Yet Another Blog Change and Fashion Musings

Welcome, everyone, to yet another background on ye olde MacDonald website. I don't know why, but the previous blog backgrounds wouldn't let some people post. So I've made more changes. Hopefully, they work.

Lately, Sarah, Jamie, Gina, and others have started a mom-style blog. And I thought this was a great idea. Since I work for a major retailer (Starts with "N" and rhymes with "ordstrom") I'm curious how moms interpret the new trends. Or do they simply dress in what works for them. And until they ask me to contribute a post (hint, hint!!) I'll talk about my own fashion choices.

Since I work in retail, I am surrounded by fashion, and trends. So, on the weekends, I am all about the jeans and T-shirts. I am a big jeans lover. At one point in my retail career, I was the manager of the contemporary denim department, and I LOVED it. So many choices, and I got to wear jeans to work!! And we were required to try them all on, to see how each brand fit us. My favorite brands were Paige Premium Denim, Citizens of Humanity, and Joe's Jeans. I loved how Paige Denim was made for a woman's body. The creator of the brand used to be the fit model for Seven for All Mankind, before she branched out and created her own label. I used to tell my customers, "They are made for women with hips and a butt." Citizens of Humanity was a great, stylish jean (and it didn't hurt that I got a pair for free!) What I loved about Joe's Jeans was that they offered a petite style. As a woman of 5'3'' (5'4'' on a big hair day) these jeans didn't need to be altered. You could just buy them off the rack and boom! You're good to go!

Then, later down the road, I had a baby. And all those jeans, the brands that I used to love, didn't fit me so well anymore. They rode a little too low, and my post-baby belly used to pooch out in a way that I hated. So, thus began the quest to find stylish, reasonable rise jeans.

I still wear my Joe's Jeans. But, if they stretch a little too much, they start riding low. Then came the skinny jeans trend. At first, I was hesitant to try it. I didn't want super tight jeans; I was trying to get away from that. But I gave it a shot. The first pair that I tried was the Old Navy skinny jeans. Sarah mentioned in her blog that she thought they were too baggy in the legs. I totally agree with that. So the search continued.
I ended up finding a pair that I liked in the most unlikely of places...Chico's. Yes, I know. Chico's-the mecca of most middle-aged women. The brand that; as my regional manager calls it "covers the masses of asses." But there I found a pair of skinny jeans with a comfortable rise. AND a short length, so I didn't need to get them altered. SOLD! They're actually really nice, and super comfy. I wear them all the time.

That gets me to my next point. Breaking outside of my comfort zone. It's a theme with many women. We find a trend or a style that works for us, and we work it to death. For me, it's the work-pants-and-flats look. More specifically the flats. I don't wear heels much anymore. I'm standing on my feet for 8 or sometimes 9 hours a day; mostly on hard concrete floors. My poor feet are beat up after years of wearing heels for speech. So I stick to flats. I have three or four pairs that I constantly rotate. Today, I tried something new. A skirt, and strappy nude sandals. Of course, I was much too tired to take a picture when I got home. But the outfit was cute, and I got a lot of compliments on it. And the shoes weren't TOO bad. They were good until about hour 7.5. Then they started hurting.

Off to bed. I'm off work tomorrow, so much cleaning and packing will be done. Night!!