So I recently  took some time away from social media and this forum  after I found myself in the depths of misery over just about everything .  Relatively speaking of course.  

It's been a year now since I switched gears from a sales rep career into the medical fitness industry, and I'm only just accepting that my life as it relates to fashion has completely and likely permanently changed .  I also hit a milestone birthday this summer, and with it came a lot of unhappiness and discomfort with my general health . All summer I felt gross in my body  (carrying a bunch of extra weight) had bouts of vertigo , and severe allergy responses to god knows what in the air around here (forest fire smoke mostly ) .  I was growing out my coloured hair , finally got it to it's natural state, and pretty much hated it. I felt drab, faded and like so many older people I see every day at work - schlumpy and shapeless   with bland, colourless features and hair.  I also felt I looked less energetic and vibrant, and yes, less youthful.  It wasn't helping my state of mind .

I struggled  with how I was going to move into my 60's being the kind of person I wanted to be, and how I was going to dress to represent that.  Accumulating a bunch of clothes felt so wrong  - I no longer had a fashion /style related job, did almost no socializing anymore , and the job I do have requires a uniform (often  in flux but basically all black ) . And .....with turning 60, I no longer feel this unlimited future ahead for collecting clothes. Where will I be living in even 10 years?  5 years?    Everything I owned was geared to dressing up to go out into the working world, and built on a persona I had crafted for myself as a "fashion person". I liked getting dressed and accessorized along with makeup and hair to work with those clothes. I love clothes, boots, bags, jewellery, you name it and how I dressed reflected that.  It who I was.   

Now  however, my life away from work is very casual, and I find little in my closet that makes sense .I spent a lot of time thinking about this, and have made a list for myself of what I really *do* need to have  in my closet, and it's strikingly little.  Style Fan's recent October purchases post brought home the importance of dressing for your lifestyle, and how having great pieces that work for a casual life are now more important than having blazers and blouses .  I spend a lot of time on foot around the neighbourhood ( which is super high-income ( I’m sure not though ) and full of Range Rovers and Porsches ) and in the nearby urban forest  and am mildly embarrassed half the time at what I'm wearing.  Old , usually black , plain "outdoor" clothes collected over the years and worn for bouts of yard work or kid related outdoor activity ( and my kid is now 25 - lol) .  And, and ....decidely unfeminine looking . UGH. 

So - in September I visited a nutrition and exercise professional recommend by some co-workers and signed up for a month with her, did an InBody scan (and was so ashamed at the results - I should be better than that and it was really detrimental to my health to be carrying around that much visceral fat)   lost almost 10 lbs in October (and hope to lose another 10 before Christmas if I can) , and talked to my hairstylist about a demi-permanent haircolour. I cannot believe the immediate change in my mood the hair colour made (no bleach and not permanent so no damage to worry about)  I saw a doctor and my in-house student physiotherapist about this vertigo issue, and finally am feeling better.

I've been wearing pieces from my two main capsules: olive and ivory/cognac, and haven't really bought many clothes at all this season.  I don't need any more this year.  Sure, I'd love some new things, who wouldn't ? , but I have no closet space available, and just cannot justify new for the sake of new anymore. It truly doesn't matter at this stage in my life.  

My favourite purchase this fall is this long shacket from Aritzia.  I intended to buy the shorter version but the sales person talked me into trying on the longer one, and it really was no contest. So much more elegant and more me.  It works over top everything I own, dresses an outfit up immediately, yet is not precious and prim.  I will have to be careful about dirt because of the colour and the fact that it needs to be dry-cleaned, but so far so good.  It was expensive, and I am not entirely thrilled that every single store in town is promoting their collection of shackets at every price point (I hate that name) which dilutes the specialness of it for me, but I'm trying to ignore the trendiness factor of it and just enjoy it. 

Here is what I've been wearing lately as we move into pre-winter here in Manitoba.  4C days now, and some cool winds. A few flakes of snow fell the other day but didn't stay on the ground - winter is coming.  

coat - ivory wool - Aritizia - new 
pants - Italian crinkle stretch wool - Elissia - last year 
sweater - Vero Moda - new
scarf - McQueen - old
boots - Dolce Vita - last year
bag - Coach - 2 years ago
gloves - Coach - last year 

Thank you for reading, and any jokes, comments and commiserations are always welcome