All Dressed Up

I have been asked a question that relates to fashion and clothing and the essential daily habit of dressing, but before I follow through I have to share this very special conversation that I downloaded from "Kids say the funniest things".

We´ll just start at the very beginning – the lingerie department! Melanie asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old that she couldn't even remember any more. Melanie said, "If you don't remember you must look in the back of your knickers. Mine say five to six." Aaahh ….. Out of the mouths of babes! A friend came around to visit and when she left she said, "Would you mind if I asked you a personal question" to which I said "No" "Do you dress up every day?" A resounding yes! Love it! I throw the cupboard doors open and scan, then start the co-ordinating process of outfit, shoes and accessories and never get bored of it.

Never should a day be wasted even when I have no intention of putting my foot out of the front door. Of course the outfit for a day at home is casual but always co-ordinated – a habit that was formed many, many years ago and a progression from dressing my Barbie Dolls. The annoying thing about Barbie is that she is still in the flush of youth and I am now almost in the flush of menopause. How did that happen? Must be the plastic that is the elixir of youth – no wonder they call them plastic surgeons! By the time I turned fourteen I was already making my own outfits. My favourite part of the whole procedure was selecting the colours and textures creating something wild and wonderful, with layers and inserts and maybe a knot here and there. Making a long story short – I eventually had a career as a clothing designer for twelve years before moving to Marbella and my passion for fashion lives on, that is why dressing every day is no effort at all.
On a serious note - I have to sing praises for my all time favourite designer who influenced my appreciation for fashion: Christian Dior. He created a very feminine post war range of dresses and suits that were referred to as the `new look´. The ´new look´ hit the fashion catwalk in 1947 and the most favoured being the ´bar suit´ which was the combination of a beautifully tailored fitted jacket cut into a small waist over a billowing skirt. At the time Christian Dior´s top assistant in the design room was Pierre Cardin who was well known for his tailoring. In 1956 Dior changed the skirt to a mid calf pencil skirt and during that time his favoured assistant designer was Yves St Laurent. Nothing like being born in the same year as one of my favourite fashion era´s and an era that I would like to go back in time for! Still in the past and one of my most favourite memories was of a lovely classy lady called Sophie who was always out and about in her uniform of gym clothes and very attractive unmade up face. One day we attended the same charity event and when I saw her I was overwhelmed with her transformation and immediately complemented her and her response was "I scrub up well!" Don't you just love that saying! "Got the slap on" ….. Ditto to that too!
That was what I call the `WOW´ factor – the moth turning into a butterfly. The choice to be consistently groomed and moving up a notch or two for those special events where you get a nod of approval or plain Jane it until that special moment when you take their breath away. Our girls shopping excursion a few weeks ago was a lot of fun and made me realise how much I miss the total freedom of choice with 'what to wear'. Thinking back on the days when 'off the peg' was up to the minute fashion and you wore the dictatorship length, style and colour – you were hot to trot and your youth held no sense of danger with regards to your size and shape. Time waits for no woman and before you know it you're 50 and cautious with your choices, aware of the little voice in your head that irritatingly says, "That's a bit young for you," or "That's just a bit too sassy."

Well one of my chosen items of clothing was a fabulous pencil skirt with exciting detail and it fitted like a glove, a very tight glove. I felt fabulous in it and it got the unanimous approval from all the girls but that little voice kept chipping away. Did I buy it? No, and I still feel the pain - but logic has to step in with the reality being that I would have had to wear a pair of killer heels with my very tight 'it might split' pencil skirt. Did I make the right decision? ….. Yes, and do I feel the pain of logic.
The past was a heady experience of fashion trends that were followed with gay abandon. The present is influenced by timeless elegance with comfort and styling that are more personal. The future is making sure that my knickers have got the age tag in the back just in case I don´t remember any more!