Looking for a New Hair Do

I have a niece getting married on August 17th.  I don't think I wrote here about my disastrous decision in letting my hairdresser cut a new multi-layered style into my hair a few months ago.  I did consent, but the person she showed me with this alleged cut (another beautician at the salon)  -- my hair did not turn out looking ANYTHING like hers! 

I was soooo pissed off.  But I'm culpable too.  I had allowed myself back in 2008 to be talked into a non-suitable multi-layered style for my hair (which has developed a definite wave and has totally lost all body, and is probably thinning, as well.  Sigh) that looked absolutely nothing like the photo I had clipped and presented to my hairdresser.

I probably should have gotten someone else then.  But I stayed.  I like her, she's a good kid.  It cannot be easy making a living these days (especially in an expensive downtown salon/spa where the work station rent must be very high) and so I keep going back and I keep making these same stupid mistakes with my hair!

ACH!

Anyway, so I'm growing out this disastrous layered cut and it's driving me frigging NUTS!  It looks bad.  My hair is too thin and too fine to support particularly these see-through wispy bottom layers.

So I'm going to have as much of that bottom layer and the one above it ALL CUT OFF as will take me to ear length with as close to a single length blunt cut bob as I can get when I go in for another trim/cut on July 31st.  I'm not happy about it, because the little bit of "camoflauge" I presently have from this totally unsatisfactory growing-out cut for my triple chin will be totally gone!  On the other hand, while I was sick I lost 4 pounds and miracle of miracles, they seem to be staying off!  Maybe all those fruits and vegetables I've been eating are finally working.  Don't know - we'll see.  But I actually look slimmer -- or maybe I'm just fooling myself.  Four pounds could not possible make that much difference.  The triple chin has not disappeared, it just looks smaller.  Or my eyesight has gotten that much worse (a distinct possibility).

Here is what I wished my hair might look like (and me, too):

 Well you know, darlings, even when I was 18 and weighed 105 pounds I never did not have a slight little bulge of fat beneath my chin.  Sigh.  But I wear bangs and this hair cut, while not exactly being complementary to my soon to be 61 year old profile, WILL nonetheless make me much happier about how my hair "handles."  And it may look a wee bit thicker, too, with most of those wispy layers gone at last!

I got new shoes - MUCH easier process this time than for the trip to St. Louis last summer -- and I've got some alternative outfits planned -- it's all dependent upon how much weight I can lose between now and August 17th!  EEK!

How to Put an Outfit Together

Okay, I hate to seem like an advert for Sam Moon, but he (or they, or it) keeps coming up with these fantastically enticing emails.  At least, I find the enticing!  Here's the latest from - what else - 11/11/11!

Sorry!  Couldn't capture the entire image in a single screen shot, the top part was cut off.  I do love the suggested accessories, even if the outfit leaves much to be desired.  I am a professional woman, and cut-out sweater without something underneath and black jeans just do not cut it in my world.  So, come on designers, get with the program.  There are millions of us professional women out here waiting for you (DESIGNERS) to give us decent, figure-flattering outfits to wear.  Please do not hate "boobs."  Tits and ass probably did not get us where we are, but we have them, nonetheless!  Especially when we get older...

Putting an Outfit Together - Accessories

I love seeing photographs like this because it shows me the A-B-Cs of how to put fashionable looks together, not only with clothes but also with accessories.  This is from Sam Moon, who sells modestly priced - accessories - hats, scarfs, tons of purses, clutches and bags and fashion jewelry in every size, shape and color under the sun! 

What Do YOU Wear To A Chess Tournament?

Oh my gosh.  Today I played in the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XIV.  I arranged ahead of time to play only the first 3 of the 4 scheduled games because when I played in the HCCC a year ago, I was utterly exhausted by the time R4 came (at 6 p.m.) and my game was brutal and short - I lost.  Well, I lost all of my games that day, and today too, but that's neither here nor there.  I just didn't want to be taking the bus home in the dark in an exhausted state, and then face the long walk from the bus stop home.  The darkness just makes me want to curl up under my blankey and go to sleep! 

The thing is, a year ago, I was heavier and I didn't like my hair and I looked old and dumpy, particularly next to my young, beautiful friend, Shira, and I dressed old and dumpy.  But I was really, really comfortable. YECH!  This year I've turned over a new leaf, spurred, no doubt, by the 60th advent of my birth this year. 

So I hemmed and hawed for two full days about what to wear today to HCCC XIV!  Utterly ridiculous, really, since most of the people there don't even actually see you - sometimes not even when they're sitting right across from you over a chessboard :)  Now, that's focus! 

And I was still hemming and hawing this morning until the last possible moment, when I HAD to leave the house in order to walk to the bus stop in order to catch the bus get to the tournament site on time!

At first I was not going to wear jeans; I was going to wear a very sophisticated get-up:  a black knit bat-wing pullover (it's been very successful at the office), a turtleneck, and black slacks. Then I toyed with the idea of going totally in taupe - the same outfit I wore to lunch with Alexandra Kosteniuk in St. Louis last month.  I loved the outfit, but I looked horrid in the photo that 'Sis took of me in it.  Better not.  Then I thought about pairing another successful "poncho" style top in multi-colored cotton yarn over a cream turtleneck with my brown, taupe, black, and navy blue slacks.  That's ridiculous, you'll be the only person in the entire hotel not wearing jeans.

I wore this (self-photo taken after I got home from the tournament) - dark grey short sleeve cardigan, black mock-turtleneck, and my recently new Amanda jeans that aren't in a "women's" cut!  At least at the beginning of the day my hair was rather attractively arranged, but by the end of the day it was looking the worse for wear after tearing my hands through it so many times, arrrgggghhhh!  I thought the outfit was successful.  I was comfortably dressed but I also felt stylish.

Hello!  That's me, in the reflective bronzed glass surface of my old entertainment center in the family room.  Should have kept my shoes on, but I took the pic on the spur of the moment.

If I ever play in another tournament, I promise to step the outfit up a notch or two.  For now, I mark myself "E" for Effort.

One Blouse - Four Looks

This is cool!  From the Vogue pattern website - they have a magazine they put out and you can page through some sample pages of the current issue.  I've supersized it so you can see the outfits more clearly.  I love the fact that Vogue has also accessorized the different looks - it makes it so easy to dress smart! 

Of course, I don't have a closet big enough for four different pairs of shoes, let alone four different handbags, and all that jewelry?  Oh please!  LOL!  Still, basic wardrobe 101 indicates we all should have at least one good white blouse, one good pencil skirt and a nice matchy matchy pair of dress slacks and fitted blazer.  Crepe drapey black dress pants are something I need - with the tendency of my ankles to swell so much now I think they would be a better fashion choice for dressing up.  In those photos 'Sis took of me dressed in my fancy best in St. Louis, my legs looked horrid.  The dinner wasn't until 9 p.m. and after running around all day my ankles were very puffy - I could barely get the sexy sandals I searched for so long to buckle.  Ach. 

Oh Happy Day....

Last night while digging around in my still-being-cleaned-out closet, I came across an old jacket that I bought back in 2002 and happily wore until I gained weight and the jacket no longer comfortably fit.  It's hung in that closet, collecting dust, ever since.

Dust!  Geez - so that's what happens to the things stuffed waaaayyyy in the back...  I need to start covering my clothes with plastic covers or at least cheap plastic garbage bags, har!  Yeah, I guess that's a comment on some of my clothing choices...

Anyway, I pulled it out and thought, what the heck.  I tried it on.  IT FIT!  Not only did it fit, IT FIT REALLY WELL!  I can button it with no problem - not even a little slight pull across the chest or the back of the shoulders!  WOW.  So, I tossed it in the dryer to remove the dust and I wore it to work today.  It looked great!

It's by Norton McNaughton - is that brand even in production anymore???  It's a light green color, not acid green but like a light lime green.  The material is a sort of microsuede and it has a slight herringbone weave to it. The workmanship on the jacket is great.  The only "issue" - and it doesn't bother me - is that the jacket is so old the buttons have turned color.  I vaguely recall that the buttons used to match the color of the jacket.  The buttons now are a darker, deeper shade of green than the jacket.  I know the jacket didn't fade because it matches the color of a skirt (not separates, the skirt is by a different maker and doesn't fit -- yet) that I bought to wear with it back in 2002.

I can't believe that jacket really fits!  After all these years.  Now I'm encouraged to try on two other jackets from the same period hanging in that back part of the closet gathering dust.

Here's a photo of the Norton McNaughton jacket:

Eh - too lazy to crop the bottom of the door off.  The jacket looks much cuter in person :)

I stuck one arm in a pocket to show how cleverly those pockets are inserted into the seaming of the front - they are practically invisible. 

I wore the jacket with a simple short sleeve polyester shell of black, blues and greens in a sort of animal print from a time when animal prints weren't even invented yet, the blouse is so old!  But you know how polyester is - it lasts forever.  I added navy dress slacks, and a gold tone chain necklace and it all worked.

I noticed something tonight - my waist is coming back :)  That's why these slacks I bought in August are feeling a little loose these days.  And the periwinkle rain/shine coat I bought in the spring from LL Bean needs to have its buttons moved over - 2.5 inches!  Woo woo!

Learning How to Put an Outfit Together

Hola darlings!

Well, knock me over with a feather.  I had the very first evidence today from an independent source that people have noticed my Renaissance!  (Isis does not count, as she would never tell me that I look like crap even when I do).

Of course it came on the heels of my running down to the commisary around 3 p.m. to get one of those packs of two large-size Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!  LOL!  Oh Goddess, they sure did taste good.  Talk about exquisite irony :) 

During the course of a conversation about a check with one of our Trust Accounting people, it came out that she had noticed my reduced size.  So, it's working!  Well, I thought it was, but it's nice to have it confirmed. 
And still reducing.  I thought I was imagining it two days ago when I put on one of the recently purchased pair of slacks and it felt loose in the waistband.  This is another exquisite irony because it - and four other pair of the same that I purchased in other colors - have those "control" panels in the front that don't really do much but they are in the only plain-front (no pockets, and no pleats) slacks that I could find that I felt were reasonably priced.  Of course I purchased BLACK, HEATHER GREY, BROWN, DARK NAVY, and HEATHER TAUPE.  All in the same size and all the same cut/style.  They are by Briggs of New York and the "short" proportion which works really great for me because I don't have to hem! 

Anyway, I dismissed the slightly loose-fitting waistband on the navy slacks until I noticed the exact same thing today with the grey slacks.  As I have worn both pair before and not noticed this, I have deduced that a little more of my robust middle section has bit the dust!  Hooray!  The best part, of course, is that others are noticing :)

The new stuff I wore today:

St. John's Bay 3/4 tab sleeve cardigan sweater
in grey striped cotton knit.  Very soft!

Because it was cool today (in the low 50's this morning, high of 64), I wore a cotton long sleeve mock neck under the sweater.  Unfortunately, because I was running late I didn't have time to think out accessories; I would have liked to wear earrings, my cuff watch and another ring along with a couple of gold chains (I prefer gold to silver) but as I grabbed a necklace out of my "favorites" jewelry box (no time to hunt for the thin chains I wanted to layer) I realized I had left my watch and the ring I wanted downstairs the night before -- grabbed another ring, no time for earrings -- and then I ran down the stairs, threw a last handful of peanuts to the squirrels out on the deck, secured the patio door, threw on my jacket, grabbed my bag and was out the door, sans bangle watch and second ring.  Better planning is definitely in order!

Briggs of New York flat-front control-
panel slacks in Heather Grey

While I was glad to have the long sleeve mock neck underneath the sweater I was not keen on how it looked. I think the weight of the sweater (light) and the cut of its sleeves dictate that in the future I'll be wearing it with a sleeveless tank underneath. I had to do a lot of tugging to get the mock neck sleeves and the sweater's sleeves  adjusted to a comfortable position. It wasn't tight, but the cotton long-sleeve mock neck is definitely a heavy weight material - with no spandex so it does not "hug" one's body -  and the cotton knit is meant to fit close and caress one's skin - not long cotton sleeves.

The shoes I had to wear with this outfit were a FAIL.  I love my comfortable Dockers slides (no longer made, evidently), but the proportions I had on called for a higher heel - something over 1/2 of an inch which is what the slides are.  Also, they do not present the most flattering "profile" of my feet, which are not very pretty at the best of times!

I didn't used to care (much) about shoes, as long as they were cheap and functional.  Now I DO!  My hunt for fancy dress shoes for the St. Louis trip taught me in full the trials and tribulations of finding the perfect shoes.

All in all, I would give this look a PASS.  It's conservative but tres suitable for my office.  It will be improved with better accessorizing, some shoes that get my heels off the floor, and the slacks need to be tailored by taking them in from mid-thigh down to the ankles.  Wow. 

I am going to baste up some new seams on my new black slacks this weekend and see how they look, and if they work, I'll try to stich up some new seams on at least a few pair of my new slacks.  The waistband thing I'm going to ignore until they're all too big by at least a good inch! 

Round-up: I got the sweater on sale for $19.99 at J.C. Penney's online and the slacks at Boston Store in the Shoppes at Grand Avenue, downtown Milwaukee, WI, at an "exceptional value" price of $27.99.  The white cotton long sleeve mock neck (not shown) is already owned.