Hi to all my Gal Pals,
This is going to be one of those cynical blogs (surprise, surprise!). I think I was sold a bill of goods when they told me that these were going to be my “Golden Years”. I am pretty sure I was told this would be the period of my life when I could relax, travel, pursue hobbies and spend time with loved ones without the constraints of work or other responsibilities. It refers to a period of prosperity, happiness, and satisfaction after retirement. I think I have been cheated! I have been handed the wrong ore! Instead of gold in the bank I was given lead in my ass. Instead of traveling to other places (which takes money) most days I have the energy of a sloth. I am going to get me one of those T-shirts that say “Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done.” I am reading up about the “Golden Years” because I wanted to know who coined this idiom. I knew there had to be a gimmick involved and I was correct. It was a concept coined by a man named Dell Webb and his company in 1959 to cast retirement as the time for a life of leisure. His pitch was “Instead of being dreaded years of decline, retirement would become something people longed for”. This is the hype he used to sell retirement living in the US through the Sun City brand of communities. In other words, he had a product to sell and he knew the right words to make his product appealing. Apparently he was right because Dell Webb senior living communities are popular. We are being set up for what seems to be an idealistic phase in life but factors such as health problems, financial instability, lack of family support or just not knowing what to do with one’s time all play a roll in shaping our experience during this period and can make life challenging. It is like something Crabby Maxine once said “Hip joints, knee joints, lower back….yep, my triple -action doppler says it’s going to rain.” For some, referring to their “Golden Years” could come across as insensitive. The phrase can sometimes carry connotations of privilege or wealth but not all of us may have the same opportunities or resources available. I no longer have the delusion of my “Golden Years” but rather the reality of “It is what it is” and I try not to let it get to me. During these times I lean on Aunty Acid’s humor. She says “When I’m feeling down and someone tells me to ‘Suck It Up’ I get an overwhelming urge to break their legs and say ‘Walk It Off’. Gotta love her!
The topic today is women’s business “suits” (hence the blog title and the picture of the diamond suit) and how they are trending in the current fashion. First, let me tell you a little about the history of these suits. The 20th century saw influential designers such as Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent designing business suits for women that exuded sophistication and elegance. Women’s business suits were originally designed for practicality and modesty but they have evolved to represent power, confidence and style. Today, women’s suits come in a myriad of styles, colors and fits. Well, if you are like me and have several business suits just hanging in the closet because you don’t need them in retirement but you hesitate to get rid of them because they are so lovely and were so expensive, you are in luck. The new trend is wearing suit jackets and blazers with casual pants including jeans. If you don’t have a suit jacket my suggestion is to go to your local thrift store and buy one. Don’t just look in the women’s section because there are some sharp suit jackets in the men’s section. Also, business slacks are known as dress pants which are the more formal or semi-formal style of pants. However, you can wear them as part of a smart-casual outfit.
This is where I usually discuss landscape design but instead of 1 picture of a landscape design and 3 fashion designs I am going to take two of my business suits and show you 4 pictures of how I use them to make 4 different outfits. I will show you how to dress these pieces up or make them more casual while hiding the belly bulge.
So let the fashion show begin!
This is the suit jacket of my favorite business suit. It has a beautiful sheen and the color is a cross between a dark gold and a taupe with a creme colored pinstripe. I paired it with a loose-fitting taupe colored top and winter white brushed corduroy pants. I am wearing my off- white, 1 inch heels because the continuation of the same color from the waist down gives my legs a long lean look even when wearing a heavier material. It is the ombré scarf that really pulls this outfit together because it highlights each piece of the outfit and helps make the outfit semi-casual.
I have accessorized this outfit with the off-white coloring of the pearl and gold ring, the off-white color of the stone in the gold bracelet, the color of some of the beads of the necklace and the stone in the gold earrings. The copper colored watch, beads of the necklace and the setting of the small diamonds of the other ring add a little pop of color while staying within the same color palette.
Here I have dressed down the pants of the same suit by pairing the pants with an off-white, linen sleeveless top and an eggshell colored topper that is beautifully embroidered with crochet trim, both of which match the pinstripes in the pants. You can see the embroidery better in the next picture. To make it more casual I am wearing it with a wing tip pair of shoes matching the color of the pants.
All the accessories fall within the same color palette as the outfit. The watch is antique gold while one ring has a brown topaz stone in a gold setting the other ring is a gold band with a mass of tiny faux diamonds. The shorter neck accessory is made of cream, gold, taupe and copper colored yarns and trims. My cousin Sally made the longer neck accessory by knotting together several pieces of trim that beautifully match the shorter neck accessory. The colors of the bangle bracelets are taupe, brown and cream matching the neck pieces and the earrings.
I have a a thing for suits with a showy sheen which make this suit jacket look silver. To dress it down I have paired it with a white cowl neck top and black brushed corduroy jeans. Because the jacket is shiny I paired the outfit with my shiny Patton leather shoes. I love that the longer top under the short jacket is considered stylish because I can hide my belly bulge with this style.
The fun suit pin is made up of zebra stripped yarn. You know from past blogs that I love to mix patterns especially geometric patterns. The geometric pattern of the earrings looks sharp with the silver, white and black geometric pattern of the bracelet. The long dark silver chained necklace is made up of black beads and I love the way it hangs from the cowl neck of my white top. The square ring has a dark metal setting with silver beads and goes beautifully with the dark silver metal of the watch. I have often worn my black ring made of wood but I had to pair it with this outfit because it really goes well with the black corduroy pants.
The shimmer of the pants goes so beautifully with this black collared vest. The painted white flowers and leaves are connected by a shiny silver metallic paint. I am wearing a black mock turtle neck top as a background so you really are drawn to the shimmery pattern of the vest. To make it a little more dressy I have pared it with a pointed toe pair of heels.
The long silver necklace contains flowers similar to those of the vest. The bangles are shimmery white and the silver ones are cut in such a way they look shimmery also. The band of the watch is covered with a silver shimmery plastic and the cuts of the rhinestone earrings make them very reflective of the light. One of the rings is made up of silver looking leaves and the other is a black and faux diamond band.
Well, there has been no movement as far as my weight and yet I am happy. Last week I had a small birthday get-together for my daughter and son-in-law. Of course there were left-overs that someone had to eat. That someone was me! Apparently there are a lot of calories in fried chicken, macaroni-and-cheese, corn bread, cupcakes and 4 different flavors of ice cream. Who knew?! So now you see why I am happy that I only gained a half of a pound. I guess I relate to Aunty Acid’s rational, “My new hobby is getting fat. I’m getting really good at it!”. Of course I really like Crabby Maxine’s problem solving “I finally decided to do something about my weight…LIE!”.
So, until next month remember God loves you and so do I.
A Peek Into Pam’s Closets 