they won’t notice the shoes

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Ericka

It’s halfway through the summer and I have pretty much convinced myself to stop buying summer clothes. Actually, I am seriously embarrassed by the piles of clothes in my bedroom that I haven’t worn yet!

The fact is, I’ve learned how to choose pieces but I haven’t learned how to put the outfits together. If I see an outfit in a magazine and i have similar pieces, I can mimic the outfit. But I have a lot to learn about fashion.

So I have a sheer, floral print top. I bought it for $16.00 on ebay. It has small cap sleeves and fitted layers in the bodice.Last summer I would have probably chosen a pair of shorts to match one of the flowers in the print. But now I am actually trying to learn about fashion. I had just bought linen capris at a thrift store for $1.00. but i wasn’t sure if they would work. So I found the internet equivalent of ‘wearing floral print for dummies’. In this case it was in an article called “How to Wear Floral Print”, posted on http://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/how-to-wear-floral-print/ . And perhaps an even more basic one, from ehow: http://www.ehow.com/how_2129604_wear-floral-patterns-style.html

It might seem elementary. That’s because it is. If you want to do something new, you have to learn how. And it’s good for your brain-when you learn new things you stimulate new connections in your brain. That is a plausible excuse for a poor 40-year-old mom trying to create Welfare Chic.

I did learn what to wear with the floral print top. It had an ivory background, blue and orange flowers, and green leaves and stems. I had those linen capris in mind but I just wasn’t sure. The first step was choosing the size of the floral. That part was done for me, my top was a medium print. Too small florals are babyish, and they remind me of the Mennonite girls who rode their bikes around my hometown. Big prints scare me. They bring to mind not-so-slender ladies wearing giant Hawaiian mumus. I might be headed that way and I’m not ready to turn that corner!

The article told me to wear a pant or skirt in the same color as the background color in the floral. Bingo, linen capris! They are only about a shade darker than the background of the top. Following another suggestion from the article, I added some simple floral accessories in the same color palette. I planned on wearing a neutral shade pair of flats, but went with a comfortable pair of tan keds instead. I didn’t think anyone would notice.

Ultimately, that is the whole point. They won’t notice the shoes. They won’t notice the tiny bit of makeup I put on. They won’t notice how stylish the pink floral cocktail ring. Playing with fashion in a small rural town is largely a private endeavor. If anyone notices,they’ll probably be thinking why is she wearing that tacky ring? This is not something you do to show off. You do it if you want to.

So take it or leave it. Right now, I’m having fun with fashion. But I’m careful about it. Around town I do keep my style conservative. I’m not doing this to attract attention. That might seem strange, but it is true. I am creating a look, developing a personal style. I’m not stressing about it. After all, they won’t notice the shoes.

Literary Chic: Book Ideas

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Ericka

If you aren’t sure where to find a good book, here are some ideas:

Books Celebrities are Reading (this was in one of the fashion blogs I follow, but I can’t find it now!)

THE ROAD, by Cormac McCarthy

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF CAVALIER AND CLAY, by Michael Chabon

WELL BEHAVED WOMEN SELDOM MAKE HISTORY, by Laurel Thatcher Updike

THESE GIRLS, by Sarah Pekkaneb

THE HOUSE OF MIRTH, by Vintage Wharton

1Q84, by Haruki Murakami

THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, by Joan Didion

THE FEMININE MISTAKE, by Leslie Bennetts

THE MAGICIANS, Lev Grosman

THE MAGICIAN KING, by Lev Grosman

You can also find some great books on the New York Times bestseller list. Happy Reading!

Literary Chic part 3

Posted on July 14, 2012 by Ericka

Luckily for us, there is one reading situation in which reading fashion magazines, sports magazines,and even newspapers are important. Not only important, but absolutely critical. If you are a parent, a step parent, an older sibling, a grandparent, an uncle or aunt-if you are even around children on any regular basis, you are a role model. If you read regularly, you can be a reading role model.

According to the CNN.com article “How to Get Your Kid to be a Fanatic Reader” by James Patterson,

Let’s face it: Most of us don’t realize it, but we are failing our kids as reading role models. The best role models are in the home: brothers, fathers, grandfathers; mothers, sisters, grandmothers. Moms and dads, it’s important that your kids see you reading. Not just books — reading the newspaper is good too.

What could be more chic than a house full of Readers? In my opinion, your look is not all that matters. You also need to be Literary chic!

Literary Chic

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Ericka

Contrary to what most high school students believe, reading is cool. I am a life long booklover, so I confess I am more excited about reading than most Americans. In fact, the statistics on American adults and reading are quite sobering. According to http://www.readfaster.com ,

-44 million adults in the US can’t read well enough to read a simple story to a child.
-21 million Americans can’t read at all, 45 million are marginally illiterate, and one fifth of high school students can’t read their own diplomas.
-50% of American adults are unable to read an 8th grade level book.
- 46% of Americans cannot understand the label on their prescription medicines.
As a proud American these statistics embarass me. I believe without a doubt that being well read is part of being a fashionista. I confess, I am a book nerd, but you don’t have to read as much as I read.
I’m not just a book nerd-I’m also a book snob. I pride myself on reading difficult books. I prefer nonfiction, biography, psychology, and (for now) parenting theory.
But my reading choices do not help to build my image as a literary fashionista.

Reading is a part of our modern culture, and all fashionistas should read-notjust magazines, but books.. There are such things as stylish books. To travel in the stylish circles, you should be able to talk about at least one book on the New York Times bestseller list. This is not about being snooty. This is just another piece of the fashion puzzle. I firmly believe that at least 75% of fashion is confidence. When you know you can hold your own intellectually as well as physically, you gain the confidence that helps you create your ownpersonal style.
(part 1 of 3)

Camping PJs and Hairstyles

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Ericka

I did forget two important things about camping. The first has to do with sleepwear. Privacy usually doesn’t exist when it comes to camping. We were fortunate in that our camp cabin had a shower curtain dividing the two rooms. But if we wanted to talk to each other, we had to be in the same room. I took my usual big t-shirt to sleep in. But if I could do it again I would take one of those boxer shorts and tank top sets, or in cooler weather a set with Long sleeves and long pants. They should be simple, not fussy. Now is not the time for satin and lace, even if you are camping on your anniversary! After all, you won’t feel beautiful if you are uncomfortable. If I had worn one of those pajama sets, I could have walked to the bathhouse without changing clothes.

I also would have paid more attention to my hair. It is important to remember that hairspray attracts mosquiotos. But at the same time, you should spend a little time on your hair. Part of having your own style is being comfortable with who you are. That may actually be what having your own style means. So unless you really do have that mythical amazing hair that looks beautiful first thing in the morning, you will need to spend SOME time on your hair. REAL SIMPLE magazine’s June 2012 has some suggestions for 5 minute summer hair. (realsimple.com) These are all variations of braids, but braids are really in right now, and they are relatively easy. (if you know how to french braid, which is the only benefit I got from being a cheerleaader in high school!). If you want to leave your hair down, there is always the option of the half up half down updo. I found instructions for these at www.hairstylesvillage.com . These styles don’t have to take a lot of time either. If you live in a humid climate, you will have some frizz. You can fight this by using bobby pins to hold down any stray hairs, and using a no-frizz shampoo and conditioner may help. I say may help because with my naturallly curly hair I have run through several of these products and I have not noticed any change in my hair. You can also use a pretty hairband to hold back the stray hairs from your ponytail. The ponytail is your friend when camping! But you don’t want to be one trapped in the ponytail slump. It might be a great way to fix your hair when you’re hiking back to camp after swimming all day. But I am sure you are way too pretty to use only the ponytail when camping! The whole purpose of the welfarechic blog is to help women-myself included!-learn how to feel beautiful and fashionable within our limited budgets.Camping can be a wonderful, inexpensive family vacation, and you can feel beautiful doing it!

First-and possibly last-trip camping

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Ericka

For years my son and I have talked about how we want to camp at our local state park. The only public swimming pool in our area is in the park, and there are some beautiful, old style cabins along the road to the pool. So I was thrilled when I was able to schedule us a camping trip over the 4th of July holiday. All of the nice cabins were taken, the park is super busy over the 4th. But I thought the camping style cabins would be just as much fun, so I reserved one of those.

We were very excited as we set off for our trip. In the interest of my new fashion addiction, I searched the internet for “camping fashion”. I came up with one great blog called FABSUGAR. ( www.fabsugar.com/Fab-Finding-Follow-Up-Camping-Cutie-208693 ). This blog has great pics for 3 different camping looks.

Since this is welfare chic, it is always my goal to find ways to re-create the looks with lower prices. So while the denim shorts on the fabsugar blog cost $129.00, I bought a pair at our local Dollar General for $12.00. No, they won’t look as good as the designer ones, but if they fit well and are accompanied by the other pieces of a fab outfit, it won’t matter so much where they came from. Because this was a camping trip, those denim shorts were the mainstay of my camping style.

Like my denim shorts, the shirts I took with me had to be easy and comfortable. I didn’t want any tops that required tucking in or even layering. In a primitive camping cabin in July, it is way too hot for layering!

My first top was a loose fitting tee like the one shown in pic 7 of look#3. The one in the pick is gray, but mine is a coral color which i think looks better on my skin. This tee turned out to be a solid favorite, for camping trips or for any casual summer events. It is simple and well fitting. If left untucked it gently hugs the body, and the neckline hangs nicely, careless without being sloppy. I also took a simple knit top, turquoise blue with an empire waist, also chosen because it did not need to be tucked in.

Shoes are very important when camping, since hiking is almost always a part of the camping experience. If possible, campers should try to purchase the best ones. I found several nice looking hiking shoes from Merrell on www.shoebuy.com . Each pair costs around $100.00. However, I read recently that like leather handbags, well-worn keds are in style-great news for the welfare fashionista! ( www.reailtychic.com )

The fabsugar blog does recommend some excellent camping equipment, which would surely be important for more frequent campers. I was able to get 2 coleman sleeping bags and a great Coleman personal lantern, which was bright enough to light up the whole campsite. However, our camping cabin came with two overhead lights and an outdoor light, so we didn’t really need it. What a happy coincidence it was that the local furniture store and hardware store are owned by the same family. Earlier this year I bought some new mattresses at the furniture store, and was accidentally overcharged. So the camping gear I bought was covered by this old credit. It has been so long since I bought the matresses that it felt like I was getting the camping gear for free!

Our primitive camp cabin did have a small mirror on one of the closet doors. But fashion is not totally about looks on a camping trip. I read in one fashion blog that no one will look fabulous camping. If you think fabulous means makeup and hours of prep, then no, you won’t look fabulous. But I think there is a different kind of beauty in camping. When you are absorbed in nature, hiking for the fun of it and even enjoying the growing ache in your calves, you have a special glow. It’s a ruddy, healthy glow, and your eyes are bright with the reflection of the campfire.

Welfare Chic

Monthly Archives: July 2012