Thursday, October 10, 2013

Stiletto Heels, Professional Clothes, Panty Hose--Not The Attire for This Woman Anymore

Shoes...I've loved them...heels so high, I almost teetered off of them. This happened all the time when I wore platforms back in the 70s. At 5'2", the only time I felt the least bit statuesque was when I had on my 4 inches stilettos, and yes, I wore them in my classroom on many occasions.

Boots...I loved them...knee highs, "Go Go" boots back in the day--pure white with a mini skirt, little ankle ones with fringe that my mother-in-law bought me, leather boots, suede boots, high heeled boots. I wore them all.

Clothes...gobs of clothes. Designer jeans, hot pants, capris, shorts (really short), skirts...short (really short), long midis (truth be told, I felt frumpy in those), guazy shirts of all shapes and sizes, tee shirts with all kinds of sayings, tie dyes, paisley stuff, psychedelic colors and fabrics, jumpers, blouses, and later snappy business suits, and other more dignified wear...gobs of clothes. I loved lots of different things. My closet was always bulging.

You notice that I wrote all the above verbs in the past tense because this is all a moot point now.

I don't wear high heels anymore. Why? Because the darn things hurt my feet. Truth be told, they always did after wearing them a while. But I loved them anyway. I didn't care if they hurt my feet. My little pink pair of 4 inch heels were cute and sexy and I felt really good in them. I wouldn't wear those things now if someone paid me. And it wasn't so long ago that I did wear them and thought I'd always wear them.

The thing is, I have found that I have gotten more practical as I've gotten older. I want to be comfortable just about all the time. For many years in my educational career, I wore dressy professional clothes. I liked suits. I wore panty hose. God help me, I did. And I hated those things. They were/are uncomfortable and sometimes they were too short for my body and the top would roll down under my stomach. Control top, my eye. Now that sounds really unflattering, and it is, but I've had four children and no tummy tucks, so....Anyway, I have not worn panty hose is several years. When I did have to look more professional, I discovered "thigh highs" and low and behold, I only had one hose of one pair scoot down my leg and kiss my ankle. Thank goodness, I had on pants and the top of those suckers only showed a little bit at the top of my shoes. Why the heck did I have on thigh highs with pants anyway?

I'm not sure if I will ever wear thigh highs again, but these are the only hose I will wear.  I don't like those ankle hose thingies. They cut off my circulation. And I don't like my feet to go numb as I'm walking. That's just not practical or comfortable.

I like to wear jeans and tee shirts. It's the truth. I dressed up for so many years, it's just fabulous pulling on a pair of really comfortable jeans and some soft tee shirt. I don't even care if they're pressed. Yes, I ironed my clothes, too. If I was going to dress as a professional, I knew a true professional's attire is not wrinkled. I'm not a professional educator anymore. I am a professional writer and no one cares one iota what I'm wearing as I'm writing. In fact, right now, I'm wearing my Rider jeans and my pink and green tee shirt I got in Ireland with the words "Blarney Castle. I Kissed the Blarney Stone." My shoes are low heeled black boots my sister-in-law gave me. They are majorly comfortable.

In the final scheme of things, will I ever wear high heels again? Well, I do have these red satin heels that I love and can't bear to part with. They are surprisingly comfortable for three inch heels. And, yes, they are sexy shoes. And it's nice to feel like I look sexy every once in a while even at my age.

So, I'll keep the satin heels, but the dressy blouses are going along with a couple of suits and some other gawdawfully uncomfortable heels. These things are not going on my feet ever again. But, I'll  keep the Spanx,....at least for a while longer.




2 comments:

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Like you, I have learned to dress down since I retired, but I do wear wedge shoes to give me height some times.

I bought a fantastic pair of high heel shoes that were expensive (for me) about five or six years ago while I was on vacation and not being practical. They were fantastic but I wore them only twice and only for short periods of time. They were useless to me and I tried to give them to my daughters, but they did not fit them. I kept them and would look at them from time to time wishing that I could wear them one more time without injuring myself. Finally, I got up the courage to give them to charity but it was a sad walk to the donation center.

Coleen Brooks said...

I feel your pain.