MN Vogue - vol 35

[shopafrolic]

For glass half full fashion fanatics. Bring a positive attitude, a love of clothes and lots of lovely links. All welcome, from high street to high end.
Continuing from here

I'll get Dp on the case with Duane Novice

Aren't they just me Santa? I have no shame when it comes to the quirk, none at all. My sister despairs but I am who I am

I love your quirkiness, one

I like the sound of your wardrobe decluttering, Marsha. I can have pangs when sorting but once it's gone it's gone and I rarely think about it.

Now you can go shopping!

thank you Santa

Evening everyone,

Just had a lovely dinner (champagne & langoustines-yum!) and ready for an early night. Some very interesting comments re weight/body image & good attitudes all round!

sleep you have a great figure, slim and athletic & obviously take good care of yourself.
one your attitude sounds so positive and inspirational with focus on body strength and maintaining a healthy weight.
liberty another lady with a good attitude and learning to value the positives!

My personal experience of body image, weight etc is that I feel best about myself when slim, will never be skinny but feel slim, fit, healthy and look good in my clothes at around 91/2-10st (my pre-dc weight and need to lose about a stone now to get back there). Am not religious about weighing myself but try to do it roughly once per week to keep a check as find the kilos creep up unawares. As for exercise I love running, especially in the open air which is a great stress reliever and gives me valuable time alone.

Overall I think that caring about how you look (in terms of how you present yourself to the world rather than the looks you are born with) is linked to how you feel and therefore really important for self esteem. I had terrible pnd a few years ago and many people noticed the correlation between it starting to lift and my fashion mojo coming back. There is nothing vacuous about the concerns of this thread!

mara - you are absolutely right about the correlation between caring about your appearance and good mental health.

My mother used to work in the rehabilitatation of long-term inmates of mental hospitals and she was adamant that when female patients started wearing make-up again and doing their hair, that was the point at which they could be assessed in view of leaving.

Thanks for the lovely comments.

Dry the mirror work I mentioned is something intended to improve body image, we pretty much all have at least a part of our body that we avoid looking at in the mirror, or always react negatively/critically to. Some people (often people who would come as my clients) hate all of their body or think themselves so hideous that they literally avoid mirrors altogether. With the mirror work involves you looking at yourself, preferably naked, in a full length mirror every day, for five minutes. Be curious, observant, not critical. Negative comments that pop into your head are to be pushed away and anything positive spoken out loud. It puts a distorted body image back to reality, helps body acceptance and even love. The way I work with weight loss clients is to start from that point, respect and care accept (even if you can't love) your body as it is and look after it so that the weight loss happens easily (or sometimes not, but you are still happier!), and you don't end up as many dieters do, realising that when you lose a load of weight, nothing changes in your life except your jeans size (and even then lots of people still hate their body!)

It's a bit like what Liberty did by herself with such great results, I remember talking to you whilst v drunk about that once Lib, you did so well with it .

I think also we need to practice accepting ourselves as looking different as we age, there's something a bit sad and desperate about an older woman spending all her time and focus trying to make her weight/body as it was in twenties - being relaxed and happy in your skin and confident is much sexier and more appealing, albeit with a few extra pounds and stretch marks . My teacher calls this the 'Queen' archetype, which we should be aiming for post 35 and well secure in by 40-50. Beautiful, wise, loving and secure in herself (and her style), not in need of approval in the same way you are as a 'Princess' (I should point out that there's nothing wrong with being an age appropriate princess though!)

Sleep fascinating stuff. I think you must be brilliant at your job and great to be able to help women as you do. I reckon I'm well into my "Queen" phase .

Shop I'm finding the book hard going. Feel bad for recommending it, although it's a best seller. Will persevere.

Mara yes true.

Sleep mirror exercise sounds good.

I don't mind my figure. I much prefer it when I reduce the tummy, by eating the right things for me, so I'm more streamlined, but that's it really. Exercise is for the feeling of freedom more than anything.

I had my eye on a cashmere v neck but really glad I didn't order it.

I need to choose carefully for spring, so eye on the ball.

Mig are you there? Please can you (or anyone) help me? Friends for dinner tonight, doing monkfish in coconut milk, chilli etc. looking for dessert and just saw Nigellas marguerhita ice cream recipe...thought if I make it now it will be set enough by 10pm (too optimistic?) but I don't have tequila and DH is out cycling, kids in pjs so not going out...I have amaretto, genepi, cassis, grand marnier...anything I could do with those or is chocolate pudding type route a safer plan ?

this sounds delicious but quite calorific.

And you need cream and sweetened condensed milk so you might have an ingredients problem again.

Sleep, i have made nigellas margarita ice cream - it is lovely. I used the same recipe and added Malibu instead for a piña colada ice cream. I think amaretto would work too.

Just noticed that banana republic has 30% discount today so definitely heading there first when get to Covent Garden.

Yum! I don't count calories Linus so that's not a problem , I have cream but only unsweetened evaporated milk...any way I can tweak that you think?

Sleep I'd just drink the booze no help whatsoever

Best advice yet Dry . I shall just relax with a book, sod preparing dessert!

linus have book marked that ice cream! looks fab. I'd get black currants and cassis and do a boozy cassis ice cream, yum.

Sleep I have a nice choc biscuit slice with baileys and brandy in it if you need a moorish sinful desert can pm if you like later

Sleep since my fashion for today will be v dull we need details of your outfit for entertaining please

Hadn't thought about that Dry...I'm irritated as I missed the Outnet courier yesterday, occasionally they are nice enough to pop back but I doubt they will today....so I don't have a nice new top to wear . Dressing for a meal at home I always find tricky - I guess jbrand photo readies...heels....what top....

I keep losing my typing when I go off to get links but am thinking maybe sparkle or the pink cashmere (Zadig) tank with gold JCrew heels, or pondering the long grey fishtail skirt with a white T but it feels too early for sandals with it and pistols feel too clumpy in the house

Morning! Those desserts sound yum!

mara you are so right, its really related to your mental health,but
Its normal to be critical of our appearances,its a sort of positive criticism, provided it does not have a bad impact on ones self.

sleep I love the z&v top,perfect with jcrew heels,and j brands

Well, got my hands on my outnet delivery and its looking pretty good. The jbrand & I&I skinnies are keepers and I love, love the minimalism of the wang clutch. Only return is unfortunately the cacharel top, the floral print is just beautiful but the shape is just wrong for me, too boxy and voluminous around my already strong shoulders. Am on the lookout for a replacement though.

Quick question - can I hand wash a silk shirt or will it get ruined? Have a white zara one which have just worn for first time and would be v unhappy to have to pay dry cleaning for a £40 shirt.

I hand wash silk in the machine with woolite etc Mara.

I have a one time use 20% off code for banana republic.
Pm me if anyone wants it.