***Navel-gaze alert***

On a recent thread I mentioned that I had returned a blazer, and Kellygirl mentioned that she too tends not to reach for blazers, as she goes for comfort. Her comment so hit the nail on the head for me (thank you Kelly!), as my tolerance for discomfort in my close is lower than it's ever been (a side effect of middle age, or my casual lifestyle?), and as I've been pondering a style tweak, I believe "ease" is the right descriptor to add to "classic and polished" for me.

However, never content until I've overthought the issue, it got me pondering how much comfort, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder (or wearer) and how much my personal definition of comfort has changed.

• If I visualize my style 10-15 years ago, I think comfort would have required ironed shirts, layering pieces like blazer and vests to keep things neat, heels of some sort, lots of black, very tailored fits and structured pieces, skewing the the side of being overdressed, and looking roughly ready to be called into the company president's office at any moment.
• Now, comfort is in many ways the opposite - fuss-free and low maintenance pieces, no layers ("one and done"), comfy flats, clothes that move/stretch/have room/don't tug at my waist, skewing casual (but still polished), ready for a quick trail walk at any moment. I also, just this year, have ZERO tolerance for itch (leaving the collection of merino wool sweaters I've built up the last few years - annoyingly - in the closet getting side-eye for the last couple of weeks).

I can see that some of this is driven by lifestyle, some by age, some by the general direction of fashion, some by my changing priorities (business ambition vs. caring for hearth and home). Some is my increasingly sensitive skin, my slightly less cooperative belly, my suburban vs. past urban lifestyle, and the frequency that I'm seen by anyone who's not themselves more casual than I.

I can guess that maybe Nemosmom's definition of comfort might overlap somewhat with mine? Angie's might involve more structure and polish? Carla's might have evolved over the last couple of years? Or I could be completely wrong on all three! We probably all value comfort, but define it differently (and of course there are probably a few that agree with Celine Dion - when you start prioritizing comfort, you've given up!)

It's ALL good and I want to know - what does comfort mean for you? And how has it changed over the years?