funny, crazy thing. Something so surprising, so unlike me that I can't believe I did it. I actually wore jeans to work for "casual Friday" and changed into a dress when I got home. I wanted to take some outfit photos while I had time and good lighting. The dress was so comfy I actually wore it to the movies with my hubby and grown step-sons. Normally I adhere to the "no one can see you anyway" rule for dressing for the movie theater, but this was as easy as jeans.

Yeah, the reverse of what I've done my entire life. I'm the woman who as a girl came home from church and immediately stripped off the dress and panty hose that we HAD to wear when I was younger. Yes, I'm old enough to remember having to dress up for church. Any time I could get away with pants, that's what I always preferred. Oh you know, I loved the once a year ballet recital tu tu, halloween, flower girl wedding dresses and playing dress up with mom's dresses, but generally for everyday wear, dresses were out.

 As a girl growing up in the 70's dresses seemed to me a symbol of weakness. Only in the last few years have I added pink back to my wardrobe. Apparently I had some kind of weird complex about femininity that I don't totally understand. Now I know leaving an abusive relationship in my 30's means I'm strong, not what I wear. Giving birth to twins and raising them means I'm strong, not wearing pants. And dagnabbit, wearing dresses is just kind of fun now. I think comfy boots and tights that make me feel covered helps a lot.  This summer dresses and strappy sandals were more about being perimenopausal and trying to stay cool, but that's a whole nother post!

 Somehow the rear view is way more pear shaped, but strangely I'm not too upset by this. It looks like I'm off on some fantastic adventure. O.K. So I was 200 yards from my house but we do have some cool woods!

What Should I Wear to a Conference, Day 2 & 3

This is what I wore to the Symposium on Saturday. Since it was the weekend, I chose jeans and the sneakers are because I got tired of my feet protesting when I went out to walk during breaks. The mix of sitting for long periods and periodic jumping up for walks was really irritating to my feet somehow.

I wonder sometimes if people think I'm faking when limp out and stroll smoothly back in. It's an opportunity to educate about Rheumatoid arthritis, right? But not entirely fun for me. I believe it's the plantar fasciitis that makes my feet act a fool after sitting a long time.

An Exercise in Frustration
After hearing Dr. Ratey speak about exercise, I'm ready to storm my local school superintendent's office with research to show how STUPID it is that my kids have PE only certain 9 weeks as an elective when I had it daily 1-12th grade. I really think daily PE and ballet is how I got through childhood so well. Now I'm in the curious position of being a big advocate of exercise, but being the voice of reason as an arthritis sufferer. I simply can't "just do it" and push myself till it hurts. From experience I can say that if I don't really guard my joints, I have to stop exercising for a while to heal up. So for me, moderation is key. Even my dear husband who is super-understanding about my arthritis recently asked me why I don't add jogging to my exercise routine. Excuse me, shall I carry you to the Rheumatologist's office and show you my foot x-rays? I take it as a complement because hubby who believes I can do anything doesn't see my limitations, and he honestly just forgot.

There are still lots of people out there who think you're just lazy if you don't push yourself with super intense workouts. So let me be the voice of reason that says get out there, move your body the best you can and find things you enjoy. Swimming and kayaking seem ideal for me, but my co-worker thinks paddling all day would be torture. Yet she would do boot camp type stuff at a gym. Who is right? Both of us are! O.K. Now stepping off my soapbox. Besides, Kelly at RA Warrior says it so much better than I do. Worth a looksee!

What Should I Wear. . . to A Conference?

Well, considering I saw people in everything from suits to jeans, apparently anything. I felt under-dressed at the conference I attended this Summer in Montgomery, AL. Yes, I felt under-dressed in Alabama. Get over it. We have stuff like dentists and universities, honest we do. Actually, I think it's because my mom was there and this time I was alone, but we are so not going off into that. It's also entirely possible that I'm much more confident in how to dress myself now. So we'll just go with that.

Yes, the ADHD conference was totally worth sitting still for 3 days. And yes, I still think Dr. Barkley really "gets" ADHD like so many experts do not. Well, I did wander a little around the conference center but the schedule was so jam-packed I'm going to have to visit Tuscaloosa again to really get reacquainted with my old home town. After graduate school in '91, I left and haven't really been back.

Smells right to me . . .
In case you wondered if the whole smell as the key to memory thing is true . . . I have proof. Taco Casa smells just like it did the last time I set foot in one about 20 yrs ago. No, it is NOT a generic Mexican restaurant smell; it's a Taco Casa smell, trust me. And the fact that there was a Galaga video game in the corner did not help my sense of reality. For a second I thought it was 1986. The fact that I could look out the window and, thanks to the tornado, there was nothing between me and DCH Medical Center was something of a reality check. But this is a style blog, not a Catherine goes down memory lane blog. So . . .

Comfy pants, comfy shoes, comfy, comfy, comfy. Did I mention comfy? That is the key for sitting on your butt for hours on end. The most fascinating speaker can't compete with pinchy shoes, tight collar or a tag rubbing your neck. I believe I mentioned I have clothing sensitivity issues? Well, all this probably applies to all conference goers, not just weirdos like me. I was experiencing serious butt fatigue here and two days to go.

Holiday Blues

The peacock blue and teal looked so awesome together that they practically glowed. You'd never know it by these pictures though. Ah well, I will photograph it when I get my new camera and see if it looks any better.

 For some reason I'm not loving myself in pants/trousers these days and I'm ready to A. Ditch pants altogether, B. Get them all altered or C. Go out and purchase all new pants. Right here at Christmas I can't afford to do any of the above! I read somewhere that people with my body shape--X, hourglass, pear or curvy depending on who you ask--have trouble with trousers pulling across the crotch. Well, I can vouch for that. It seems all of mine sag horribly or are too tight with no in-between perfect fit. As a person who has always bought straight off the rack and hoped for the best, this is all a major change of mindset for me. I had my 1st wedding dress altered and not much since then. After I hemmed them, they are the proper length for flats, but I'm loving my BOC by Born heels. I hesitate to call them heels as they are comfy and kind of wedge-ish. I just know my feet actually tolerate them pretty well.

These pants don't look terrible I guess, but my standards are getting higher. Hopefully watch for changes in the new year!

Mirror vs. Photos

I have spent most of my life preferring pants over dresses and skirts and also being afraid of leggings. Now all the sudden, my preferences are reversing. What gives? I would have to say recent weight losses and shifts have something to do with this, but primarily photographing myself in different outfits almost daily has had a huge impact on me. For some reason, I can't get a good objective view from the mirror. Looking at photographs allows me to step back and get a better idea what I really look like.

I found this out several years ago in the famous "clown pants" incident. I had these pants that I loved bought from the clearance rack for $8. They were baggy elastic waist pants with a bold autumn leaf print. The fabric would have made lovely curtains or throw pillows, but pants? No. I wore those things all the time and my husband would just cringe. All that time I thought it was just his personal preference for dark colors and simple solids. Nope, they were hideous, but I didn't know it until I saw a picture of myself in them. I'm still searching through old photos so I can post one here, but it's possible I destroyed them all.

Anybody else get better insight from photos?

Tunic Sweater on a Sunday

I've gotten really brave lately about wearing leggings. Let me put it this way, I gave birth to twins and it had an effect on my belly, O.K.?  I'm not a stick woman--more of an hour & 1/2 glass than hourglass shaped. Most of the time I'm just fine with that but I thought it ruled out certain types of clothing completely. Now I realize I have to use leggings carefully and selectively, but I can wear them. See exhibit A:

Leggings are very comfy for crawling around in the floor after toddlers. Since I keep nursery during Sunday school, my church clothes have to be baby-proof. Then I want to look good in the choir too!Could it be these are actually slimming? It makes me look smaller on top somehow. I'm between 38D and DD according to the recent bra fitting I had, but you'd never know it from these pictures. That's one complaint I have about tunics or long sweaters--they make me look flat and a mile wide especially in the hips. I see a little flattening and maybe an emphasis on my hips, but somehow this whole thing works.

But watch out, my hubby started giving me instructions for poses. . . 

I call this next one my "Baby Got Back" shot. Maybe I was attempting one of those weird arched back poses models do? Someday I'm going to do a post of all photo bloopers, and this will be in there! See the camera really does add 20 lbs and this time it was all added to my posterior!

Goin' Casual

My feet are feeling totally better but I'm still afraid to wear dress shoes for more than 1/2 a day. At first this discouraged me and I didn't even want to do outfit photos. However, since part of this blog's purpose is encouraging others with fashion barriers, I thought it might encourage others with foot problems. This is just part of my life that I'm opening up here. So instead of the big hold up that I thought it was, this just fits right in to my purpose for being here. I have done the whole skirts with althetic sneakers look before. Not a good look for anyone really, unless you're commuting or something. In fact the charicature someone drew of me for my baby shower when I was pregnant with twins was a huge me in a huge denim jumper with untied reebok's. Yes, even 14 years later I'm embarrassed and appalled. It was kinda funny though. Lets see if we can go for a more attractive casual look.

And just for fun I threw in my faux fair isle crochet sweater!

Curvy Girls Have More Fun

O.K. There, I've said it--I'm curvy! So sue me.
I was checking some of my favorite blogs this morning and came across this post by Sal on Already Pretty about wearing tunics over leggings. I absolutely adore this look, but with my figure, it's questionable at best. Still sometimes I try to pull it off. I'm going to post a couple of outfits from the last few weeks that I've been meaning to post anyway. Occasionally I just wear something I love even if it's not the most flattering and these would be examples of me doing just that.

What do you think? 

Tactile Defensiveness and Clothing Sensitivity

Last night I spoke to a group of foster parents about parenting and ADHD.  Somehow I forgot to even mention clothing sensitivity. How could I forget that when both my son and I have that? I think the fancy smancy term for it is "tactile defensiveness" but I just call it "I'm not wearing THAT!"

This would include anything stiff, itchy, tight anywhere on the body, anything with tags, a tight neck, etc. No turtlenecks, no pencil skirts for more than an hour or so, high heels, shirts that button up, structured jackets that don't allow totally free arm and shoulder movement, spanx, thongs, anything that squeezes anywhere, etc., etc. In short, anything remotely fashionable. Or at least that's what I used to believe. After becoming determined to dress myself more attractively, I began to search out comfortable things that still look nice. So while I'm still cutting tags out of my clothes and thanking whoever decided boys tees should have no tag . . . I'm really trying to be more mindful of fit and not just comfort. 

Here's an example of how comfort can either look sloppy or stylish. No, I did not lose 20 lbs. between the 1st and 2nd picture. In fact, they were taken the same day. The 1st is my uniform for Mom cleaning and running errands on a Saturday. The 2nd isn't perfect but it is a step up. Here I have a very soft shirt as the first layer with a soft cardigan over it. I think the jeans are still slightly "mom jeanish" but all my dark wash jeans have disappeared. 

It's Me in a Jacket!

Introducing the jacket I snagged at Finders Keepers last week. And featuring my hubby's photography! He can get me to be more fun and flirty than the ol' tripod. Something you won't see everyday--me in a skirt and a structured jacket. I wore this to church without feeling pinched and uncomfortable. I didn't keep nursery this time and I'm not sure how crawling after toddlers on the floor would have gone in this getup. But for a regular day, it did great. The outfit got a thumbs up from my hubby and from me.