Cindy is not merely a svelte mommy. She is a fashionista mommy. She works in the fashion industry and always looks fabulous. No walking around in yoga pants for her. In addition, she's one of those women who eats whatever she wants, doesn't exercise and always looks fantastic. For some reason I think of svelte mommies as people who go running and are wise in the ways of Weight Watchers Points - even when not officially counting. Just my definition but since I made up the term I get to define it.
Cindy obviously has a closet full of fabulous clothes. She is a size or so smaller than me. (This fact I still can't get over. We met when we were in 7th grade and ever since then she's been about 5 sizes smaller than me. She was confident and adventurous enough to be on the diving team while I was slogging away at the bottom of the swim team, hating being in a bathing suit even at 12.) I went to her house to pick out some things to borrow for the various events I have coming up but also to get a sense of what I like and what is flattering now that I can wear different things.
Now this was fun. I should have had her take pictures for the blog. It seemed like a vain idea at the time, but I'm sure the 5 of you who read this would have had fun critiquing along with us. In addition to the fantastic dresses I borrowed, I loved most of all squeezing into (although not buttoning) her skinny jeans, and pairing them with a tank top, a long purple flowing bohemian sweater and some knee-high leather boots. It is a look that I love and never thought would be in my repertoire. Most of her dresses were a half a size too small, which was frustrating to both of us as she just had them all tailored to be half a size smaller. But she had a couple that weren't tailored yet, including an elegant Alexander McQueen, which I'll wear to my cousin's wedding in October.
We discussed all sorts of things, neck lines, sleeve styles, dress lengths, colors, waist detailing, skirt shapes, accessories, shoes. It couldn't have been more fun. I still have flaws and trouble spots, but so do most people and they just seem like a puzzle to work through as opposed to the insurmountable obstacle otherwise known as 'trying to disguise the size of my ass' that I had to deal with daily for most of my life.
I actually learned a lot, and I think Cindy did too. She is starting a business around styling so I was a good customer for her. Kind of like someone who lost everything in a fire!
I came away with my formal event issues solved, as well as some really good ideas for how to build a wardrobe from scratch. I need to look for a few extremely versatile pieces, and get some bright funky accessories that can be switched out at low cost. I'll buy a few nice items but not a ton. I'd rather spend more on fewer items. She explained how stylists "own the clothes" and look at what a piece can be, with some tailoring. For example she had a super useful and lovely white denim A-line skirt with big buttons all the way down to about the knee. I tried it with several blouses and belts and it always looked awesome. I was commenting on how it seemed to be in-between pencil and A-line shape and she told me that she had it tailored to be that way. It was super-flattering and easy to walk in to boot!
I'll post some photos when I get the shoes and other accessories to complete the outfits.
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