THE IMPORTANCE OF NEVER LOSING YOUR STYLE (In Whatever Expression It May Take)

Here is a question: what is your style?  Is it trendy or traditional?  Is it jeans and t-shirts?  Is it high heels or flats?  Is it you?  The latter question being what I am really trying to get at.  Yes, I am aware that fashion is not the most cerebral of topics, but it is important nonetheless.  Its importance lies in the fact that what you wear has a direct correlation to how you feel and how you are perceived.  And with the multitude of changes affecting our bodies and emotions during middle age, what we decide to wear can sometimes either make or break our mood.  Are we easy and fierce today or are we disheveled, uncomfortable and bothered?  See what I mean?  Putting forth our best effort so we can put our best foot forward translates to the world that we still care about ourselves.  Whether that foot is wearing a Converse trainer or a Louboutin heel, well, that is entirely up to you.  Fashion and style are about being you and only you. It creates another avenue in which for us to express ourselves, our mood, our experience and our beauty.  An expression that can be loud or demure, strong or fragile, contemporary or classic, light or heavy, or fun and playful.  Regardless if we have put on a few pounds or certain parts are not where they use to be, our bodies are ourselves and they are beautifully aged in natural perfection and deserve the respect of being draped in what we perceive as our own sense of self.  Our individual style is our presentation of ourselves to the world.  It is an idealized declaration of who we are; spoken only in a language that we speak.  Whether the world is able to comprehend our fashion is not the point.  No, not at all.  The point is that we continue our expression, continue speaking our language, and continue appreciating our individuality.  I just find the freedom in all that to be so very exciting.  So many choices to do what we want and be who we are in our clothes, makeup, and hair.  We are constantly evolving, growing and changing, why not show that off in what we choose to wear? 

 Getting dressed and styling an outfit should be a creative outlet for us.  Granted, sometimes this is easier said than done and it would behoove me if I didn’t mention the times that I can’t button that button or zipper that super cute vintage dress I just bought - throwing all of my clothes on my bed and cursing my wardrobe.  We have all been there. Indeed, this is the time to pause and stop taking it too seriously.  In our hectic and manic worlds, this seemingly mundane task should actually be one of the fun parts of our day.  The fun part of being us and the time that we find our voices.  It is our time to dress to impress; that is, dress to impress only us.  This is why you have to be true to what you like and what makes you feel.. like you.  Wear your clothes, don’t let them wear you because you are the star.  Please don’t ever forget that.

And, so what if the skin on our arms is becoming crepey or that our knees are not as tight as they use to be.  We can still rock a dress, swimsuit, a cape, or whatever WE CHOOSE to wear.  Choice… what a beautiful thing.  In fact, we still have a plentitude of choices when it comes to fashion - even at our ages.  The beauty in being our age is that we can take from different decades and incorporate it into our modern wardrobe.  We have a wealth of knowledge and experience to pull from.  Having lived almost half a century now myself, it is truly unfortunate that it has taken me so long to feel this comfortable and confident in my body.  What a shame.  I have wasted too much time worrying about trying to fit into a certain size or being a certain weight.  Although, I suspect a lot of us have.  Who cares!  Actually, who has time to care?  Especially when I know there is a fabulous dress out there in my size just waiting for me.  And there is one out there waiting for all of us.

The most important lesson here is that our aging bodies are still beautiful and we should respect them as such.  So slay those fashion Gods, and become a fashion God yourself.  Break rules, be a maverick, don’t dress your age and forge your own fashion path.  And when the mood strikes, make a sudden left turn and do it with attitude.  Put on those jeans and trainers, those heels or flats, that skirt or trousers.  Put on those sunglasses, that scarf, that lipstick, but please never ever forget to put on your beautiful smile.  And then take a selfie.  Be proud of who you are and show the world that you are the greatest.  It is all about investing in ourselves and taking the time to be fabulous because at middle age… we are all so very fabulous.  Being true to our sense of style is being true to ourselves.  And our true selves have never looked better.

Now go take that selfie... I’ll wait.