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