I feel pretty...

...well actually, not so much.  Lately, I've succumbed to the meat and three veg variety of attire. The Mummy style of dress. The jeans, boots and plain top ensemble is now my standard. I generally pair it with the hastily scraped together ponytail and a last minute squirt of perfume. Just to give a sense that I DID make some effort. On very special days I even go so far as to blow dry my hair, but that's about it.
I used to derive great pleasure from putting together outfits. It had always been another form of creativity for me, one I'd get to indulge in daily under the guise of necessity. I would lay in bed pondering 'this goes with that' possibilities and take clever and not so clever risks. I always enjoyed coming up with interesting combinations, odd matches and hopefully some entertaining and memorable ensembles. I'de trawl op shops and the musty wardrobes of rellies. I'd scavenge bargain racks and pick the brightest and boldest pieces. I'd accessorise with funky, chunky belts, wierd shoes and a different pair of ear danglies everyday. But there has been a shift, and I'm not happy.
I attribute the relaxing of my fashion passion to a number of things. There's the Winter factor whereby whatever I select has to be covered in several layers of coats and scarves. I can't cleverly layer some lighter things for a collage effect. Nope, it's got to be thick, knitted or denim with big boots and that's pretty limiting.
Then there's the cute offspring factor. I call them my catalogue kids because they both look like they've stepped off Target's page four. Alongside their shining gorgeousness I always feel a bit frumpy and dull. In itself, this isn't a big deal, but coupled with my daughter's extensive and wonderful wardrobe, I tend not to bother with me. All my energy goes in to sifting through her options. Picking a frilly vintage frock to go with the Nanna made cardie and chunky red boots. Then I upend her hair thingy box to find the perfect matching ribbons to tie back those perfect, blonde ringlets. Have a look at Upsy Varden (pictured above). I even put more effort in to her outfit than my own!
I'm growing my hair, too. Anyone who has done this will understand the yucky factor associated with styleless, uninteresting, won't quite reach the hair band, million bobby pins hair. It takes the shine off even the nicest clothes.
Maybe it's all got to do with my age. I've started buying mature, sensible, investment clothing. Jeans I'll wear over and over. Black and white, plain tops.  Good quality fabrics. Just saying that feels drab and not quite 'me'. I want to return to my colourful, interesting, clothes are fun, self. I want to go into an op shop and really scrounge around then buy something at which my Mum would exclaim "you're not going to WEAR that, are you?" Then take it home, put it on and feel funky again. I think I'll get me a new hair colour, too. I was pondering a sensible chocolate brown, but if I'm honest with myself, I think I'm more of a fire truck red girl. A bit of a trim to tame the ugly while I grow it out and I'll be back to my old self in no time.
It wouldn't hurt to dress my daughter in slightly less than adorable every now and again, too, so I can save up some of the clothes cleverness for my own outfit.  Although, I'm certain she'd look cute as hell in a spud bag with a sock on her head.

Had a bumper Daylesford Makers Market on Saturday, so thankyou to all you lovely folk who made the visit. I hope you picked yourself up something spesh. I did and I'm knitting it into a scarf, so thankyou Hawthorne Cottage ( http://www.hawthornecottage.com.au/ )for the lovely wool!
I also sold the first of my caravan illustrations. I think it will fit perfectly in the beachside caravan that will be it's home. That means I must get to work on some new ones. I have visions of caravans sitting in the foreground of a whole range of different skies. Being a bit of a weather spotter, I'm endlessly intrigued by the variety found in the sky and it puts all my mindless pondering of the seasons to good use.
With the next market a few weeks away, I'm finally looking forward to finding time for all that developmental work I've been promising. So fingers crossed for a new colouring book or two and perhaps another new product altogether...