Another Bad Week for Women

 & WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. Regular readers will know that I oppose gendered discrimination, particularly against older women. This week has seen several bad examples.  I am, as we say in the UK, "spitting feathers."

Maxi Madness! Style Not Age Challenge

Dear friends.  A month has sped by and it's time for the Style Not Age Challenge.  This is when five women in their 40s, 50s and 60s set each other a style challenge each month. This time it was the turn of Hilda and she chose "Maxi Madness."

How I Improved My Nails in 6 Months

Dear friends. I set myself a challenge in March, "Six Months to Improve my Nails."   The results are in, and the answer is Yes! 

However. I was planning to show you perfectly manicured long nails in the reveal, and kept delaying the post because my cuticles are still not wonderful, but nonetheless, there has been a big improvement all round.

Planning and Storing Your Autumn Collection

& #WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. As the long days shorten, and Strictly Come Dancing and soccer are with us again, thoughts inevitably turn to the new season's clothes.  

If you're like me and short on wardrobe space, your autumn/fall and winter clothes may be stored away. I make sure I always have a few lightweight cardigans, wraps and jackets to act as transitional items before the coats and thick jumpers are brought down from the attic.

In this post I'm going to cover autumn/winter trends and what I'm looking for, before turning to the subject of making our existing wardrobe work better for us by understanding what we need.  Get yourself a cup of something, it could be a long one.

Wear Shorts at Any Age

 & #WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. It's certainly been a scorcher this summer. Record temperatures, crops dying in the fields,  serious drought - and that's just the UK. In an effort to keep cool, with no air conditioning, I've been wearing shorts and sleeveless tops all summer.  And I'm over 60.

Why does that matter?  Well, I know a lot of us have been programmed by the media / well meaning relatives / society in general to think we shouldn't be wearing shorts over a certain age, and we certainly shouldn't be baring our arms.

When I worked full-time in tech, which was fairly recent, I never alluded to my age. Working mainly with millennials and gen Z, it didn't seem a winning strategy. But now I'm retired, I don't mind who knows my age.  Let's not be cowed by outdated stereotypes.

Two people who are role models for this are singer / actor Toyah Willcox, 64, and guitarist husband Robert Fripp, 76. You may remember Toyah from her hits in the 1980s, and Robert from his time with King Crimson. 

They have had more than 33 million views for their weekly YouTube video Sunday Lunch with Toyah and Robert. Each week they take a rock classic and re-interpret it, with Toyah showing off her energy and amazing body in outfits which the tabloids would scream shouldn't be worn by anyone over 30, let alone 60. She radiates confidence and sexiness.  

Toyah was a guest on the How to Be 60 podcast with Kaye Adams, and I was blown away by her attitude to ageing. In the process of hiring a PR,  one of the candidates, a young man, asked her: "How are you, old woman?" She said she was very well, and wouldn't be hiring him. 

All of this is a long winded way of saying forget how we've been pre-programmed. Wear whatever we like! 

Shorts and sleeveless tops can be stylish:  knee-length shorts are no different than a knee-length skirt, so fine for the office.  A simple sleeveless top can be dressed up with a scarf or necklace. Stretchy material can be more flattering - the shorts in the top pic are cotton but I also have knee-length shorts and cropped trousers in a stretchy material, like the ones below from Robell. Rachel jacket and apple zebra infinity, Kettlewell Colours. 

Have you been wearing shorts all summer?  What women over the age of 50 do you admire for throwing away the "rule book" on dressing? Do share in the comments. 

Sharing this post with: On Mondays We Link Up at Glass of Glam, Top of the World Style at High Latitude Style, Chic & Stylish at Mummabstylish, #SpreadTheKindness  and #Linkup on the Edge at Shelbee on the Edge, #AnythingGoes at My Random Musings, Turning Heads Tuesday at Elegantly Dressed and Stylish,  Style with a Smile  at Stylesplash, TFF at Doused in Pink, Confident Twosday at IDoDeclaire, Rena at Fine Whatever,, #Neverendingstyle at The Grey Brunette, Fancy Friday at Nancy's Fashion Style,  Weekday Wear Link-Up at Away from the Blue Sunday Showcase with Chez Mireille and Elegance and Mommyhood  (first Sunday of the month), Talent Sharing Tuesdays at Scribbling Boomer, Link Up Pot Pourri at My Bijou Life, Traffic Jam Weekend at Marsha in the Middle,  Fabulous Fridays at Lucy Bertoldi

Now it's time for the #WowOnWednesday link-up. Bloggers/Instagrammers can find new readers, plus readers can find new blogs to read. 

Last Week's Favourites

Finally Wearing my White Lace Dress by Jacqui at Mummabstylish

French Style Wardrobe by Jennifer at Curated by Jennifer

Summer Neutrals - How I'm Wearing Them by Alison at Midlife and Beyond

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thinning Lips and Barcode Lines

 & WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. I was asked recently what we can do about thinning lips, something which happens as we age.  I'm also troubled by "barcode lines," those lines  above the top lip. They're usually associated with smokers but we all have them to some extent. I'm going to explain a few ways of camouflaging these issues, and what's available if you decide to get professional treatment.

10 on the 10th: Good Sports

 

Dear friends. It's time for 10 on the 10th and this month the questions have been supplied by me! The topic is Sport, but with a spin. 

Have We Reached Peak Wild Flower?

 & #WowOnWednesday

Dear friends. A few years ago, municipal flower beds, certainly in the UK, were filled with bedding plants in straight lines. Wild flowers were classed as weeds. But ever since the 2012 London Olympics, the trend has swung round to wild flowers, sown with abandon. 

The Tower of London has embraced the trend and this year's Superbloom event has encouraged thousands of people to meander along the moat, filled not with water but with a mix  of annual and perennial wild flowers. 

July Reviews: Books, TV, Podcasts

Greetings dear friends and welcome to another selection of podcast, TV and book reviews. Quite a few this time because my last post was a books special.