Living My Midlife Years in Color
My personal style has always been a bit unconventional. Some might even go as far as calling my fashion aesthetic ridiculous and crazy. As a teenager, I was accused of trying too hard to make people look at me. The funny thing is I absolutely hate to be looked at. I dress for myself and the only person I really want looking at me is myself in a mirror.
As an adult, I have had friends go out of their way to tell me my outfits were embarrassing. Embarrassing for whom? Certainly not for me. I generally put tremendous thought and effort into every detail of my outfits even when it looks like I just threw some random pieces together in colorful chaos. If my clothing bothers you, I think that might be a you problem. My taste in clothing is not going to change just because others find it weird. People have been calling me weird for my entire life and frankly I take it as the highest of compliments.
Obviously I know that living in a world full of humans, people are going to occasionally look at me. So when I turned 50, I decided that in dressing only for myself, perhaps my outfits could also bring a smile to someone else’s day. We all know the world could surely benefit from a little more joy and happiness. Sometimes simple small town folks like me can deliver that just by getting dressed in something that people can’t help but notice.
Whether they notice or not is really none of my concern. But when they do notice and they offer a lovely compliment, then I know I have reached my simple daily goal of brightening the day for another human. And in return, they have brightened my day with a lovely compliment!
I wore this outfit to church last month and before any compliments were received I already felt pretty fantastic in this cacophony of colors and prints.
I have had this dress in my closet for a few years and this was its first outing. I ordered it online and I didn’t realize that it had a unique high-low hem that splits open in the front like a mock wrap dress. I am not a big fan of wrap dresses, real of faux, and initially I did not love this dress on my body. But I did love the print and colors enough to keep it hanging around until new inspiration hit me.
And that inspiration finally came to me in the dead of winter when I was really craving the warmth of springtime and wanting to ditch my heavy sweaters and leggings for light airy layers. I spent some time in my magic closet room creating different dress and robe combinations for warmer weather and I think I ended up with about 15 different outfits that I want to eventually wear and photograph. I have them all hung in a row waiting for my daily mood to connect with these premeditated concoctions.
This particular combination happened entirely by accident. The kind of happy accident that I am forced to commit to because once I see certain prints and patterns working well with each other, I can’t ignore it so I’m compelled to roll with it. The accident was as simple as the dress and the jacket hanging in proximity to one another and falling into my line of vision at the same time. That’s the marvel of my closet room magic! Sometimes my crazy outfits are just divinely created and delivered without much effort at all from me.
I first shared this gorgeous silk patchwork jacket on its reverse side back in December for a Style Imitating Art challenge. I really like the funky print on the reverse side, but the patchwork print on the right side is definitely my favorite. The reversibility makes this jacket a wonderfully versatile piece in my wardrobe.
In keeping with the colorful print chaos created by the jacket and dress pairing, I tied together two fabulously bright floral printed scarves (both recently thrifted) for a longer pattern mixed scarf. I photographed this outfit in early May when we still had frost in the mornings so I added a white cropped tee shirt under the dress and a pair of ivory tights (also thrifted) with my tall white cowgirl boots to keep the chill out. To coordinate with my boots, I added my ivory macrame belt and my painted ivory fedora. I finished the outfit with a newly thrifted wooden bead necklace and a pair of flea market seed bead earrings.
I did receive some compliments on this cheerful outfit. But before I even left the house, I already felt pretty fantastic and joyful which was totally initiated by my choice of clothing. So while I still don’t really like being looked at, I am committed to be very visible in my midlife colors. And I also learned that with the right styling, a dress that I disliked on my body is now one of my favorites.
Do your outfits have this type of emotional impact on your days? Do you feel joyful when you see someone else all clothed in colors?
Keeping it colorful (and a little weird) on the edge,
Shelbee
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
10 Comments
Marsha Banks
I was the exact opposite of you when I was growing up. I dressed like everyone else did, but I think that was because people still shopped in their hometowns. Getting an order from Sears or Wards was a big deal and had to be placed at the tiny brick & mortar store in our town. We had two places where we could buy clothes for kids and teens. That meant everyone else had just about the same thing you did. The only thing might be in how you combined your clothes. Of course, I didn’t wear jeans until I was in sixth grade! We had to wear dresses to school up until then. I don’t think I discovered the true me until I started teaching and had that bit of extra money to buy clothes for me. That’s where so much of my love for April Cornell comes in…no one else was wearing her because you had to go to Indianapolis or order online which wasn’t a thing back then. Next came my Talbots era. Oh, yes, I was a pencil skirt wearing, preppy femme fatale (hahaha…as if you could do that in Talbots)! I have really only started to bloom, truly bloom since blogging. And, a lot of the credit for that comes from you (or is it for you). I have learned to just put it together because I like it and don’t really care what anyone else says. Well, what so many others are now saying is exactly what’s happening to you…so many more compliments than when I was spending $$$ on Talbots. I think it’s the confidence and true joy in what I’m wearing that shines through, and that’s what people are really complimenting.
Now, your look today? It’s quintessential Shelbee…joyful, colorful, exhilirating! In other words, it’s simply magical and fabulous! I’m so glad you gave this dress a very long chance because it’s lovely when combined with all the other patterns and textures. Brava, my friend!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, Marsha, thank you so much for this wonderful comment! My very first “career” out of college was as an assistant store manager at Talbots! I started at the store in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, and then moved to the one in Morristown, New Jersey. I worked there for a few years but then left after a particularly long and grueling holiday season. I loved the Camp Hill store but the Morristown ladies were so darn snooty and mean…it was literally like the adult version of Mean Girls! LOL I continued to shop there for years after I stopped working there. At that point, I had started law school and was working in financial services in New York City. Most of my professional wardrobe was from Talbots and I totally took their preppy styles and turned them into some seriously femme fatale looks! Hahaha. I think I have embraced every single style genre imaginable at some point in my life. I have always loved all clothing!
xoxo
Shelbee
Jodie Filogomo
You and I are the same…we LOVE color and find inspiration with items hanging next to each other. Plus being weird is definitely an asset!!!
XOXO
Jodie
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Yes, my friend! Being weird is absolutely an asset. One of the best ones, in fact!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
I also had a quirky fashion taste when I was growing up. I didn’t even realise, I just wore what I loved. And still do. Isn’t it the most important thing that we feel good in what we wear. And your looks make you YOU!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you, my friend! I have always been a little quirky but I have always stayed true to myself along the way!
xoxo
Shelbee
mireille
I really like this combo! It’s a great church outfit or anyday! I love the prints and color and it brings a smile to my face.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aww, Mireille, thanks so much! That was my goal…to bring smiles! I recently discovered an influencer named Cassidy Michelle. She shares these fun outfit reels where she styles something crazy from her wardrobe and she ends each video with these two questions: Would you wear it? And if you saw it in public, would it make you smile? I absolutely love that approach and now I’m all about making people smile with my outfits! By the way, everything she styles absolutely makes me smile even if it’s something I might not wear myself. You might enjoy her videos, too!
xoxo
Shelbee
Emma Peach
Your outfits are always so joyful! I love to both wear, and see other people wearing, colourful clothes. In fact, I find myself searching out colour all the time, I think my brain needs the dopamine hit!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Emma! You always dress so colorfully and joyfully as well. I definitely notice the people wearing bright colors amidst the sea of drabness and I make a point to compliment if I can. It is a fabulous dopamine hit!
xoxo
Shelbee