Women | Inspired By Venice

Good Day, Good Friends! Are we staying inspired?

Don’t forget to say “Hello” in the comments! It always means much to hear from you!

I’ve only a few thoughts for today, but I’ll have more posts to share this week…

Tomorrow there is to be a blizzard in these parts. Many inches are expected. When this happens, this urban-dwelling street-parker has to move her car to a parking garage in advance, so that her old clunker doesn’t get ticketed or towed when the sirens scream and the city plows come barreling through…

The upside is that while I’m working from home tomorrow, I won’t be worrying about the weather conditions outside and feeling uneasy about my car. My tin can will be safe and cozy. And I won’t have to dig it out. The downside is that, city parking garages will cost you your firstborn. But what can I do?

Whether we are country mice, or city mice (one of my favorite childhood stories), we all have to deal with the weather. So I’ll just grab some goodies from my favorite grocery (a few blocks from the garage) after I park my car downtown tonight, enjoy the crisp air as I walk home, look up at the night sky and count my blessings…

But I wanted to share: I read an article I felt in tune with, in USA Today, by Alia Dastagir titled: Goodbye heels, hello ‘lady-stache’: Many women ditch beauty routines for good.

The article speaks on how women who have been working from home are taking a new look at their beauty practices, and thinking about the purpose of their past processes. I found myself nodding my head. So many women, spending so much time, money, and thought, in keeping up with standards, just to head to work.

My story is a little different. I haven’t really been too concerned about these things for a long time. The hair, and makeup, and nice clothes. Minimal has been working just fine for me these days.

{As a side note, just to embarrass myself…I don’t brush my hair, and never will. Once, I had to have a hair brush cut out of my hair. Perhaps even more than once. It was an awful affair. I still wince. I don’t believe in hairbrushes. They are from the dark side. Finger-combing is a much more peaceful attempt at managing my rebellious, knotty tresses.}

However, when I was younger, I absolutely did care about the way I looked – to the point of vanity. Mostly, I just enjoyed looking nice. But as we know, a lot of psychology revolves around this topic in our culture. And it is easy for a woman, myself included, to worry about whether she is ‘meeting expectations’.

These days, as long as I look clean (no stains on my clothes), respectable (a family term? about all of my wrinkly, non-ironed outfits? I embrace wrinkles – HA!) (or to not wear the sweater with all the holes in it – even if it’s my favorite sweater), and professional (most businesses have a dress code – fortunately my style easily falls in line), then I feel confident enough to head into work…

Only, my personal battle isn’t so much with looking glam these days…it’s with my allergies.

I have terrible allergies, that have only gotten worse over the years. Allergies to mascara, that make my eyes burn. Allergies to deodorants that make my underarms itch (there’s chemicals in everything friends). Even shampoos that though are more effective than ‘natural alternatives’, have too many loud fragrances that cause me issues.

I’m the canary in the coal mine. My body tells me when there’s something bad in a product. Whether my eyes start to water, or my skin gets a rash, or I get a headache, or start having trouble breathing. But God bless it – there’s lots of companies making amazing products nowadays – and they don’t cause these problems, free of the icky stuff.

But all of this to say – When I read that article, I thought about how it’s been a nice relief to not use these harsher items, which admittedly, often do get ‘better results’ than the natural ones I prefer (or to just be able to skip some products altogether in the daily routine). I’ve been thinking about this a lot. About all the worries I’ve been freer from – including others besides.

Funny, I wouldn’t be concerned about judgement on this topic from my present coworkers. Yet still, these items are ingrained in our brains since birth, and we hold ourselves to the standards we have cemented.

Look nice, smell nice, act nice, smile. Always appear on top of your game.

But…many days, that’s really hard.

Of course, I know the story is different for everyone. But as for me, the article struck me – extending beyond just mascara – and into the great many pressures we all put on ourselves.

Just remember – Love yourself. You are enough.

I love that while working from home, I’ve really been able to just focus in on embracing my work.

Now, isn’t that beautiful.

Stay Inspired.

I had this dress on my mind today, remembering when I was but a youth. I was about 13 years old here, but I recall this dress like it was yesterday. I don’t want to make the other gowns jealous…but it’s my favorite.

I love that in this dress, all that was around me was exciting and I wanted to learn everything about Renaissance history.

I love that it meant time with my mom at our favorite place; the trees, the music, the costumes, and those summer grilled foods.

I love that I was wearing something that my mom made for me during the dull winter, but that when spring came and I tried it on for the first time during alterations, I had something to look forward to…summer, dressing in a costume, being dazzled by a world of courtiers, merchants and fools!

I love how I felt: happy, healthy and alive on this single day. It teaches me to strive to take advantage of each day that I have right now. I don’t want to take anything for granted.

I have a distinct memory from that day. A court actor in an elegant gown said, “All you need is a hoop, and then you’ll be a lady.” It was a harmless remark; noble Elizabethan ladies wore farthingales under their skirts. She meant that once my costume had a hoop, I’d look like a noble. Sadly, I didn’t understand. I wondered why I wasn’t already a lady, when I thought I was. I felt sad. Children don’t always understand what adults mean.

I was a persistent child however, and my mother ordered me a little hoop in a tiny catalogue of historic recreation pieces. It was a big deal to send in a check and an order form, waiting for that hoop. No internet orders back then!

I had my hoop, and Lita crafted many more gowns, and with them were more hoops. And I grew up.

But remembering this dress and this day, farthingale or no, I certainly was a lady. I’m thankful for the wonderful women in my life, who set the example. They wore no hoops at all, just jeans!