Circa late 1970s. I worked with a Swiss Italian woman who had lived many years on France. She was the epitome of chic. I copied her shamelessly, right down to the knotted scarf as in this photo. And the shirt under a sweater, which was definitely not the style in those days.
The Chic Files - or has it actually been the un-chic files?
Yes. Sadly, I have been a tad unchic (understatement!). Busy as, tired as with still having blips here and there with health and busyness, and these have definitely led to my standards slipping.
It helps to be organised
I am that strange person who lays out the next days clothes, usually mid-mornings but often before bed. I get up very early most days, and am out of the house really early, too. So, in order to save time and Libran dithering about what to wear in the small window of time that I currently have in the mornings, I make sure that my clothes are ready-to-wear.
No doubt others do this too, for whatever reason.
Succumbing to the chilly, or very rainy, days
I inherited a Lorna Jayne set of track pants and sweat jumper. I have been wearing them. A lot. And also a very warm black hoodie. I dragged out a slate coloured duffel coat that my daughter-in-law gave me, many years ago. It's quite heavy, and water repellant. I'm also wearing a beanie, a gift from one of my daughters. To be honest, I'm not really into trackies, sweats, hoodies, duffel coats, beanies. Not at all. To me, they are a bit unchic.
But, I never knew just how warm and comfortable they all are. I have finally realised why women wear them. Chic or not. During these cold snaps, I am enjoying them.
Time to biff the unchic gear
I've been massively biffing a lot of clothes that I've grown out of. And, it just feels so good. Jumpers that have gotten past their best days, jeans, and tees, all off to the local Salvation army. Clothes that don't fit, and my slightly older winter gear, they just weren't looking nor feeling good. Unchic as.
And (sob!) some fabulous gear is just too big for me now
A few phenomenal jackets, gifted by the same daughter-in-law, many moons ago. A couple of lovely soft shirts. I couldn't wait to shrink down into them all. But I've gone past that. I was gutted. They are swimming on me. (not joking about this!)
So, to fill in the gap in my winter wardrobe, and to restore a wee bit of chicness in my life, I got a very warm thick cotton, light grey, crew neck jumper. On sale, of course, so it was as cheap as chips. Which is my kind of chic.
I want to break free (Queen - a fave group)
From time to time, I visit op shops. Usually I don't buy anything. And recycle boutiques as well (more about that in the next post!!).
I do like plain gear, solid colours, but I also like a bit of quirkiness. I have some fabulous tops from over thirty years ago that are really unusual. And a "suit" jacket with shoulder pads, would you believe, from the decades ago distant past.
I've realised that I'm not so interested in being "current". I really do not think that this is what chic-ness is about. Not at all. Chic is about the expression of one's individual style.
And this is what I'm a-hankering to get back into. Being me, expressing my own "quirks", if you will. Wanting to break free from being and having the latest and often not so great, gear. I truly don't believe that something has to be new to look nice.
I'm sure that I'm not the only one who wants to break free and express their own individuality.
You might be interested in:
** link here to a common-sense post regarding chic-ness
** link here to my spirituality and healing blog
Link to Global Unity Festivals on youtube, here. I'm in the Wave 1, Asia/Pacific episodes.
Link to a post explaining Global Unity Festivals here
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