Turquoise and Purple two of my favorite year round colors

Please excuse my wet hair today. I had a limited window of time to have my DH take the photos.

I know some of you say that you never find anything at Chico's. My problem is that I find too much. The three quarter sleeve denim jacket is a new Chico's purchase that will be great to wear with sleeveless dresses so that I can cover my arms. 



Bracelets from L to R Picture 1 Dillards, Art fair, Michele Watch, Etsy,
Picture 2: Gift, Art Fair, Silpada, Art Fair
Necklace: Chico's (I have worn this necklace a lot. It is a summer favorite.)



Jacket: Chico's
Belt: Chico's (It ended up off center.)
Dress: Target Mossimo
Shoes: Think Black Patent

Harry has decided that he likes to be in the photos.


I have been thinking about Pam's Foundational 5 post at Over50Feeling40 and I think I have the first 3 of my foundational 5.

1. Versatility: I should be able to wear it with more than one outfit
2. Maintenance: It should not have to be ironed or dry cleaned. I do not want to iron every day like I did when I was working.
3. Really, Really Love it: It should be something I really love, not something pretty that is just a bargain. ( I am really guilty of buying things that seem to be bargains, but are really not since I might only wear it once.)

I am still thinking about my other 2 and I will post them as soon as I decide.

I have a wedding to attend tomorrow at our local botanical garden. I think I may wear this dress and jacket to the wedding instead of the dress and shrug that I had planned to wear shown on this post. It is a casual wedding and this is a comfortable colorful dress.  I am hoping I might be able to take some photos of the gardens.

Don't Compare & Despair

I wasn't feeling well today, so I spent some of my time watching TV. What Not to Wear was on and as I watched it, something Carmindy said struck a nerve.  She told the young lady she was doing makeup on, "Don't play the compare and despair game."  


I know that I am guilty of having done just that. I see models in magazines and actresses on TV that are so beautiful and thin.  Fashion models are often under 20 years old, so no wonder they are so pretty and thin!   The lovely actresses are mostly young too. Plastic surgery and hair extensions help out too. It is silly for me to compare myself to them!  I know a lot of women over 50 who are beautiful because they are so smart, talented, kind, and generous of spirit.  Their physical beauty may have faded but that does not mean they are not attractive.


I also received a new fashion magazine today and saw an ad featuring Jennifer Lopez. You could see that her lipstick had been applied to make her lips look larger than what they really are. A picture of Diane Keeton in another ad had obviously been airbrushed. I have seen photos of her that were not retouched and she has wrinkles just like the rest of us!  No wonder that some women feel they are lacking when we compare ourselves to images which have been altered to show perfection not reality.


I am so thankful for all the over 50 bloggers who are showing other women that they are not alone and that their worth is not in physical beauty but in their talent, style, honesty, integrity, and generosity.

Fashion Challenge-Summer Trends - Military paired with Feminine

Megan Mae Daily's Fashion Challenge Summer Trends Military Paired with Feminine sounded like a lot of fun, so I decided to participate today. I have always had a thing for military styles. Give me braid and buttons and my heart goes pitty pat. I haven't found much plus size military that I like except a couple of jackets I got at Lane Bryant. They don't have all the details, but they were as close as I could get to what I really wanted. 

Today, we took photos in the front yard to keep Harry from getting my pants dirty. Harry is a pants licker and I cannot break him from doing it. He will follow me around and lick where ever he can get to before I jerk away. I have often said that if CSI looked for trace evidence on my jeans they would find the mother lode of dog snool ( a potent combo of nose and tongue liquid.) Sorry if it is too much info, dog people know this sort of stuff.

The feminine parts of the outfit are the necklace, top (which has a really pretty neckline), the bracelets, and the shoes. The military is the jacket and the pin which I wore on my jacket to resemble a medal.



My photographer did not tell me the necklace had a leaf that had turned the wrong way.



Jacket: Lane Bryant
Top: Dressbarn
Jeans: Chico's Slim Leg  (Not sure why they call them that, they really aren't that slim)
Belt: Target (I turned the buckle part to the back)
Necklace: ebay vintage 80's
Bracelets: Silver cuff Coldwater Creek, others Miscellaneous sources. The bracelet with the pink disk beads I made.
Shoes: Target

Visible Monday - Lolla Rosa Pink

It is Visible Monday organized by http://notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.com/, the day those of us who occasionally feel invisible become visible women. This outfit makes me happy every time I wear it.  I wore it to dinner tonight at Red Lobster. You would think that a seafood restaurant would have good seafood. It wasn't good at all, except for the biscuits.  Now I remember why it had been so long since we ate there.

Harry wanted to play ball.
He was barking at us, trying to get us to play with him.

Jacket: Chico's
Tank: Chico's Microfiber tank
Jeans: BandolinoBlu
Bracelets: Kate Spade Rick Rack, Vintage Charm Bracelet
Shoes: Think! Julia
Sunflower Pin from a local boutique, Carla's Love It

Women over 50 and how we feel about ourselves

I have been thinking quite a lot lately about women over 50 and how we view ourselves. The Hostess of the Humble Bungalow's Mirror, mirror on the wall post and Pam's post at Over50Feeling40 The line in the sand which side are you on? really made me think. 

I think one of the reasons why so many of us feel inadequate is because there are so few women role models who look like us. Yes, magazines like Harper's Bazaar and More do feature women over 50, but most of the women featured are wealthy, thin, beautiful women with access to expensive clothing, plastic surgeons, personal trainers, and makeup & hair stylists who make them look fantastic.  I cannot afford $1500 dresses or $400 blouses and furthermore, there aren't any stores where I live that carry clothing like that in my size. 

Being retired, I have different needs than someone my age who is still active in the working world.  We are not a one size fits all society.  The internet has changed us all by making the world a much smaller place. Ten years ago I would not have had the pleasure of communicating with women from other parts of the United States much less Australia, Spain, France, and England.

It is my hope that we bloggers over 50 will change how women of all sizes and economic means are seen by the media and manufacturers. Fashion bloggers are now included in fashion week and some are courted by designers.  The over 50 population is growing and I think as bloggers we have an opportunity to influence how others perceive us at this stage of our lives.  It is scary to put oneself out for all to see, but it is important so that other women know that getting older is a blessing and it can be done with style.

While I am on my soap box, I would also like to say that I think there are too many "don't rules" for women over 50.  Even Stacy and Clinton have rules that I do not always agree with.  What was a fashion "don't" last year may be a fashion "do" this year.  (Denim on denim now a do?)

I think the best thing we can do is support each other and do our level best not to be so hard on ourselves.

I would like to send out a big Thank You to all the other wonderful bloggers who enrich my life every day by sharing your lives with me.

A very personal accessory

Today, I would like to highlight a very personal necklace I made. Several years ago, I went through my jewelry box and found numerous pendants, pins, and rings that were treasures to me but I never wore them. Somewhere I saw a picture of a charm necklace that I coveted but could not afford which gave me the idea to take all the miscellaneous small jewelry pieces I had to make my own necklace.  It was fairly simple to make with jump and spring rings and a figaro necklace. 

On the necklace, I have charms from my high school years, my baby ring, a turquoise ring that my grandmother Marjorie gave me, some pendants from necklaces given to me by my grandma Lucille. There are also some charms I added, such as my initials, a pair of scissors to represent my needlework, my zodiac symbol, and a teddy bear as I was a teddy bear collector.

I have had a number of women compliment me on the necklace and tell me they might do something similar. I don't know if anyone ever did make one, but I hope I can inspire someone to make something that has as much meaning to them as this has to me.

I did not make my bracelet, but it is also a very interesting piece. It is made up of old clip earrings. I would not suggest destroying any valuable vintage clip earrings. You may be able to find single earrings at yard sales or flea markets. There is probably a way to use them without taking the clips off, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Here is a tip for apple shaped ladies like me who no longer have a waist. Wearing a belt over a top under a jacket can give the illusion of a waist.


Vintage clip earring bracelet



Jacket: Chico's

Tank: Talbot's

Belt: Target

Jeans: DG2 Diane Gilman

Shoes: Tom's burlap

Necklace: Made by me

Bracelet: ebay



Now that I have shared my DIY accessory, do any of you have a DIY accessory to share with all of us?

Neon peach and black

This is a jacket that I plan on giving to the Thrift store. I wanted to wear it the first and last time. It has hung in my closet for at least a couple of years and maybe more and I had never worn it. The fabric is rough and scratchy.  I have always been a very tactile person and like things that feel good on my skin so why I bought this jacket is beyond me. My husband is driven crazy by my need to feel clothes. He just does not understand. The feel of clothing is just as important to me as how it looks on. 

I think that it would have looked better with a white tank instead of black, but my white tank is currently in the laundry. Once I put on my black sunhat I think it all came together. I was trying to get out of the house and off to Target so I did not spend a lot of time on this outfit.

Have you ever purchased something that you never wore?



Harry is really curious about what we are doing.



I don't have a clue why I put my hand over my heart.



This jacket is a lot more vivid color than this picture shows.

 Jacket: CJ Banks
Tank: Catherine's
Jeans: DG2 Cargo Jeans HSN
Necklace: Vintage Sarah Coventry (More Fish?!)
Bracelets: Dillards
Shoes: Think! Julia Sandals
Dog: Airedale Terrier Rescue Association - priceless