IN STYLE

Stylists have their place. I've met many. Some are very competent, and others clearly woke up one day and decided to crown themselves Supreme Ruler of Milan.
I know what industry I'm in, but no thanks. Though I have been told I can be a bit "plain", "Video Ho at a Clown College Explosion" isn't exactly the look I'm going for. 
When someone suggests that you need fashion help, don't neglect to check out the help they're recommending. It's not good when one look at the stylist pretty much lets you know that your fate will be unfortunate, embarrassing, shocking, and cartoon-ready.

I have decided I am officially "too old", and NOT participating in the game. I am a happy member of the "Look and Act Your Age Club" and its affiliates: "Just Because They Make It In Your Size, Doesn't Mean You Have to Put it On", "Less Is More", "Don't Be No Fool" and "Mirrors Are Our Friends".

I now have an official AARP card in my wallet. Not the paper one that will expire soon--but a REAL one. "Comfort" is my new cherished friend lately. It doesn't mean that I've got one foot in the grave and should no longer care about my appearance, but it does imply that I should know better when it comes to how I present myself. Regression, delusion, and rebellion are not among the choices I want to explore these days.

When someone tells you what you need to wear, take a good, long look at them. When someone says "I don't like it. It's not me. "I'm not comfortable in it", why not respect that and leave them alone? If taking fashion "out of the box" results in you looking like you need your head AND eyes examined, you might as well wear a box.

Just because something is in style or in a magazine, doesn't mean it's for everyone, every day, or every occasion. Some people who hail themselves stylists, consultants, fashion critics, artists, experts etc., might want to get good and sober and look in a CLEAN, un-cracked mirror at what they put on their OWN backs before they profess to be adept at making over, dressing, or evaluating the wardrobe of someone else. Just because it was expensive doesn't make it complementary, or appropriate. 

When one declares, "I look GOOD!" is it a statement of fact, or an attempt to convince oneself that a grave error has not been made?
If you're going to look like a fool who got dressed during a blackout, at least let it be your idea.

( On another note, WHY go to all the trouble of decorating your OUTSIDE like a combination Christmas tree/pinata/ bag of Skittles if, the minute you open your mouth, the ENTIRE display goes straight to Hell without the customary hand basket? )

Before getting caught up in trends, allowing someone to convince you that you need to adopt THEIR style, or putting on whatever some self-professed expert SAYS is all the rage, read an old story called "The Emperor's New Clothes". If no one is being honest with you, be honest with yourself.

There's all kinds of style, and some of it begins and ends with the joke on YOU. A lot of people aren't being stylish, they're providing material for some comedian, exhibiting signs of some kind of mental disorder, or going trick-or-treating-- and it's not even October.
Fashion, like Art, is subjective. Perhaps "Looking Like a Spectacle" and "Denial" love company the same way that "Misery" does.
Trying new things can be fun sometimes, but every change is not for the better. Remember that, and love yourself truly.

I probably have a chip on my shoulder that has morphed into a boulder. I want so much for people to go back to the days when music was listened to, and not looked at. I long for a world where it doesn't matter what musicians and singers look like, or are wearing. I fear we are missing out on really great music because we're preoccupied with the spectacle that surrounds it. We're disappointed, even stunned, when we pop a CD into the changer, or don our computer headphones because many performances fall flat when they're not accompanied by the video. We're not concentrating on and appreciating voices or skillfully played instruments, because the clothes, hair and make-up are screaming so loudly. 
What IS this urgency to look as way-out as possible on, or off stage? Who made up the rule that you HAVE to wear certain outfits in certain settings? When did weird and way-out become the law of the land? There's a difference between being unique and being insane.
(Perhaps I need to apologize to the "ho's", because they may have a better handle on wardrobe discretion than some women who AREN'T in the profession.)