the chic files

sigh

where has my chicness gone?

lockdown clothes blues

Most days of the lockdown, I have been making a point of not descending into slobbiness. Some days, of course I have. I have slobbed. And thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt like I was doing something sneakily naughty, and getting away with it. Yes, I am pathetic, and yes, I do know that I am.

However, as a habit, and as a moi rule, I do like to be tidied up and looking and feeling good. It was just something that I saw Nanna, and my slightly older aunt, Margaret, do each day. And so in my young teenage head, I thought that this was just what one did. Decades later, I'm still doing it. It's a nice way to live. And I have found that for me, it stops me being a slob in other areas of my life.

Almost always, I do dress nicely, albeit very casually, and put on a miniscule amount of make-up. I know for sure that this makes me feel good, it makes me get into whatever work needs to be done (I mostly work from home), it makes me feel that I am accomplishing things. So yeah, I do like to scrub up.

My winter clothes, though, are a trifle sad. Threadbare tights, trousers that were so worn out that they had to go into the ragbag, not enough jumpers. All tres sigh. And of course, I am too paranoid to actually go clothes shopping during level 2 of the lockdown. I may have to "get over it" and finally do some online shopping. In the sales, naturally. I do not believe in spending a lot of money to look good. 

Chic-ness has just not been happening. I often wonder if it is actually possible to be this chic person when I'm only 157 centimetres tall. I also wonder if tiny people are supposed to look perky instead. Which I am so not doing.

My idea of chic has nothing to do with looking and dressing expensively. Nor one hundred percent tidily. It's more like a way of dressing that is unique to oneself, that allows the inner charm and quirks to be outwardly expressed. A reflective soul like moi is quite reticent about loudly expressing oneself in word, deed, or clothing. It's more of a quiet expression. 

But sometimes I do realise that I must have be doing something right here and there. For example, I've flatted with quite a few different women over the years, and have been shocked whenever one of these women would dress just like me. Same lipstick colour, same outfits. In one case, even the same hairdo and colour. Quite  freaky. 

But today, I had a call from someone wanting to catch up. Immediately. They were by my gate. And guess what? I'd been slobbing. Well, not actually. I was so busy Doing Important Stuff that I had simply forgotten to sort out moi. And this is another reason why, generally, I like to look okay, because then, it's like I'm ready for anything exciting that might suddenly happen. All systems a-go. 

I'm assuming that I'm not alone in this?