Hahaha!! I have to laugh because you can see where my roots are in this photo! They aren’t growing out so much as the color is fading! I absolutely love to have my hair these vibrant colors. I don’t do them that often for a few reasons. The first is cost. I don’t do it myself, and I pay my stylist well for her expertise. She is a magician with color. We’re doing something later this summer that will knock your socks off! The second is it fades so quickly because I just can’t take those ice cold showers. In order to keep the vibrancy, you have to wash your hair in ice cold water, and I wash my hair in the shower. Actually, I turn the heat up during the shower, but there’s also the rinsing. Then, the conditioner goes on and is rinsed away…lots and lots of icy cold water! The last reason (and the least of them, honestly) is Nigel really doesn’t like it. The pros? Well, for one thing, I think it makes my hair look fuller, but these photos were taken before I started minoxidil. I don’t know if my hair would still look fuller. Another is it camouflages my scalp for a bit because it (my scalp) also gets a bit of color. The next pro is I really, really like it! I love having this silver-swiftly-turning-white hair. It’s a blank canvas (just can’t help the art references). I have reached the point in my life when I’m just going to have as much fun as I possibly can. I am not a spring chicken…in case you hadn’t noticed! Another pro is that…being honest here…it gets me noticed. There, I said it! In fact, I’m kinda known by some of the guards at the museum as the one with the colored hair! And, it also opens the door to conversations with people decades younger than me. I think they don’t see me as some intruding old woman at the art museum. They see me as an approachable person who loves to express herself…at least, that’s what I tell myself!
Back to my roots…
The reason I titled this “Back to My Roots” is that I started this blog with the intention of showing clothing for a woman of a certain age and size. When I started, I weighed quite a bit more than I do now and steadily gained weight throughout the next three or four years. For that reason, I said I wasn’t an apple or a pear. I was a zucchini. And, I was. My measurements were about the same all the way down at the time. I’ll be honest and say I shudder when I look at some of those old photos. That’s not body shaming. It’s my reality. I wasn’t healthy, and I wasn’t in a good place mentally, either. IYKYK! I had started reading blogs back when I was teaching and found several of the bloggers I now call friends. I really hope you understand what I’m writing about in this post. This isn’t boasting or posturing. It’s me being honest as always!
Those roots…
I even started a blog and never did anything with it which gave me all kinds of headaches when I officially began this one. So, my roots were in finding clothing that fit my strange body. I wasn’t only a zucchini shape, but I’m also short. I am only 5’1″ and also short waisted. I’m the shortest person in my family right now. I do have some great-great nephews who are toddlers or newborn so I am taller than them! Anyway, petite clothing doesn’t always work on my body because of the various fit points. For example, pants and jeans in petite sizes are usually too short in the rise. Petite dresses can be too constricting in the boobs and shoulders. They can also be a problem if they’re very fitted in the waist due to being short waisted.
More of my roots…
When I was teaching, I almost always followed the three piece rule…a top, a bottom, and a completer piece. And, of course, I wore lots of April Cornell dresses. I have now created an archive of dresses that are too big or just don’t feel like me right now. Anyhoo, once money wasn’t as big an issue, I started buying Talbots clothing. J Jill didn’t have a store near me until I moved! That’s right. I moved 2.5 hours south to where there was one (that wasn’t why we moved), and the outdoor mall put in a J Jill in Fort Wayne! Harrumph! During those heady days of shopping Talbots, I bought scads of pencil skirts. When you’re a zucchini, pencil skirts are not your friend. They ride up. They twist around. If you’d let them, they’d gladly become a belt! My classroom was at the end of the hallway, and all along the way, I’d be tugging that dumb thing down!
My Talbots roots…
But, oh, did Talbots turn out a mean pencil skirt! This was in the days of Michael Smaldone. I’ve written about him before, and I’ll probably write about him again. He created works of art, my friends! He honestly did. The catalogs were like little art books. In 2011, Julianne Moore appeared on the cover as well as in several other shots of that look book. I still have the gold floral Tuileries skirt shown below. It’s way too big, but I swear I’m going to figure out a way to make it an a-line skirt. That was also back in the days when Talbots gave their clothing really interesting names. If you want to see more of Julianne Moore or any of those beautiful look books, just google them. I mean, look at the gallery below. Isn’t it just dreamy? Wouldn’t Carrie Bradshaw love this? Don’t you? Honestly, how could you resist these clothes?
More roots…
As I gained weight (and lost confidence), I started buying looser clothing because I thought it hid those extra ell bees. Hahaha!! Seriously, when you’re in it, you’re deeply in it. I’d done this many times throughout my life. You can read more about it here. And, my answer was always to buy clothes to cover up my body. Well, when you’re a blogger, you are putting those photos out into the world all the time. Oh, and I totally googled myself the other day…come on…you all do it, right? Anyway, it appears I am a content creator now! But, I digress. I just kept buying bigger and more billowy clothing, thinking I was deluding you all. The only delusional person was me! I know, I know! You are going to say I looked good, beautiful, pretty, all the nice adjectives. I did look those things in a larger yet unhealthy body.
My new roots…
Well, now, I’ve lost the weight, hopefully, for the last time, and I’ve got the body I had when I was younger. I am a true hourglass though a short one (still short, still short-waisted). And, I like showing off my hourglass figure, even accentuating it with belts and the like. But, you know what? I also love those billowy, flowy dresses that hide my new figure. I have also reached the age and the mindset that I truly shall wear what I like. Right now, as I’m typing this, I’m wearing a pair of shorts with a 3.5 inch inseam…I wouldn’t have done this in the past. I think the last time I wore truly short shorts was my Freshman year of high school when my mom bought me an outfit that had a sleeveless sweater with matching sweater shorts. Weird, right? Sweater shorts? Anyway, the point is, I am going to continue to wear what I want and what I like. These are my new roots. They are grounded in my ever evolving style. Right now, I love Gudrun Sjödén’s swirling and twirling dresses and slips. I still love my April Cornell dresses as well as the beautiful dresses from Tulip Clothing. I’m also showing off my curves. Don’t believe me? Check out this post or this one. I can even show off my figure in Kantha Bae’s kimonos in this post!
The outfit…
So, here’s one of those shapeless, not-quite-billowy dresses from Gudrun Sjödén. It honestly doesn’t have any shape at all. I had thought to hold onto this Cherai dress for a possible Mondrian Style Imitating Art, but I’m betting that’s already been done. If you think those are all different hunks of fabric sewn together, you’d be wrong. I don’t have any idea how they created this textile, but it’s smooth. I love how there’s no rhyme nor reason to the placement of the different colors and widths of stripes. This dress? It just makes me smile! I love the colors, the stripes, the way the dress fits. It’s just fun! Does it show off my body? Nope, not at all!
The Lewk!
We can’t talk about roots without talking about footwear, right? For some reason, my feet have been in revolt. They are even rejecting my Shay sandals from Miz Mooz. It’s just been a recent thing so the day I took these photos, everything was A-OK. I’m sure they (my feet) will settle down again soon. I chose the black ones because of the black stripes in the dress as well as it just reinforced the Mondrian-esque feeling of this dress. I decided to go all out with color and added various bracelets and a pair of cool earrings from World Finds. If you haven’t tried World Finds yet, I urge you to do so. The jewelry is fairly priced and fun. If you sign up for their emails, you’ll usually receive notice of a sale of one kind or another. Here is their story.
Wrap it up, Marsha
Here’s the real point of this post: I have finally (after 68+ years) reached the point where I don’t care if someone has a problem with what I look like or what I’m wearing. What’s important to me is that I like it. Having said that, y’all know I’m a fan of the f bomb, but you won’t see me wearing that on a shirt. I don’t want someone’s little person sounding out a word I’m wearing. That’s not cool to me. When I sat down to write this post, I had no idea what direction I was going to go. I just went the way my fingers led me! I hope none of you reads this with the mindset that we all have to be a certain way. I had lived with a thin body for several years (even lost 20 pounds during Covid) so when I gained all that weight, I was shattered. I wasn’t healthy, either. My family has diabetes and high blood pressure on both sides so I always have those in the back of my mind. Did I lose weight solely to be healthy? Absolutely not. I love the way I look now. I also didn’t get rid of a lot of the clothes I’d had for more than a decade so they were calling to me. So, can we talk? Were you aware of this fashion plate version of Talbots? How do you feel about pencil skirts? Does anyone know how to convert a pencil skirt to an a-line skirt? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
Affiliate links, discount codes, and such:
Just a reminder that Marsha in the Middle may use an affiliate link. Those links are usually italicized. If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link I provide, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support. My April Cornell code, MARSHA15, now works, but it’s good for only one use. You can get $15 off $100. I’d wait and use it during a really good sale! Use Marsha12 for 12% off any order of $65 or more at Buykud. I have also become a Halftee Partner. Use the code, MARSHA15, for 20% off any purchase. I am also an affiliate with Clara Sunwoo. You can use my code, MARSHA10, for 10% off your entire order. Use MARSHA15 at Katia Designs for 15% off your order. In case you didn’t know, bloggers must disclose the use of affiliate links. That’s why I include this in each post. I have now have a code for Tulip Clothing. Use the code, MARSHA20, for 20% off your order.
Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World . I also link up with I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month as well as the Global Writing Challenge on the second Thursday. I now co-host Fashion Files with Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa every Tuesday. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, Cat, and Rena. I also host 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
Firstly , I really like this Mondrianesque dress on you Marsha . I have dressed to please me for many years and firmly believe this is how it should be – not to please a husband or any societal norms so good for you. Pencil skirts have never been my friend as I am not the right shape for them .
I fully understand about the bright colours in your hair as they do really suit you and your personality and you no doubt stand out from the crowd. I have a friend who volunteers at an aged care home and colours her hair so as not to look like the residents.
Keep on being you.
Lots of bright colours Marsha and why not?
I used to wear pencil skirts at school, but I was an active child and while the slim style worked for me, the back split didn’t as it would tear too often. Pencil skirts were never action wear!