Your post is very inspiring, Rae. I'm glad you had a blast at your Dad's wedding. And I'm jealous that you've already been to a baseball game this year.

the thing like most about hair, is how relatively easy it is to change it. in a few quick months, your hair will grow out, and you can try something new.
life is always moving, and we can move with it, or stand still, and let it pass us by.

Very thoughtful, Rae. Very thoughtful. You do wear your current hairstyle very very well, but I can see how it would not be you. Or not helpful to you. There maybe needs to be a little more princess in your UWP than that. I have to admit I now feel a little remiss when it comes to my own hair. It's an excellent point: we wear it every day.

It occurs to me re. how fit you look v. your hair... "harsher hair", "softer physique." And vice versa. Anyways, just don't get all stringy like Madonna, OK? ;>

Re. going more classic: I can also see this. You have a new level of seriousness with your marriage and a new career, you're passing out of the "young woman" stage, etc. etc. I was sort of thinking that about myself, only for me at my age it's "Don't bother me with nonsense and whippersnappery, #@$#@$!!"

I'm really going to have a long hard think about what Angie has said here on your thread about the power of classic pieces and... tofu (which is honestly the best shorthand ever). I have my serious doubts about ever being able to achieve a classic look, but there are what I'd call shared principles of being classic and growing old with dignity. Less frou and look-at-me bells, whistles, and distractions. A person gets more powerful and less forceful as time goes on, so to speak. But everybody has to do it like Bowie, i.e., start wearing suits without selling out and looking like they're wearing someone else's clothes.

Hehe.

*applause* I enjoyed your reading your epiphanic thoughts and can certainly see you adding classic elements and still staying true to your stylistic leanings. So much fun and eventually it will allow you to help others do something similar.

Angie, yes, the tofu! I still want the same dish, just made with some classic tofu instead of exotic spicy marinated alligator meat.

Ramya, you are right. I was more comfy in the bob. I think if I had found the right stylist from the get-go, I'd still be in a bob, but such is life. Onward and upward!

K, I totally relate. I swore I'd never wear pink, sheer hose, high heels, skinny jeans and so on. Now look! lol

Ginko, I think that on WNTW, too!! And How Do I Look!

Rachy, although I hate to admit it, you're right that I don't feel comfy dressing so young anymore. Might be mitigated if I get in shape, but the feeling is there. I never felt particularly "young" anyway, and I often feel like the crotchety old man wondering at the noise the kids listen to these days.

You are an amazing person rae. You ARE young yet so mature.

Imo change always feels very bumpy while you are experiencing it but after you wouldn't have it any other way.

Can't wait to see how your style develops.

I got my hair cut really really short and then grew it out...that is when I found the perfect style for me.

Sometimes we have to start over. The best part about chopping my hair off was the confidence it took to wear it short - no more hiding behind my hair!

Rae, I am late here. But I wanted to say that you are amazing. And beautiful, however you wear your hair. You have been through such emotional upheaval in the past year, and so many important changes. I'm excited to think that you're seeking your inner warrior through exercise, which will energize and give you even more strength. And I'm happy to imagine you anchoring yourself with the classics. And you know, it actually doesn't surprise me a whole lot. Just think of this lengthy search for the right, iconic trench. What is a trench other than a classic? Maybe that search was signalling something about an even deeper need.


I'm so looking forward to sharing the next leg of your style journey.

You sound like you have reached a new level of self awareness and it will lead you to good things. I do understand you very, very well about the hair. I have been very surprised how many compliments I have gotten about my short cut both here and from people physically present (because online life is real life too) and yet I feel it adds a strain to getting dressed that I never used to feel. Your style has been amazing and I look forward to seeing where you go!

Thanks for posting it was so interesting to read your thoughts about your hair. I think you have to go with how you feel wearing your hair. It doesn't matter if it looks good if you don't feel just as good wearing it.

I had my own hair epiphany when I straightened my hair and curled it. I don't straighten my hair often because it's damaging and my hair is very fragile. When I do straighten my hair I notice how it's grown in the interim. Because I wear it in a ponytail most of the time my short polished look feels "boyish" to me because my hair looks short and I can't feel that it's there.
So the last time I straightened it I loved the way it moved and bounced -- I felt like a pin-up in a good way; I felt more feminine. From my perspective I have felt that society always viewed long straight hair that moved was more feminine than short hair that didn't move. The last time I straightened my hair I felt closer to that ideal because of the movement (new straightening technique)-- I never realized that I felt less feminine -- less beautiful because my hair didn't move.

Oh, Rae. I totally hear you. Am so glad you have pinpointed where you want to go and why. I'm also in flux of all kinds - dealing with death, a new job - and I was going to post about whether it's okay to wear nothing but repeat FFBOs, which is all I've been doing. And thankful to have them.

My style is also feeling out of sync lately, and I am going to have to re-sort it out again in light of the new job. I have sensed some of your discomfort with the pixie and shorter hair, and I am going to follow you closely as you find your way to this new classic-UWP-tomboy look.

Meanwhile, can I suggest rock climbing as a possible sport? It builds muscle without being BORING, it involves cool gear, it makes you feel like the ULTIMATE warrior chick, and it's fun! You gain strength, balance, and endurance. Plus it engages your brain and really bonds you with your climbing partner in a most unique relationship. Yes, I'm an addict.

XOXO - whatever you do, it's enlightening and inspiring to many of us.

I loved reading your thoughts, Rae. I think you are very wise for being so young, and I'm impressed by how you are able to articulate your how's and why's. Your hair is beautiful every which way you wear it, you lucky, gorgeous girl. No worries there. Getting more fit is also only going to be helpful, so get on with it I love how you line out your style in a more classic direction, and I'm so looking forward to see how you will go about executing this. I'm not sure if it's helpful to hear this, but being in flux is a permanent state for me in many ways - but that works, too.

Day Vies, I totally hear you on hair movement! That was one thing I disliked about my long hair - it was so thick and heavy it did not move.

Una, I am definitely open to suggestions. I'll look into climbing... maybe it will be less expensive than the martial arts.

Ingunn, permanent flux would probably be okay, now that you mention it. As long as it's a forward-moving flux, lol.

Nice post, thank you for sharing your thoughts. My hair is driving me mad too, not settled in to the shorter cut yet, badly damaged ends caused by manaical stylist. Now I wait as it grows micron by micron ... just so I can have the dorky bits cut off! (seething)

As Kelly said, your "classic" segue is not a surprise. Classic as a rubric item is a structure, a comfort, and a good base. Simplicity is ease, grasshopper, and you are all about good lines.

Una, just thread jacking to say I am totally inspired to try rock climbing -- I have heard and seen how good it is, and there is a gym in town. I am going to check it out!

Enjoyed reading your post and yay for the style refinements you have identified and love the graphic desriptors you have used.