50 Days Part 3 - A Style Makeover

In 50 Days To Change My Life Part 1, I showed you what I didn't want to look like on my 50th Birthday in 50 days time (including pictures of one of the offensive tshirts). In Part 2 - Fad Diets, I told you how I was going to tackle the weight loss thing. The weight loss thing, due to my doing it so sensibly (i.e. slowly), is beginning to be very frustrating. I could see that familiar giving up point on the near horizon. Something had to change now! I needed instant gratification and a boost to my morale. So obviously I went shopping.

I've hardly bought any clothes in the past five years because I was always waiting to get back into the smaller sizes I have in my wardrobe. My sister once advised me to buy nice clothes in the bigger sizes so that you at least feel good about yourself (and have things to wear) while you work on getting slimmer. Good advice. I ignored it - waste of money.

The clothes I have bought over the past few years are mostly giant tshirts in the summer sales to cover up giant me. I remember, about 25 years ago, I bumped into a sophisticated and glamourous friend in the supermarket. I wasn't too badly dressed. I had on a black skirt and a big salmon coloured cotton sweater. However, my coat was bright green. Salmon and green!?! I told a (male) friend on the phone, how shlumperdiken I felt with my bright green coat on and I will always remember his answer. "The point is not that you accidently wore the bright green coat with the salmon jumper. The point is that SHE wouldn't even own a salmon jumper or a bright green coat. Get rid of them both!"

I feel this way about tshirts. I once met a friend in the restaurant at the Cinemateque. You can't get more sophisticated in Jerusalem than the restaurant at the Cinemateque. (I once sat on the next table to Debra Winger and two tables away from Phyllida Law.) I was wearing, among other things, a tshirt. It was not sophisticated. She was not wearing a tshirt. It occured to me that this friend doesn't even own any tshirts. I vowed never to wear a tshirt again. Have you noticed how I'm not very good at keeping vows?

But now that I'm desperate, with only 34 days to go until the big 5-0, I decided not to wait for the elusive size Y (mind your own business), ditch the tshirts and go shopping for floaty, feminine, sophisticated and glamourous togs. As usual I ended up in my favourite shop - Hagara - and bought two summer dresses. For someone who's been living in jeans/leggings and tshirts for the past ages, this was a big step.

Here's a little detail of the red one like they show in the fashion magazines.

When it gets cooler (and for religious occasions where more modesty is required) you can pair both dresses up with cotton cardigans and/or leggings.

I thought of getting my hair cut but it's actually cooler in this heat to be able to scrape it all back and put it up. And that doesn't look wholly unsophisticated.

Next job: gather all those tshirts together and chuck them out!

50 Days Part 4 - Happiness Shows
I'm linking this post to Inner Truth over at Liska's New Mum Online.