Travel Capsule In Review (and melon, white and blue)

Hi everyone,

In the spirit of reciprocation, I am following up with Angie's request to share my capsule with those of you who so generously weighed in on my first query regarding cropped white jeans. I so enjoy all of your visual memoirs; to share in kind, here are a few of mine--along with reflections:

I found YLF about a year-and-a-half ago when it was clear that my changing post-menopausal body would require some re-thinking of the shapes (and, quite frankly, colors) of garments I draped over my frame. I always had a strong sense of what I liked--but that was no longer working for me in my 50s. I also wanted to update my look for currency, since I was returning to full-time work after part-time, at-home freelancing in my parenting years. After much study of all of your posts, here are some early results:
1) I live about 60 miles from any upscale shopping, which I now realize has hampered my style transition. With designer jeans at $220/pair, it becomes prohibitive to ship multiple styles and sizes to one's home on a credit card. As my DH said (in horror after seeing the card in one such attempt): "Sounds to me like you need to go to the store and try some on." So I did. I was stunned (after all my grousing on the forum) to find these skinny Hudson jeans in Elysian fabric that stretch and flatter on my curvy, short-legged, petite, and pear-or-hourglass-turning-apple frame (I already eat right and walk briskly three-miles daily, so my shape will be what it will be). Skinnies and crops are critical for travel, because they allow you to wear flats instead of heels--my preference for my preferred trouser and flare styles. The top is Treasure and Bond; both items from Nordstrom (obviously). Important post-50 takeaways: I can wear skinnies in the right fabrication; I can wear tunics in the right proportion; analogous colors (for me, green tops with denim bottoms) help to lenthen frame and warm my changing skin tone. Not pictured: White denim jacket and white Sperry Topsider shoes (bookending top and bottom) with cushioned insoles, the latter of which is my new mandate for ALL shoes.
2) Those cropped Levis with the hem let down, old Loft slouchy tee, old Levis cropped jacket (from Kohls--great bargain), old high vamp Taos walking sandal with low heel (gave me neck and shoulder knots--thinking of replacing with Suz's Ralph Lauren gladiator sandals for a more current look with crops, even though I know they are not walking shoes. If I'm going to get a headache, I might as well look good. FYI: wedges are even worse on me--pitching me forward just enough for migraines.) New Talbots belt on sale to keep color contrast low and refer to sandals with no metal color limitations, even though belt does not fill out loops.
3) Melon, white and blue for July 4 travel day. Same Hudson jeans, Sperry Topsiders, old Loft tee (same as white, different color), old Levis jacket, drug store scarf (really).
There's nothing earth-shattering here fashion-wise, but I was content, comfortable, and current enough for people not to do double takes for the wrong reasons. I don't think I look old or inappropriate for my age, which is a tricky style sweet spot to find as we mature. Do you agree? Thanks for looking!

9 years ago

Anonymous

Oh, these all work really well. You have a lovely figure and have used great proportions here. The cropped length look good and I'm liking all of your colours, especially in pic #3...I love melon tones. Love the sandals and belt in #2 as well.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You look great, and thanks for sharing.

You might like to try a wider belt for your jeans in #2. Fill out those loops!

Column

Veteran

Diane: Thank you for the vote of confidence!

Angie: I have a thick luggage color belt that would fill, but it was the wrong color. Thanks for the gentle push; I'll keep working on it!

Suz

You look terrific! First off, I see none of the figure "flaws" you mention, so either you are disguising them expertly or you are awfully hard on yourself (perhaps both?)

It sounds as if you have been doing a ton of learning on the forum and blog (bookending!) and you've made some great purchases. I sympathize with the problems of living far from shopping. It certainly gets complicated to do so much online shopping at times! I did find that after my first year or so on YLF I had narrowed down the brands that typically work for me so I could order in a more educated way.

Re the Ralph Lauren sandals -- they're comfy on my foot but would not fit a really low volume foot (it would slide forward) or a really high volume foot (it would feel cramped in the strappy straps. So, your mileage may vary. The gold is an extremely yellow gold. The silver is shiny but unobtrusive on my skin tone. There is also black.

On super humid days, the first strap digs a bit into my toes. Having said that, I really do walk in them -- not as in an exercise/ hike type walk, but a "going about my business of the day" walk -- and on many days, that can amount to quite a distance -- around 3 miles or so. I've decided they are "less humid day" sandals or "not heavy walking day" sandals as a result, though the heel is extremely manageable. I've had no blisters from them.

Sheila

What a great journey you've been on. I really like #2. The jeans are fantastic on you!

Suz: Thanks for the RL review; I will keep those comments in mind! (and I swooned over your edgier sister look in them)

For the record: As an avowed feminist, I am an anti body-shamer. But using the language of body type has been useful to help me objectively figure out my changing needs. Language traps us, yes? As a writer, I trust you understand this well (and I do appreciate the reassurance, regardless)! If there were another lexicon available for discussing proportions and types, I would gladly use it!

Sheila: Thank you for the thumbs up; yes, like all of you, I have been on quite the internal and external quest!

I agree completely that the body types analysis is super helpful as we get a new handle on our wardrobes or deal with body changes! Pre-YLF I was not at all objective, I think perhaps because I did not have enough basis for comparison, in some ways. I took people's word for it if they had said, sometime in the past, that I had wide hips or this or that. I mean, some things are pretty obvious (my small bust is not ever fooling anyone, including me!) but some things are relative. Maybe I do have big hips compared to my super skinny fifth grade friend, but not proportionally on my own body.

Anyway, it looks as if you are figuring it all out brilliantly! And that's the main thing.