My unending frustration with the women's departments of several stores has finally driven me to create the Coalition Against Frumpy Women's clothing. The women walking around wearing clothes with appliques or bright, obnoxious colors that were originally created for the toddler set need to be led to the light...of better fashion. I see this in my own mother (sorry mom) who insists on shopping at places like Christopher & Banks, where everything has a cat or sailboat or American flag embroidered on it...all of it needs to be banned except on children's clothing, where it belongs and the only place where it is actually cute.
There seems to be some kind of lifecycle of style women go through. As children, they are dressed by parents, who will usually put them in something with Winnie the Pooh or kitties embroidered on it. Then, as they get older and become teenagers, consciousness about what is stylish or fashionable starts to develop, and teens experiment with different looks, trying to find their identity among brands like Abercrombie and Fitch or Hot Topic. Somehow, this awareness of image dies after a woman becomes a mother. There is no time to attend to appearance while tending to a child. She may hang on to her eye for fashion, at least for a few years, but as soccer practices and dance recitals start to rule her world, clothing gets pushed into the closet of her frantic mind.
The really tragic stage occurs when she starts to realize that she is getting older, and desperately wants her youth back. Too many women try to accomplish this by reverting to clothing that is too bright, too obnoxious of a print, or just plain poorly designed. There are designers out there who should be burned at the stake for pushing shirts with waistbands or pants that taper at the ankle onto these unknowing victims. I say now is the time to stop the mutilation of perfectly good fabric.
Rage against the death of your fashion sense, ladies! Growing older does not equal frumpy! So tear yourselves away from the sale rack at dress barn and instead, go pick up a fashion magazine. Figure out which trends are for the youth and which can be translated into a look appropriate for a woman who has aged with grace and wisdom. Stop shopping at stores that offer no customer services or ignorant sales associates who can't tell frump from fabulous! You are finally at a point in your life where you can afford better clothes. Take advantage and treat yourself to a mani-pedi-botox while you're at it...maybe even a makeup lesson. Above all, always remember the perfect accessory for any outfit is confidence. Find something that makes you feel beautiful...if you don't feel ravishing in it, it's not worth the cash. |
