A Life Less Tailored

Hello, my dearies.  How's your belly off for spots?

Don't fret, I'm not going all medical on you, it's an old greeting from the North of England.  Dunno why that sprang to mind. Maybe it's because my head's in a bit of a mess.  I'm facing a dichotomy, dear reader.   Potentially, you may be too, so I'm sharing with you today.

It's this.

When I go shopping, I find myself drawn to

and

or even

Tailored. Business wear.  But I don't lead that life now.

This is what I should be gravitating towards if, indeed, I need a jacket at all.  Slouchy, to posh up jeans.  But slouchy doesn't excite me the way tailored does.  Oh I love even the sound of that word!

Then we have the supposed slightly less tailored jackets.

Something Chanel-like.

Or military.  I love military but it doesn't love me, sadly.

But it loved my cousin! During our Southampton Zara scavenge she bagged herself the jacket, a blush top and these gorgeous floral trousers.  We wanted a look at them back at the hotel. She looked amazing, even during this quick throw-on in the foyer!

She's younger and still whizz-kidding it.  I'm guessing she still moves in the world of business meetings and corporate entertaining so I can see this jacket fitting into her life just perfectly.

You see, my dear reader, I realised when walking around Zara that my head is still wanting to dress the old me.  The old working me.

These days, if I'm thinking "jacket", it should be preceded by "biker", for retirement life is more biker than business.   I should be getting excited when I see this.  But no, I want neat, tailored.

Perhaps I should not be thinking jackets at all.  I'm retired, therefore my eyes should be lingering over Zara's slouchy cardis and not dreamily dressing Business Pout, she no longer exists.  Yet I found myself wandering around Zara's, mentally dressing myself in a tailored mustard frock coat, perfect for the me of 10 years ago.

And what about evening wear?  I have a special occasion event popping up next month and I believe my jumpsuit is going to jump into my suitcase again.   My no-longer-tanned arms need cover.  Again, I think cover and I think tailored jacket.

I fell for this embroidered jacket.

But the reality is that I should be thinking along the lines of an embellished cardi.

See what I mean about a dichotomy? Whatever part of the brain makes outfit decisions is doing me no favours, it is seriously lagging behind where I am, right here, right now.

And so it continues ...

I was drawn to Zara's frilled shirts.  There were many!

But hey, I think I may just be making a breakthrough here.

For I came out of the store with this far more practical embroidered stripe.  More everyday casual.  A shirt that requires NO IRONING.  Good lifestyle choice, Pout!

Have I finally got it?  That my life is casual?  It has been for some years.  Have I finally caught up with where I am?

No!  For I fell at the next hurdle. I would like a new winter dress.  But my mind wandered ...

... right back to tailored, in dress form!   Event poshwear.  Love this 1940s vibe.

But this is where I should be heading.  A sweater dress.  And maybe a cardi is about as posh as I need to get with dresses and cover.

And don't talk to me about shoes!

I need new ankle boots.  My faithful Gabor nubucks of 4-5 years are starting to look a bit oldbucks.

So I went a-boot-browzin'.

Immediately I am drawn to something like this ...

... heels.  1940s style again.   V. smart.

Or these.

But my brain should be steering me to chunky heels.

At the very least, steering me to a heel like this.

Or more realistically, these warm flatties.

But no, I want those 1940s heeled booties, which will be so impractical for the stomping sort of retirement life I lead these days.

My issue seems to be that I am not transitioning well from classy corporate to relaxed retirement.  Even after all these years.  Is this a taste of the Brexit transition?! 

Maybe I should just go with what I like and stand out from the crowd in my differentness.  Is tailored a look that fits in with a life less corporate?  Is tailored my natural style, my signature look?  Should I listen to my inner tailored lady?

Or should I love the life I'm in and dress in my feared smart casual, something I struggle to "get" even after some years of A Life Less Tailored.

  So, dear reader, my dichotomy: do I dress for the life I have ... or the life I no longer have?!

How have you fared during the transition from workplace wear to retirement wear?

Do you find yourself dressing the Old You?

And now, a song.

Stephen Stills wrote this one with other things in mind but my take is to accept the "now" in life, work with what you've got.  I've found the song somehow calming over the years and calm is what I need until I crack this transitioning from corporate to retirement wear, from tailored to slouchy.  So I give you ...

Love the One You're With

And to paraphrase Stephen's message, "If you can't live in the life you dress, dress the life you're in".

A la perchoine.

Photo credits: Zara, H&M, Ellos, Woolovers, Gabor, Cotton Traders, John Lewis, Poshmark.