This is, in a way, a rebirth of my last year's outfit seen HERE. That time, I wore this dress with my animal print coat (although, for some reason, I didn't take any photos of the coat that day). This time, I wanted something different, and the combination with my bouclé cream long vest came to mind. The vest was part of a Spring collection, but it's quite a heavy and fully-lined textured piece that I find wearable in all seasons (except for hot Summer days, obviously).
This vest gave the outfit an immediate pulled-together look that I was going for. It is extremely rare these days that I attend any formal events, and it wasn't a terribly official situation this time, oh no, but it was an important meeting, and I wanted to feel pulled together, but not stuffy.
I really like how this outfit came together. I chose just one jewelry piece, and it's the genuine vintage brooch I bought via Bella a.k.a The Citizen Rosebud. I like that it adds charm to my simple outfit. I also knew that glasses would be the right accessory to define my face, along with a fresh pixie cut and red lipstick - that's my usual choice these days.
It might come as a surprise, but I don't feel boring wearing these simple lines. On the contrary, I feel feminine and sensual. I feel like the woman that I am. I think my love of such streamlined silhouettes comes from my Mom who used to work as a teacher, and her looks were always school appropriate and put together, but at the same time very feminine. Mom and I have almost identical body shapes. She managed to stay fit, while I didn't, but we are two different people who live two different lives, and I am not complaining or regretting anything about mine.
Mama in my hometown in the early 1970s (with me barely visible in the background)
and in Crimea in the early 1980s.
The thing is, this body is all I have. I can't open my closet and change it to something that suits my current mood better, the way I change dresses. So I better like it and appreciate it for what it is at any given moment in time. From an imaginative little girl with two blond braids, to an adventurous young woman who flew half the world to find her one true love, to a woman who gave birth to a child, built a new community for others and a new life for herself on her new continent, and now is trying to figure out what else she wants to create in her life - all of it is one woman in one body, ever changing, yet still the same. I love the idea of reincarnation, but even when some day my soul is reborn, it will be reborn in another, new body. This body, I can only have once.
Me in my travels to Crimea in the early 1980s and in Taiwan in the early 2000s.
Sweater dress, long vest and faux fur scarf - Lane Bryant (last year)
Purse - Michael Kors via TJ MAXX (75% off, last Summer)
Boots - Aquatalia via Nordstrom Rack (last year)
Brooch - vintage via Citizen Rosebud
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LOVE what you say about to love our bodies!!
ReplyDeleteand this ensemble! very sophisticated! elegant in a cool modern way! its perfect!!!
thank you for showing this beautiful snap shoots from your childhood and youth! would wear all you mom´s clothes this days - so chic but not stuffy. and i always wanted such long braids as a child - but i had to wear a german "bubikopf".....
and taiwan - seems so far away - you made some long travels!!!
much love! xxxxx
Thank you, Beatushka! I'm thrilled with your words! Mom has always been a very elegant and stylish lady. We have very different coloring - I'm redhead as my Dad, and she's Winter type, so many colors she wore weren't good for me. But there were some things we could share many years ago.
DeleteLots of love!
I think you've got the best attitude on body consciousness, and love everything you've said on this subject: I have this beautifully imperfect body, and I'll take care of it, enjoy it and make the most of my time!
ReplyDeleteLove your vest, such a nice texture and color, and it fits you so nicely!, you look gorgeous, 'effortless elegant' as they say!. And that brooch is amazing!
besos
Thank you, Monica! :)
DeleteI just found your blog and couldn't be more pleased. Absolutely inspiring! You are beautiful inside and out.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Beth, for reaching out - it matters to me!
DeleteVery nice what you say about your body. Yes you are right. We all have only one body :) You look amazing and feminine.
ReplyDeleteI like this vest.
Many hugs, Tina
Loving ourselves is a surprisingly difficult task at times. Thank you, Tina!
DeleteYour outfit and your entire being is absolutely stunning!!
ReplyDeleteFunny thing---I was just taking photos of my mom for the blog and I put her in a long vest like this for a winter wedding series we'll be doing at the end of the month! Talk about great minds thinking alike!!
I love those old photos too---isn't it so fun to look back??
jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
Yay, we did it again! Thank you, Jodie!
DeleteWhat a beautiful photo essay of your life. Such lovely photos of you as a young girl and your beautiful mother, who you favor so strongly. I do so admire the gusto in which you live your life, you are a true inspiration!
ReplyDeletePlus I adore that long ivory vest over that coat, so streamlined and chic!
xx, Elle
http://www.theellediaries.com/blog/
I am humbled, Elle. I think I've done some pretty daring things in my life, and I definitely want to do more - but I also feel afraid at times, like anyone else. Thank you for your kindness!
DeleteYou and your Mum are so alike facially and you're so right about bodies, I've got friends who put their lives on hold, not wearing pretty clothes or having a wild night out until they've lost that elusive half a stone. Life is for living, we could all be dead tomorrow. Embrace the skin you're in, nobody knows you're unhappy with how you look until you point it out! xxx
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more - life is for living! Yes!
DeleteThis outfit is so feminine and lovely. The dress is so perfect and I do like how you styled it with that white vest. I do agree with everything you said about loving the body we're in. It's the only body we'll ever have...so it is all the more reason to get to know it and take care of it. Today people are too much obsessed with achieving body goals that don't even exist in reality but are basically something we as society have constructed in our mind. It is like everyone wants to have a type of body that doesn't even exist, one that is curvy and skinny at the same time- and even with the help of surgery this "ideal" is something that proves to be very elusive- and basically it is impossible to achieve. I have my own definition of fit that says that being fit is just feeling good in one's body. Not that I'm against exercise, but I think that people are taking it too far these days, treating their body like it was an enemy that has to tricked and manipulated constantly with diets and exercise programs. Our bodies really don't need that much maintenance, they just need us to pay attention to them and give them what they need so they could go on listening to us...It is the soul that needs to be taken care of. Everything else should be secondary.
ReplyDeleteYou said it with such clarity and so effectively, Ivana. I think we often become our worst enemies - and it's about many things, it's when we doubt ourselves, our own worthiness, it's the saddest thing. Let's just learn loving and accepting - ourselves, our bodies, our lives. More love, less fears.
DeleteI so enjoyed a peek at some photos from your past, I sometimes feel in this digital age will memories like these just get lost in cyber space.Wise words on loving our bodies just the way they are , as long as we are happy and healthy there is no point in trying to persue an unreal body shape. Your cream vest and dress are just the right combination of dressed up , I can see your lovely Mother expressed in your outfit.
ReplyDeleteI think those old photos become even more precious each year... Thank you, Jill!
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