Tuesday, August 16, 2016

A New Challenge : Dress Like An Icon (quite a challenge!) Part One Days1-4

I LOVE Facebook challenges. This one is called Dress Like An Icon hosted by Eyenie Schultz on the Facebook Group The NEON Parlor (she is a creative genius).
I am doing this because I believe that the way we dress  shows ourselves and others how we feel about our bodies. Do we just put on any old things that are comfortable? Comfort IS important- no doubt about it. The body wants to feel good and be comfortable! However I think we can be comfortable and still  dress and adorn ourselves in self-expressive ways. I have been so impressed by the diversity of ways that the participants have dressed during this challenge. I LOVE the variety of styles and creativity expressed. I would love to see everyone dress self-expressively everyday! It is such a pleasure to see others dressed and adorned in their own special ways.
 Day 1 we cleaned out clothes, personal care items, jewelry, etc. that no longer serves us. This part was easy for me because I have done it so often. The next part was not so easy. We were to choose an outfit we have never worn before, intuitively - by how we want to feel. I was surprised because I chose all white-including a pair of brand new white jeans that have been hanging in my closet unworn and a white lace top I crocheted this spring, but also never worn. The hardest part was posting a photo and describing how we feel.
I felt cool, light, bright, summery and especially dancey. Maybe the shoes make me feel like dancing?

Day 2 OMG - adorn ourselves to express the belief that we are more than enough and :
"Bring in something fancy, over-the-top, exciting, extra vibrant, funky or usually reserved for special occasions to seal the deal. Own the frick frack out of it!"
 

I love this little tiara with the golden Swarovski stars
The dress is made from a vintage pattern. The photos do not do justice to the fabric which is a lovely embossed cotton with gold thread embellishing the flowers.  I am wearing gold sandals-and I even painted my toenails gold!

Yikes! If this goes on , how will I make it through Day 7? It is FUN to play dress up! I always loved dressing up and I do dress most days. This challenge is going to get me into EVERY DAY. I will have to see about some glam work clothes.... I am thinking plain shirts and pants  impressionistically painted with swirls of my favorite colours...

Day 3 Own a truth about how we really want to dress-I am unabashedly Retro! The Laura Ashley fabric is from the early 80s, the dress pattern is from the early 60s- the pearl necklace and earrings are heirloom and the shoes are vintage! I am learning that I feel most like myself when I wear elegant Retro clothes -despite the current fashion for a more casual look.


Day 4 The Dream You- dress intuitively to be the woman you aspire to be. This took me all day! I have the dress (it's been hanging in my closet unworn for 2 years) and the shoes (any one of 3 pair of gold sandals)- I have not been ready to step into the woman I aspire to be yet. What is holding me back ? Well for one thing I have braces and 4 rubber bands in my teeth that keep me from smiling at the moment. If I break into my usual spontaneous smile the rubber bands pop loose or break. Not conducive to taking photos. This too shall pass and at least I have the dress, the shoes and the jewelry. 

 I love everything about this dress! The style, the colour, the lovely soft feel of the fabric, the gold sparkling design that does not show up in the photos. At least I am on my way! This challenge is GROWING me !

What is your favorite way to dress self -expressively? What are your favourite colours/ articles of clothing? jewelry? What  makes you feel wonderful and most like YOU? Do you make any of your own things? Do you have a favourite place to shop?  How would you describe your style? Do you adorn beautiful you with even just a little something special every day?
Please leave a comment below and answer some of these questions! I love comments and I really appreciate that you are reading my blog. You can comment below or pm me on Facebook or email me  colleen412@gmail.com
Also you might want to peek at my Pinterest boards  https://www.pinterest.com/colleen2322/

                                    



11 comments:

Janet said...

What a wonderful idea. You look truly beautiful.

Barbara said...

Hello Colleeen, the colour of your ‘dream you dress’ is just beautiful. I had my colours done once and was told I should always wear shades of blue/turquoise and orange. I know they suit me, but they are not terribly practical colours for rainy old England. Perfect for this time of year though. I met three friends for lunch yesterday and decided to wear my new red (not a good colour for me, but I love it) top, which is covered in little white birds. I felt really good in it and my friends all admired it. I came home on top of the world, kicked my shoes off and stepped on a wasp! At this moment in time, I’m sitting in my pj’s with my massively swollen foot in a bowl of very cold water! We are going to a funeral on Friday, so I’m desperately hoping I will be able to wear shoes – if not, I will express myself by wearing slippers! They say pride comes before a fall and in my case it certainly did. :-) Thank you for sharing all your lovely outfits, I very much enjoyed seeing them and reading about how you feel while wearing them.

colleen said...

Thank you, Janet! I think you dress beautifully in the dresses you have sewn and all of your fabulous knitwear. I love your sleeveless dress pattern. It looks so elegant with the pretty shrugs you make.

colleen said...

Barbara dear! I am so sorry about the wasp sting on your foot. The first time my feet touched lovely green grass studded with clover I stepped on a bee. I can only imagine how much more painful a wasp sting is!!!
Rainy Old Blighty requires some colour! Please wear your lovely colours! I feel that the shade of red you were wearing must be attractive on you or your friends would not have said so and - most important! you would not have felt really good in it and "on top of the world "! I am going to continue to cheer you on and inspire you to be the beautiful Barbara that you are! I would love to see a larger copy of the thumbnail photo by your comment. The colours you are wearing look like you. BIG (((HUG)))

Barbara said...

My lovely daughter in law sent me the pretty scarf and a cover for my tablet and then asked to see a photo of me using them. The scarf has lots of turquoise and pink in it, so I put on a turquoise t-shirt and was very pleased with the resulting photo. I don’t know how to make it any larger, sorry. H said that I just clicked on the thumbnail, and that took me to my Google account. I clicked on the small thumbnail in Google and up came a larger pic. I don’t know if it will work for you but it might be worth a try. In the photo I’m sitting on the floor surrounded by some of my granddaughter's paintings. Karen sent them along with my birthday gift.
I think bee and wasp stings are very much the same (horrible!) :-) Hugs back xx

annabanana1987 said...

Colleen you are too fun, and your outfits are too cute! I loved all of them! You are right that how we dress reflects how we feel about our body. I used to really struggle with body issues, stemming from when I was a little girl in dance. I am naturally curvy and struggled to figured out why my stomach was not as flat as the other girls. My mom told me it was because I had big organs, which was really sweet of her to say. But, as I get older, I feel more and more confident in my own skin!! Thanks for making me think about the journey I have been through :) xo

colleen said...

Barbara, do you have the original photo? I think you look lovely in the scarf and turquoise top- definitely your colours! I would love to see photos of you on Pinterest. You are definitely an Ageless Beauty-inside and out.

colleen said...

Anna! I had the same experience in ballet classes from age 4-14. My bone structure is classic hour glass- I had a defined waist at 4. All the other tiny dancers had perfect "Twiggy"- I thought the curve was a deformity! Then I became way too tall and curvy and even though I had wonderful stage presence- ballet was clearly not my metier. My teacher advised me to find another performance art. I was devastated...We have so much in common... Like you, I had to learn to love and appreciate my body. One thing that helped is that I have always loved pretty clothes and shoes. I loved beautiful paper dolls -especially the older ones of glamorous dancers, film stars, etc. Their clothes were fabulous. I still collect and play with paper dolls! Thank you for your kind comments!
I am looking forward to your new adventures. I really admire how you are creating your life!

Barbara said...

Hello Colleeen, I don't think I've shared any recent pictures of me on Pinterest, I will see what I can do. Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate them. xx

Anonymous said...

Hi Colleen, thanks for letting me know my comment disappeared. I'm not sure what I wrote, but your outfits are beautiful. I love the full white ensemble and the turquoise is gorgeous, too. I'm often lazy about dressing up, but I do love to wear bright colors and I love vintage and Laura Ashley, too!

colleen said...

Marcia, I would LOVE to see some photos of you in bright colors, vintage and/or Laura Ashley- on your blog? On Pinterest??? I love to see people dressed as themselves...