Hi to all my Gal Pals,
In November of 2018 I started a blog with the expectation that I would stop after 12 postings. Well, it is now 2023 and I am writing blog #45. I have yet to run out of clothes in my closet and thoughts to write about. I realized that in almost 5 years all of you literally are watching my age progression. As we age our skill sets change. In my case usually not for the better or maybe they are just different. I recently saw a tee shirt that described my current skills perfectly, “It takes real skills to choke on air, fall up the stairs and trip over nothing. I have those skills”. For those of you who know me you know that I rarely am at a loss for words. I do have my moments especially when other’s (typically those younger than myself) are trying to be kind when referring to my age. Let me give you a few examples. I am not sure how to respond when someone says “You look good for your age”. I am sure they mean it as a compliment. I usually respond with a smile but in my head I am saying “Thanks, I think” and “Yep, I’m old”. My cleaning lady told me I didn’t look a day over 66. Yikes! Again, I am sure she was just being complimentary but internally I felt deflated. The last time I went shopping I asked the retail person about a senior discount. She says, “Oh yes, I already gave it to you”. NOOOOOO! Is it that obvious? I don’t know why I get so flabbergasted when I hear these statements but I become speechless! It reminds me of something Aunty Acid said “You’re still a ROCK STAR I whisper to myself as I take my multivitamins and get into bed at 8:45”. I guess I will just have to grin and bear it. Can you hear me sighing?
I think the title of this blog gave you a hint as to the fashions of the day. I wear casual dresses during the summer because I tend to feel cooler but I rarely “dress up” except for church or special occasions. I still dress up to go to church because when I was growing up dressing up was expected of me by my parents. So to this day I continue to dress up to go to church because I am sure if I didn’t I would hear my father shouting from heaven “Pamela Jean, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!” I couldn’t handle the guilt so I continue to wear my Sunday best. As far as the history of dresses, experts believe that dresses date back to the beginning of humanity and the style of the dress helped to distinguish which tribe the women belonged to. The more elaborate dresses that evolved into what we wear today were first seen during the Mesopotamia Era (5000 – 4100 BC). The evolution of the dress since then is drastic. For example, early century women wore dresses that covered most of their skin to help them find a suitable husband because they were seen as more pure and innocent. Today it seems that just the opposite is true with the “mini’ skirt and sexy dresses. If you have been following my blog since its inception you know my goal is to show fashions from my closets that hide the dreaded BELLY that shows up after 55 so we don’t need to wear those stifling shapers. This bodes the question that Aunty Acid asks “Dear Science, When I suck in my tummy, where does the fat go and why doesn’t it stay there?”. Ponder that for a few minutes. Anyway, this will be my first and last blog on my favorite dressy dresses (not after 5:00 dresses) that hide the belly.
I always like to throw in a picture of some sort of element of landscape design. Well it is the middle of the summer so I like to show you a picture of the front of my townhouse. I loved the botanical garden in the back of my previous house. You have seen many of the pictures from that time in my life. But I have to admit it is so nice to be able to fully enjoy my summers. It was nice to have the summer off when I worked but I spent most days working in the gardens.
This is how I “dress up” the front of my townhouse. It changes from year to year. You probably can’t see all the yard decorations (what I consider the jewelry of a garden)) but there are 12 different items spread around these containers. When I make up my summer containers I make sure in each one I have the 3 tiers, the thrillers, the spillers and the fillers. I may not have a half acre of flowers any more but I still have this little area of color.
OK, let the summer dress up fashion show begin.
The panels that hang loose in the front totally cover my belly. The material underneath the panels is plain with the bleeding colors similar to the the colors of the background of the patterned panels. The back of the dress is also beautiful with the undersea pattern that goes from the shoulders to the ankles. This dress reminds me of the beach so I wore my Barbie doll shoes to make it look like I am in my bare feet and ready to walk along the shoreline.
I am pretty sure you have seen this jewelry before in one of my past summer blogs. The bangle bracelet is decorated with green fish and it looks so cute with the fish necklace. The watch has a yellowish-green band and one of the rings has a yellowish-green stone while the other ring has a blue stone that matches the color of the fish. The earrings have blue and yellowish-green beads.
This draping of this dress reminds me of fashions of the Victorian Era. The top and bottom of the dress are the same pattern of tiny coral flowers. The bottom part of the dress is sheer while the bodice is lined. Like the previous dress, this one also has two front panels that criss-cross in the front and they have loops that attach to the pearl buttons. The criss-cross panels have the same coral flowers as the top and bottom but on a larger scale. Again, the panels hide the belly. I wear the dress with a simple open-toe sandal. This dress is very feminine so I wear very simple jewelry as seen below.
While I have diamonds, I love wearing pearls. This necklace and earrings are perfect for this dress because they look amazing with the pearl buttons on the dress that hold up the criss-cross panels. I am also wearing a simple gold band pearl ring and a ring band that has these beautiful rose gold flowers . I layered a gold chain coral flower necklace with the pearl necklace. The watch band matches the leaves of the flowers and I wear a simple gold bangle bracelet on my other wrist.
The high waist on this dress helps to hide my belly. The cocoa brown background of the dress is imprinted with dark brown and cream colored polka dots. The dark brown buttons that go down the front of the dress look just like the dark brown polka dots. What you can’t see in the picture is that coming down from the bodice are hundreds of tiny pleats. You would think that pleats would make me look fat but because of the high waist and the fact that they are very tiny pleats it actually makes me look thin. I wore cream colored pumps to match the cream color of the polka dots.
This picture shows you how tiny the pleats are in the dress. I paired the dress with faux off white large pearls, pearl earrings and a gold band pearl ring. I also layered my pearl necklace with a longer gold chain, adjustable necklace with gold beads. The bracelet I bought from a jewelry craftsman at the Holland, Michigan Arts and Crafts show which I will be attending this August 5th. The other ring has been shown in previous blogs and is a beautiful gold band containing a heart shaped brown topaz stone.
Well, that is it for the fashion show this month. In my last blog I told you I could eat just about anything I wanted to eat because I was hyperthyroid. I told you that I had to make a decision about changing the strength of my medicine to bring up my levels so I would fall in the normal range. I decided to keep taking the pill strength I was on till it ran out so I could keep eating what ever I wanted without gaining weight (don’t tell my doctor). Well, even the higher strength med that typically kept me from gaining weight has its limits. I guess eating chocolate covered caramels, a blueberry scone, an eclair, nachos, a blueberry tart and a blueberry hand pie over 4 days was pushing it. I agree with Aunty Acid who says “I think the reason we’re born with 2 hands is so that we an eat 2 candy bars at once”. Unfortunately, I gained 3 pounds. It was worth every calorie but I start my adjusted meds in 3 days because my current ones run out then. Right before my vacation starts! Darn! I guess I will have to go kicking and screaming into a weight loss program which I am sure will include exercise. UGH! Does going to physical therapy 2 days a week count as an exercise program? As Aunty Acid would say “Don’t make me exercise, I’m in the fitness protection program”. I tend to follow the lead of Crabby Maxine who says “Whenever I feel the need to exercise, I lie down until it goes away”.
So, until next month after my vacation, which means I will be a few pounds heavier, remember God loves you and so do I.
A Peek Into Pam’s Closets 