I saw a woman in the Science Museum today, who really could only be described as having "let herself go"

[MrsSchadenfreude]

Grey streaky "hanging" hair, huge arse and fat tum in grey tracky bottoms, footglove shoes, shapeless burgundy tunic top and hanging tits. She really looked like she had given up on life. In contrast, she had three dear little, divinely trendily dressed girls with her. She had obviously put a lot of thought and effort into what they were going to wear (down to the very funky hat one of them was wearing) but hadn't even spent five minutes on herself.

Why?

Pardon?

It was a bloody joke.

But you always do it!

Back to the OP.

here is a thought. And aplos if this has already been mentioned. Maybe she doesn't care what she looks like.

I don't really care what I look like if I am honest. I am always clean, and my clothes are always clean. But I am never fashionable.

I wear, goodness help me, foot glove shoes. Because I like to be comfortable and don't like pain! In my pastm when I was foolish and young I worse fasionable shoes, and they made my feet hurt. I can't be bothered now, I like my comfort

And I'm not depressed, not even unhappy most of the time (which given dh's situation is a surprise to me much of the time).

I just don't see myself as defined by what I look like. I make sure I'm nice and hygenic.....to avoind illness and annoying other people by being pongy , but I feel that who I am, my personailty and what I do with my life is more important to me than making sure my shoes are fasionable.

Maybe this woman feels the same.

And if being fashionable floats your boat and makes you happy, good for you, I'm happy that you are happy. But people can differ without being ill.

Do what, exactly?

I'm not quite sure what I've done that's made you single me out from all the posters who have said "that could be me" or made comments about their ugly footwear.

As I said,you do it on a lot of threads and I don't know why. I mean it in a kindly way.
'Nuff said.

Croc's are very comfortable and stylish, especially the Mary Jane style ones.

I can totally get beign unfashioanble and comfy

but I could imagine woman in my minds eye and she looks unkempt

I have quite small feet, but tey still resuide in footglove shoes much of the time. Joseph Seibel (lesbian lite) shoes otherwise.

My feet love me!

When I was very overweight I dressed my children immaculately. I enjoyed buying clothes for them because I got no joy out of buying them for myself at the size I was. I also was very lax at cutting my hair because I figured that my face was so fat and ugly why should I bother getting a haircut. I did have self esteem problems and my plan was to get my mind sorted then my body. I had counselling last year and have now last nearly 4 stone and am nearly in my healthy weight range. You could have seen me this time last year and my perfectly dressed children a year later things are different i'm perfectly dressed and my children are scruffy.

Just a little insight into a possible reason for such a contrast in dress sense.

Enid fashion 'rules' seem to be very different amongst you country folk.

Thank you.

I see your point MrsS. Still I think it's so much classier to look like hell yourself but to make sure your kids look nice, though I'm guilty of the opposite as I'm pretty concerned about the way I look whereas my kids are in friends' hand-me-downs because I never see the point of spending money on clothes they'll outgrow in a second. So I usually look a lot better than they do, which is probably selfish . . .! But I guess I feel children are naturally so beautiful whereas I have to work at it a bit.

This discussion reminds me of that little Frances Cornford poem that people get up in arms about because it's so presumptuous:

To A Fat Lady Seen From A Train

O why do walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?

Good god, are you all STILL wittering on about shoes?...

Never underestimate how long women can talk about shoes UD.

Men have diet for less!

Think of Imelda Marcos. Wife of a brutal dictator, but she never wore footgloves!

Do you know Chesteron's response to that poem, Medea?

Why do you rush through the fields in trains,
Guessing so much and so much?
Why do you flash through the flowery meads,
Fat-head poet that nobody reads;
And why do you know such a frightful lot
About people in gloves and such?

Chesterton, 'The Fat White Woman Speaks' (c. 1933); an answer to Frances Cornford.

That's hilarious, wigwambam

I love "fat head poet that nobody reads". Good one!

Thanks for that.

Ha! Wigwam...I was racking my brains for that poem. I knew there was a response to the fat white woman poem. Personally my reponse would have been briefer and to the point.

peachy - why thankyou I must have been making an effort on those occasions...

that poem really pisses me off

Excellent poetry swap.
This thread is liquid MN.

what are footglove shoes?

and what are crocs?