Dear FASHIONGRANNY,
I love your column! I am 64 years young, way past pleasingly plump and totally out of it when it comes to current fashion rules…. not as if I can look at Glamour Magazine with all those beautiful skinny girls! I have been out of the country for many years and before that, I lived on Maui, with their unique fashion sense. So now that I have moved to this beautiful area, my question is: Is it appropriate for me to continue to wear ankle length dresses (not muu muu’s please!) that hide my ugly veins and thick ankles? I only wear these for casual wear, such as shopping, lunches, etc. This way I can wear ankle hose and flat shoes. I do wear short boots occasionally, but I am not ready for heels again due to comfort and safety. This is more important to me now than it was in the past.
Thanks for your input.
Signed,
Looking Forward
Dear Looking Forward,
Thank you so much for taking the time out to write FASHIONGRANNY for her fashion advice. It warms the cockles of my heart to know that someone in my age bracket can still ask for advice. I find those folks few and far between! That’s the first step in getting to a new level in life, let alone fashion!
Yes! You are correct in painting our Lowcountry as a “beautiful area.” However, sometimes, I see that far too many newbie’s take on an “Island Look,” or what they think is an island look, and what results is altogether sloppy.
This unique Sea Island Chain is nothing like Maui and those pseudo Hawaiian shirts and linen bag dresses are not the best look for anyone anywhere. Yet, when it comes to long dresses, I will tell you I like them. I like them a whole lot better than short-short dresses showing way too much of everything!
I don’t think you will have to give up style for comfort wearing ankle length clothing as long as it is clean, pressed and well thought out. I think a trip to Eileen Fisher would be a great place to start re-vamping your wardrobe if that’ what you want to do. Her clothes can be found in our area at Saks Off Fifth in Bluffton; there might even be an Eileen Fisher store in the Tanger Outlets by now. Her online store is of course available, and don’t forget to check the Consignment shops in Downtown Beaufort and Hilton Head Island. (For those of you out of our Lowcountry area, check your local shops as well.)
FASHIONGRANNY says your look is acceptable and beautiful There is something very feminine and demure about long dresses and below the knee apparel. I think you are right on time and right in fashion! Welcome to the neighborhood!
This next column is from the FASHIONGRANNY archives and pertains to the topic which “Looking Forward” was addressing. You know FASHIONGRANNY has her opinions!
Greetings Fashionistas!
Great comments this week, and as I suspected, our community is fashionable and interested in Fashion Talk!
Is it a re-awakening to your Personal Style?
A little story; Fashiongranny is a not local.
I traded Coasts, probably for many of the same reasons Yankees came south.
The Sea Islands have Peace. They have Beauty.
The Lowcountry provides a way of life that Southerners know from birth and authors can’t help but write about!
Peace and Beauty.
We folks, who moved here, finally retired from an Alcoa job in New York or a Car Dealership in Dayton, found a good thing for a good price compared to anywhere else in the US, bar a sheep ranch in Pocatello!
After moving, rigors of our past lives peeled away from us, as in layers of an onion. No more jobs! No more alarm clocks! No more commutes! No more having to dress up every day to go to work!
“In fact, when I retire… I won’t care how I dress!”
Well, somebody cares! Your queries are sophisticated and telling FASHIONGRANNY that there is hope yet for her eyeballs!
Grooming is a good thing. Are we to allow four legged creatures to out-preen us just because we are freed from the daily grind and happen to live in Paradise?
Nonsense!
It’s just as easy to look fabulous and appealing as it is to wear linen flour sacks and hamperwear!
What does make sense is this: since you live in Paradise, you should add to the beauty! Our landscapes are stunning; this is the Sleepy South at its best!
All the little girls have big bows in their hair and that must tell you something!
Holidays are upon us and these winter months give me an opportunity to dress in the clothes I didn’t throw out when I moved here. I get to layer a little bit more and create some festivity of my own. I get to add beauty!
Personal Style!
And it’s reawakening right here in little old … shhhh! Put a bow on it!
