Sunday, December 20, 2015

Mix and Mingle and Sparkle and Ruminations on Style (or my lack of interest thereof)


Some wonderful posts by Kim at Northern California Style and Jennifer at A Well Styled Life made me think about this post.

I haven't bought much this year, clothing-wise, but I always do like my shoes. And while an expensive shoe is no doubt a thing of beauty and longevity, sometimes you need something else. Sometimes you can only afford something else.

My dress this holiday season was black.

Boring huh?

But I added some accessories, and most of the sparkle came from my shoes.

It seems that over the last few years, I have allowed my inner disco ball to have its day. This morning I lined them all up and kind of went "huh, that's a lot of sparkly shoes."

The red ones were $30 at Payless and make me feel like Dorothy!


Perhaps I do not need any more sparkly shoes.

On the other hand, a pair of sparkly shoes in the dead of winter is a fine thing: a conversation starter, something to look at under the dinner party table, something that makes you stand out, for good or bad. When my toes twinkle, I twinkle.

At one point, I considered ridding myself of some of these things, and yet I loved them, in spite of it all. In my book, loving something is a sign that one should keep the thing even if they aren't perfect or tasteful. I can think of dozens of things I would part with before I could completely eliminate sparkle in my life. And while darling Jennifer helped me realize how best to present myself to the world now that I am in my fifties, a sparkly party shoe will always be in my closet. It seems my shoes are the Iris Apfels of my closet.

I have learned many lessons this past year: that like is best with like, that creativity and bravery are valued by me more than anything and that I don't have enough to say about clothes, especially when compared with those who genuinely have a flair or budget for it. I like clothes, I just don't care enough it seems to work at, and it is work for me, as I am not a natural. A few nice pieces of clothing are swell, sure, but it doesn't go much further than that for me.  I much prefer to see what others do there and admire from afar.

Shoes on the other hand, are a different matter. I love my shoes. And I love variety in my shoes and boots. None of the shoes in the picture above were expensive (save my old Donald Pliners) but they are comfortable and I love them.

Over the past year I have struggled to keep this blog interesting and I suspect at times I have failed. When I started blogging several years ago, it was a way to get back into writing and truthfully, the fashion blogs were what I stumbled upon first. But really, I wasn't particularly good at it and I spent more money than I cared to in order to keep up. I am not a fashionista and the effort to try and be one was not satisfying for me.

I will always admire the style of others, but to be my authentic self, I must admit that while I like to look nice, I am not all that comfortable sharing my blah outfits of the day! :-) And this is no critique of others for their love of clothing and their beautiful style. We are all unique, and our interests  should be celebrated.

I am even contemplating a moratorium on clothes shopping for awhile, and simplifying things further.

So I hope you will stick around as I muse on other things (and the odd pair of shoes), including creativity, bravery, family, and all the goodness in this old world.

xoxo Wendy

14 comments:

  1. whatever you wear or don't wear, Wendy, your sparkle and charm come from within.

    I haven't given up hope that someday I too will evolve.

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    1. Love you Fred! I don't think I've evolved, I just kind of revolved and realized I should probably only blog about stuff that really makes my heart sing. Of course, I'll probably continue to post the odd personal Instagram photo with what I'm wearing some evening! Of course after Christmas I am on the big push to lose menopause weight, so we will see!

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  2. I just love the way you write Wendy! Doesn't matter what it's about. You write just like you talk and it feels like you are here beside me having tea! That's what I like about your blog....

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  3. I always enjoy your posts! Any topic :)

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  4. Wendy, I love reading your blog. Your personality shines through and that's what I'm here for. I often learn something from you and what I love most about you is your beautiful optimistic spirit. Happy holidays!
    A

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  5. Your twinkly toes suit you, I think. I've had twinkly legs for parties this year,the glittery ribbed charcoal ones from JC a couple years ago. I found a nice black fair isle cotton/bamboo sweater dress from Chaps/RL ($59.), these tights and short black boots. Done.

    I really hope you keep writing in this forum as well as your other novelistic ones, about whatever moves you.

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  6. Hi Wendy, I have to disagree when you say that you weren't particularly good at fashion blogging. Perhaps it's because you were truly on a mission (finding your style after leaving your high-powered job), but I really enjoyed all your fashion posts. I, myself, am a pretty plain dresser but I just loved the way you put things together. Anyway, you have evolved, you have your style now, and it's quite ok for your to write about other things - you will still have readers! Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thanks Patricia! Perhaps I will throw the odd one in when the mood hits me!

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  7. In my opinion your blog posts are worth a read regardless of the topic. Your voice shines through.

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  8. I have to agree with the others Wendy. You don't need sparkly shoes to sparkle. You twinkle from within. I think it is totally appropriate to wear exactly as much sparkle as you want. Even though my style is fairly conservative, I always like to feel put together. If my grandkids come over and catch me on the occasional day when I am only wearing sweats, they will definitely ask me if I am still wearing my pajamas as I don't quite look like myself. You write beautifully, Wendy, and it is a gift to read your posts. The most merry Christmas to you and your family. I hope you are enjoying it to the fullest.

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Kindness is a virtue...