Live and Let Live

"You astonish me in that you can look both stunningly dramatic and also cute and adorable, two looks that don't seem possible in one person." These words my talented blogger friend SHAWNA said about me in a comment to my post, and I cherish them, because they resonate with me deeply, and I've never heard anything quite like this description, either about myself or anyone else, really. Although I remember both comments being said to me independently from one another by other people who knew me in the past years. I thought about it today and realized that blogging is what bonded these two sides of me visually - the warm, genuine and personable part of me with the bold and dramatic part. It helped me to dress that bold part more consistently than ever before. And so thanks to my style and blog journey, my whole personality started shining through.

But it would not be possible without the years when I was still hiding! It's not like Fairy Godmother came to me when I was still a child and made a beautiful carriage of a pumpkin, graceful horses of rats and a stunning outfit of my modest school girl uniform. I had to walk the roads which were made by others before me, as well as make paths and trails of my own in places where no other foot has stepped before. I had to go on a journey that is called life - not to find myself, but to make myself the person I am today. And this person is far from finished yet! I want to believe that I still have the best half of my life ahead of me, taking one step at a time, making paths and trails where there were none, being grateful for sunny days and surviving the stormy ones, learning from both, exploring and discovering.

And while we all are different and come to ourselves under different circumstances and at different times of our lives, I think at the core, we have much more in common than we realize. I think that there is only one missing ingredient in making us realize how similar we all are. Do you want to know what is it? Then read on, we'll get to it soon... 

Sometimes I read texts by women who I genuinely like, that make me sad: no matter what the theme is, they just can't refuse the temptation to push against something they don't approve, as if it was a personal attack on them. I witnessed such wars about an elusive real borscht recipe, or whether women with young children should or shouldn't work, or whether mothers should or shouldn't breastfeed their babies and even if yes, then how exactly they should go about it it. And I read such battles when it comes to approaches to fashion, lifestyle, aging and the whole list of subjects that are deeply personal and really are not a reflection on anyone else other than the person who makes their choices, and therefore nobody else's business. I was probably a part of such battles without even realizing it, taking sides... but deep down, I know better than that, and I think we all do! 

So if you love wearing bold outfits, be unique and different and create your own rules and trends - by all means, be it! And if you are all for classical elegance and neutral color schemes, and find fashion expert's guidance helpful, then by all means follow it! And if you want to dress up in a costume every day, as if you were Princess Leia or Wonder Woman, then that's exactly what you should do! And if you are a history buff and find yourself wanting to wear traditional Celtic, Slavic or Japanese folk dresses, then do it! Live your life the way that suits YOU! Wear whatever you like and don't worry that others wear something else - they LIVE something else too, and it's exactly how it supposed to be. Life is too big and broad - we can't possibly all make the same choices.

Don't worry about others and their choices. There is enough room for us all, with all our differences! The sun never said to anyone, 'I won't shine on you till you straighten up your borscht recipe!'

Why should we ever judge each other? Why should we make one another feel bad about our choices? Instead, let us learn how to be compassionate towards one another. We don't know what someone next to us is coming through, even if we know their life story - we haven't been in their shoes, we haven't fought their battles, we don't face the dragons they face, quite possibly, every day of their life. But we know that we have our own battles and dragons and fears that we face, and we know what it takes to overcome them - great courage, that's what it takes, and sometimes it also takes years, and sometimes it takes a lifetime. Compassion is the only thing that makes sense when we see something not to our liking, be it solving the world's problems or...fashion choices. And compassion is the only missing ingredient.

Refuse the urge to judge others. 

Live and let others live.

Yesterday, Justin had an appointment and I was his driver. And even though, it was all that I was yesterday, I wanted to dress in bright bold colors - and this tropical birds dress became my choice. It is fully lined and made of polyester, but both fabrics are very pleasant, silky soft to touch, and seem perfect for mid 60s F weather with changeable skies. I pinned this large orange vintage flower to hold the deep V cut together and threw this orange faux leather jacket over my shoulders.

The yellow plastic earrings were another vintage find, and my green 'Karlusha' bag added another fun color to this happy, bursting-with-colors outfit. I will keep experimenting with different shoes for this dress, as style is not only about having it "pinned down" - but also about experimenting, trying new things, finding out what works and what doesn't. My old snake print pumps did it for the photo shoot, and metallic flats were the choice for later afternoon when we did a run for almond milk ice-cream to go with The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.

Dress - eShakti (last Winter)

Faux leather jacket - Lane Bryant (old, last shown in MARCH 2018)

Purse - Karl Lagerfeld via TJ MAXX

Pin and earrings - vintage via Goodwill

Linking with Visible Monday at Patti's

and Tina's Pink Friday

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