Man am I ever glad I came back. Wow. Your responses on both Facebook and here to my last post were just so heartening, I can't even tell you. It is hard, facing yourself, admitting your failure(s)(ssss). Turns out it is way harder to face yourself than it is to face your friends. When are we ever gonna learn that? (Perhaps I speak out of turn and you folks already know that. In which case, why didn't you TELL me?! Oh, you did. Nevermind.)
Well anyway, my mood has really been on the upward swing, which is such a relief to report. I decided I needed to get myself some new clothes, to continue (or, begin) this trend of feeling good about myself at any weight. As Stacy and Clinton always say, you've got to dress the body you have, not the body you want. Being close to my all-time weight high, I don't have a lot of clothes right now that fit. Getting dressed every day is a constant reminder of my unhappiness with my body. But going shopping... UGH. Let's just say I'm no Carrie Bradshaw. I speculate that Carrie Bradshaw might not be as much of a Carrie Bradshaw if she was dressing a size 14-16 on her 5'2" frame as opposed to a 2, but then again, there are plenty of larger size women out there who enjoy shopping and looking good, so I don't know maybe it's just me.
I will say that deciding to go for a wardrobe refresh on the 3rd Saturday before Christmas is maybe not the best timing. And for you folks reading in the upper parts of the US and across Canada, you understand the torture of mall shopping in a winter coat, especially when you're trying a lot of stuff on. I had to steal myself against it before I left my apartment.
The Miaouw has been adorable and supportive, as usual. Before I left to face the crowds, the chaos and most of all, the mirrors, he reviewed with me what I should be looking for. Apparently he sometimes pays attention when I'm watching What Not To Wear. We decided my rules should include looking for tops that gather in at my narrowest point and then flow out from there, and bottoms with straight legs, etc. We did stop short of the pointy toed shoe since I think that any illusion of length they may give is negated by the fact they also make me look like a ruler of a geographic domain of Oz. (Although I'm sure they look great on y'all.)
Well anyway, I blew a wad and three hours later I walked home (extra Activity Points!) with all my crap and the upshot is, getting dressed today was actually fun. Onward, ho!
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You're back with a vengeance! That's my girl! Indeed we can look good, but I'm with you on the pointy toe shoe. Also at 5"2' and with a similar "load" to carry, the pointy shoe on my extra wide size 8 foot makes me look like I'm teleskiing. But I do find that the straight leg jean with a high heel slims the hell out of me. I'm always amazed by how many people think I've lost 10lbs overnight just b/c I'm wearing heels. Too bad my manly foot is so used to fur clogs and flip-flops, but I know it's worth getting used to the pain if it makes me look slimmer. I guess...
ReplyDeleteKeep on keepin' on, sister! Muah!
Barbopolous
Welcome back and YAY!
ReplyDeleteI hate shopping too, and for many of the same reasons. Gawd, when there used to be Lohmann's stores around here it was torture: the locker-room style open dressing room. Aargh.
I'm glad you found some new stuff you like to put on. I recently found an ultrasuede leopard print shirt in my girlfriends' closet and she let me have it. I might have to give it back because it was her mother's and I'm a little concerned that I just added 20 years to my style. Heh heh heh.
XXOO,
Patti
Barbtastic, testify! I wear dumpy, schlumpy flats all the time because I walk so much, but when I get to work I switch to my heels and always feel more streamlined. I'm not willing to compromise on the flats, though, because I enjoy walking, it saves money and aids the weight control. I wish there was some way to get around this stalemate, but I don't think it would be good for me to walk long distances in heels, even comfortable heels. I'm injury prone enough as it is.
ReplyDeletePatti, LOCKER ROOM STYLE DRESSING ROOMS??? What the EFF! No. No.
I love deep closet finds! A friend of mine organized a clothing swap once where we all brought in crap we didn't wear anymore and dug around other people's crap. Then they took all the leftovers to Good Will. It was a great way to do a cheap wardrobe refresh (if not update).
You should just bask in your RETRO glory, babe. It's all spin. xo!