Michelle and the Red Dress

Don’t ever think that fashion is inconsequential! As well as reflecting the times in which we live, fashion speaks volumes about who we are and what we want to project into the world. Read more

Frumpy–”A woman regarded as dull, plain, or unfashionable”

 As the mother of a 22 year old, I’m at that stage in my life when some styles just aren’t attractive or appropriate anymore. My two biggest fears are looking like my mother and looking like my daughter. And, those of us who work hard to stay in shape walk a tightrope because we can wear just about anything (low rise jeans, skimpy tops), but there is a fine line between looking current and looking like a fashion victim. Read more

Project Runway–What would you do?

I’d like to write an in-depth article about this season’s Project Runway, detailing each designer and commenting on their strengths and weaknesses. However, I haven’t watched this season as diligently as past seasons–I’ve seen each episode, but sometimes out of order and my impressions are somewhat mixed-up. Or maybe the mixed-up feeling comes because I don’t see any shining designers this time around and no designs have jumped out at me as “wow, that’s really awesome”. Read more

Ruffles, Lace and Florals for Fall?

As this ultra femmme/baby doll phase dies down, we still have a few trends to deal with. As I’ve said before, I like to look current while maintaining “my” look. Can the floral prints that have seeped into fall fashion fit my image? Can ruffles work for women over 25? Can lace look sophisticated? Well, only if they are toned down a few notches. Read more

Cindy McCain, looking totally glamorous! (From Fabulous After 40)

It’s also about hairstyle and accessories–it’s easy to kill a look with “your mother’s” hair and jewelry!

Read the entire article here:  Fabulous After 40

Less is More when Dressing Well

Few men are as well dressed as Barack Obama. He has a formula for his classic style:  one part perfectly fitted dark suit, one part crisp white shirt and one part conservative tie, usually in a solid red or blue.  The result:  he always looks confident and stylish. I’m sure he feels like he puts on a  uniform everyday; he has infinite choices, but he wisely sticks to “his” look. And he consistently looks more pulled together than other politicians.

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It’s sew chic: The designer who has turned recycling into an artform

Here’s an article from the UK’s Independent that I found on The Thoughtful Dresser. Sanjida O’Connell buys clothing from resale shops and re-fashions it. The look is a little too Bo-ho for me, but I’m always happy to see more people getting into sewing, in any way.

Read more here…

How Sharon Stone Stays Looking Great

I found this article on Fabulous after 40, it’s originally from the UK’s Mirror. It has some good common sense advice on eating right and looking good without trying to hang on to a too young look.

I don’t think there are many good role models for women over 40. I appreciate women who just want to look good, at any age, not necessarily younger. One of the biggest surprises of middle age is how I still want to look my best. I guess I thought that as I aged it wouldn’t matter so much. I’m definitely going to keep trying because my 93 year old mother-in-law still makes a great effort to look good, so I guess the desire to look good never goes away!

Check out the full article here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/yourlife/2008/05/26/the-age-defying-diet-how-sharon-stone-is-still-fabulous-at-50-89520-20430146/

My Trip to India

Hi Everybody!

I’m so excited to have returned from my “medical tourism” trip to India!

When we began making arrangements for my hip surgery (I had bone on bone osteoarthritis of the hip which has been hampering my life for the last five years), each step we took led us to this Indian adventure. And what an adventure it has been! I’m convinced we made the right choice to travel to India for the surgery and now, 10 days post-op, I’m home and feeling great and able to do so much more than I expected.

Because I didn’t have health insurance, a glitch that I should have fixed somewhere between my 1998 divorce and 2004 second marriage, when I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis we were faced with some tough decisions. A good friend who is an orthopedic surgeon (a hip and shoulder guy), took an x-ray of my hip and recommended a relatively new procedure called hip resurfacing, at somewhere between $50,000 and $80,000. He recommended his partner, who has done five of these new procedures.

After some dedicated investigation, my dear husband found some very interesting information via the Internet (what an enabling medium!). We’ve been doing hip resurfacing in the US for about five years and many doctors here still recommend full hip replacement instead because of the newness of the procedure.

Hip resurfacing was developed in England about 12 years ago and the doctor who performed my surgery was on the team that developed it. It removes no bone compared to the hip replacement in which the head of the femur is removed and replaced with a pin and ball. The hip resurfacing prosthetic fits much tighter than the hip replacement apparatus, therefore it doesn’t dislocate like the replacement is prone to do, and performes just like a real hip. It was designed with younger, active people in mind.

I’m 50 and developed pain in my groin which I thought was a running injury when I was training for my third marathon almost exactly five years ago. It progressed to the point that I could walk only 50 yards or so at a time with much loss of range of motion (haven’t been able to cut my own toenails for a few years!). Not to mention lots of pain, because the hip joint was for all intents and purposes fused, it threw my body mechanics off and EVERYTHING hurt.

We decided that hip resurfacing was the way to go and again, thanks to the Internet we found several chat groups led by people who have gone overseas for this procedure. To be able to talk to people about their experiences was invaluable and we decided to go to Chennai India to have Dr. Vijay Bose perform the surgery, who has successfully performed 1,200 hip resurfacings. And, secondarily, with travel and accommodations, the cost was a fraction of what the surgery alone would be in the US.

We spent about 9 months in communication with the doctor and his staff planning the trip. Then a couple of weeks ago the day had arrived to depart and naturally, we had a little trepidation heading off to a culturally different country for something like this, no matter how thouroughly we had researched it.

I’m thrilled to report that every step of the way the adventure went without a glitch, and the worst I can say is that the towels in the hospital were too soft and left fuzz all over you after a shower! :-) 

Here is a photo diary of the trip:

The first two nights we stayed at The Raintree, a lovely business class hotel:

The first two days we did some sight-seeing and fabric shopping! (More on that tomorrow.) The traffic is unbelievable–pedestrians, motor cycles, cars, buses, bicycles, auto rickshaws, traditional bicycle rickshaws and cows–all intermingling in an orchestrated symphony that to the Indians makes sense but to a westerner seems like utter chaos!:

An auto rickshaw:

We stopped to see a temple:

A view of Chennai (FKA Madras) from our hotel window. One foot firmly planted in the present, one foot firmly planted in the past:

The next seven days we spent in the hospital in a modern wing built with western patients in mind. My room had a private bath, kitchenette, wi-fi access and a cot for E., he was able to run his business from India! Ready for surgery:

A successful experience, every step of the way was superbly organized and the epitome of compassionate care. Part of my medical team:

The next four nights we spent at a fabulous resort, The Fisherman’s Cove, on the Bay of Bengal. There is no better place for recuperation!:

I’ve never experienced people who are so caring and devoted to service! I’ll never forget the people who were so kind to me:

Well, as positive an experience as that was, I’m thrilled to be home with more energy and mobility than I dared hope for.

I have a month off of work for some R & R–time to get sewing!

Ta-ta for now!

New site gives new designers the chance to network (from Style Dash)

Here is something interesting from , a new social site where designers can promote themselves and sell their creations.

Here’s the article:

Forget Facebook and Myspace (and Bebo and Linked in and Xing…) if you’re a funky fashionista who wants to publicize your talent and break into the industry in a big way, you may find the best way forward is to apply for Project Runway sign up to the most fashion-forward social networking site on the net.

 

Read more…

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