Do You Have a Role Model?
By J. J. Atwell
When I get dressed, I’m influenced by many different women. Some I know personally, some I follow online, and some I’ve simply noticed while out in public. A few are famous, but most are ordinary women.
I suspect we develop our sense of style in much the same way GGs do. How do you, dear reader, find a role model and how far do you go in trying to (f)emulate her? Are you a faithful follower or do you put your own twist on the look?
These days, my role models tend to be women my own age—or perhaps as much as 20 years younger. I don’t currently have a famous role model. Instead, whenever I see an elegant woman in elegant surroundings, I take a mental snapshot. Eventually, I accumulate enough of those images for them to coalesce into a picture of how I would like to look when dressed.
Then the hard work begins.
Reality
Once I have that mental image of how I would like to look, reality steps in. I realize I’m not that tall. I don’t have that long, slim neck. I don’t have that lustrous hair. My figure is also missing a few important curves. So I have to learn how to compensate.
Unfortunately, I often fail miserably at that. Fortunately, I have discovered the key to being happy: I adopt the elements of an outfit that appeal to me and that also work with my physical reality. By doing so, I have developed my own style. I hope you have, too.
The Importance of Being You
In the words of that famous philosopher Snoopy, “Be yourself. Nobody can say you’re doing it wrong.”
I love that quote. It gives you so much freedom—not only in how you dress, but also in how you behave and interact with others.
We all have learned behaviors. Some we adopted readily. Others were thrust upon us. Fortunately, any learned behavior can be modified.
Take the time to examine yourself. Identify what makes you you, and be unapologetic about it.
Unless, of course, it happens to be illegal. LOL.
I’ll Be Back
Writing this installment has already inspired an outline for a future Stuff about body image.
I welcome your comments and suggestions here on Stana’s page or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com.
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| Wearing Boston Proper |
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| Femulating on Russian television’s Kings of the Game. Click here to view this femulation on YouTube. |
as for role models, am i allowed to say “my mother-in-law & her friends of similar age” ? i adore the mature woman style & given access to my mother-in-law’s wardrobe i try to dress as a woman in her 60s/70s whenever the opportunity presents. i do find that others also admire that look in a woman 💋💋
ReplyDeleteI follow several fashion blogs for women in the age 40 and above. They have good ideas. The blogs do require some winnowing as they usually draw their income and clothing samples donated by clothing manufacturers and retailers.
ReplyDelete—Abby
Rather than a specific person, it was the time period of my awakening. As a child of the 1950's and 1960's the women I saw always wore dresses or skirts and blouses. My experiences witnessed teachers, office workers, retail workers, and even those white nursing uniform dresses. Sure, there were women who wore functional pants, but I never saw them. The televisions programs always portrayed women wearing dresses: "Leave It To Beaver" and "Ozzie & Harriet" and even the mothers on kid shows. My wardrobe is entirely dresses. It's usually knee length or midi for casual daywear with ankle length sundresses thrown in when appropriate. I can understand cis women wanting the comfort of jeans, but why would I want to wear women's jeans when I always wear men's jeans? I rather wear a dress with colors and patterns with hosiery and heels. Also throw in matching bras, panties and slips in pretty colors.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen and was home alone on a Saturday night, sometimes I'd get completely dressed up as a girl. I'd put on a nice outfit of my mothers with hose and all the etc. Then I enjoyed sitting in a chair and watching the Mary Tyler Moore show. I had this fantasy that Mary and her girlfriends knew I was a boy, but welcomed me as myself, dressed as a girl, and they approved of my outfits
ReplyDeleteIt was a nice way to spend part of the evening.
The first part the babushkas have appropriate wear to show off their legs but the later scene had me wondering what Russian fashion was all about…….kind of rough.
ReplyDelete