Time for me to take a Summer Break. . . Before I do, let me upload, via Blogger’s most frustrating change ever, some of the photos I’ve been saving. The OOTD posted above was taken a few weeks ago, before the temperatures that now make that T-shirt an unbearable idea. . .
Also, seeing these outfits in a series of saved-up photos this way, you will note that I have more of a Rumpled look going on than anything approaching Chic or Stylish. So why share, you might wonder.
Diversity in representation, is all I can answer to that. I want it known that Rumpled is okay as well. Messy curls (made messier by heat and hats and humidity) are okay. A tummy shaping the line of a wrinkled linen jumpsuit. All okay.
Bare white legs, stubbornly (or lazily) un-enhanced by bronzing products, a-okay. Sneakers with a dress on a 60-something woman. Okay too.
Summer.
Perhaps because it reminds me of childhood freedoms . . . that I’m old enough to reclaim should I wish. But I’m wearing clothes that make me feel happy and comfortable and able to ride my bike or easily change into a swimsuit when all the changerooms are locked (Because Covid-19). Shoes that I can walk long distances on city sidewalks. Dresses I bought in Paris (below). . . .
and hats that I bought on a sisters’ trip years ago (below)
and, whenever I can, bare feet. . . without nail polish, ’cause that’s what they were like when I arrived on this earth, and given my pedicure skills and the current Covid situation, they will do just fine for me until we’re back in shoes in not so many weeks. . . .
I will be back before then, sometime ’round the end of August, I think. Meanwhile I’ll probably end up posting photos over here. Also, if you’ve been finding reading inspiration on my other blog, I’ve just added a Books Read in July post; any one of those titles would have you turning pages avidly in a comfy seat in the shade of a big old tree. . .
See you in a few weeks. . .
Have a really rumpled, relaxing, lovely holiday, Frances. xo
P.S. About the bronzing thing. I have noticed these days all the young IG-ers and vloggers looking surpremely bronzed. And wow… does it look odd. Especially the fair-skinned, blonde English ones who are unlikely to have the skin type or the wherewithal, given the reality of UK summers, to have achieved that tan naturally. Ick. Not that I support sitting in the sun to get a natural tan. Quite the opposite, in fact. Given what we've long known about tanning, I'm surprised that NOT having a tan isn't the cool thing to do these days. I'm with you on baring my white and untanned legs whenever I want.
Pleasing ourselves seems almost a sanity-saving imperative during these strange times. And summer is surely a time for freedom from constraints.
I love your rumpled look. I think there's something…charmingly insouciant about it. Have a wonderful break!
Love your look-it's summer,let's be happy as we can under circumstances we are living in, and do what we like. Life is too short. We have a wonderful new witty word play : " Ja vise nista ne moram,ja sam se namorala"-a bad translate: "I don't have to do anything,I've done enough things I had to do"
I love linen so much. Is the dress from COS? It is lovely.
Enjoy your break
Dottoressa
All your outfits are A Okay with me. Rumpled, loose dresses, sneakers, bare feet sans nail polish all fabulous, real and very welcome. Have a wonderful break, see you on Insta and here again when you’re ready.
How gracefully you embody ease! Have a blissful break.
Should you ever be tempted into DIY pedi land, you might like to try Essie's "Treat, Love and Colour". It is sold as a non-mail polish, a treatment. Rather than dry nails and leave those white spots behind at end of pedi season, it nourishes and drops the slightest veil of colour on toes (or hands). So it is just about impossible to botch and comes off early.
re the new Blogger, CANNOT figure out how to caption photos so if you know please tell me!
Love all the outfits, especially the first and last. Is the last one a jumpsuit? Gosh, I hadn't even had a thought in the direction of nail varnish. I only ever do when in France, and apart from that am content to let my nails breathe. Have a good break.
Enjoy your break!
I can't get as far as painting finger or toenails…can barely get out of the yard with clean hands and feet. I have been using cuticle oil to keep hangnails at bay and feel quite spa-ish.
Your remarks really got me thinking about 'painting' and where we all fall on the spectrum from 'never' to 'head to toe'. This thinking could keep me busy for a long while.
I think your outfits look just right. Enjoy your summer holidays (make sure to have at least one popsicle…a junky one…no fruit juice allowed!) 🙂
I absolutely second your claim to diversity in representation, i.e. dress. (And I very much like that combination of navy shirt&skirt.) I am enjoying a soft breeze coming across the lake and a different sunset every day, and I wish you the same.
Sue: We're on the same (UVA/UVB) wavelength. . . I've tried bronzing creams in the past and while they're probably better now (ugh, the scents, the texture/feel), they're still generally packaged in plastic, consume fossil fuels in transport, take time to apply — I'm lazy! — and, perhaps worst, contribute to the sense that tanned looks better. (plus, I'll repeat, I'm too lazy!)
Elle: Yes! All the little subversive pleasures I can find.
Sue B 2: Thank you! Insouciance would be a goal except it can't be achieved that way 😉
Dottoressa: That's a great saying and so pertinent to this stage of our lives! Do you notice how perfectly I'd be able to dress for a Dalmatian summer? (need to add a couple of swimsuits and I'm all packed 😉 — No, the dress isn't from COS, but it does have that easy fit in an interesting cut. . .
Maria: Thanks! See you on IG 😉
Duchesse: Thanks!
I'll have to look at photo-captioning again when I can bear it without getting angry or frustrated. Trying to move photos around seems impossible now. Ugh!
I think I will look for that non-polish. I do miss the nail-care aspect of the pedi, but I was already steering away from nail colour pedis because they left my nails dry and peeling and white-spotted.
Linda: It is a jumpsuit — so loose and easy to wear. I can't bear much fabric contact in heat. . .
Mary: Thanks!
Georgia: I've been thinking about this a bit lately. Over the past few years I've drifted closer and closer to my, let's say, more natural grooming of my first three or four decades. Although the time I now save on grooming hair from the armpits downward is now directed to ridding all that now sprouts above my neck. Sigh. . .
Eleonore: That sounds idyllic. I hope that it's giving you a chance to rebuild strength after your tough spring. xo
Nice to see you still rocking along here, Frances! Thinking of you over on the island xo from Lisa
Lisa! So good to hear from you — thought about you when we were over last week visiting kids. . . xo