When fashion’s in, I’m out. When I’m in, fashion’s out

You would think by now I'd have a pretty good handle on what works best for me, fashion-wise. For the most part I do, at least with the basics. My tastes lean more toward classic with splashes out in accessories—hence the big red glasses, and blue ones, and pink ones, and tortoise shell ones with yellow arms. I'm generally not a slavish follower of trends, usually dragging my comfortable-height heels until I'm absolutely sure the trend is going to become a classic. I thought that was the case with skinny…

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To remain fashionable, I might have to get a job . . . again

The reason? Blazers are back in fashion and I love blazers. I gave all my office clothes to charity when I retired but kept a couple of items that I was particularly fond of. One was a beautifully constructed double-breasted gray pinstripe wool blazer with matching vest that was part of a suit (due to waistline issues, the pants retired too). It was made by Mondi, a German brand that no longer exists but I paid a ridiculous amount of money for it thirty years ago and I just can't…

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Brushing away wrinkles and imperfections doesn’t fool anyone

Kudos to American pharmacy chain CVS who recently announced they will stop using digitally altered images in promoting their beauty products. Helena Foulkes, President of CVS (it's no coincidence the initiative is launched by a woman) credits this decision as a response to "the bigger conversation women are having over their own level of empowerment". Foulkes rightly objects to being complicit in sending women a false message of perfection by digitally altering photographic images. The practice has the effect of diminishing women's level of self-esteem and generating feelings of inadequacy.…

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Dreaming of a whiter shade of pale . . . and other old lady fantasies

We're never satisfied are we? If we're blessed with natural curls we spend all our days with the flat iron or depending on our ethnicity, subjecting our hair to harsh chemical treatments. If we have straight hair, we're forever frying it with the curling iron and spraying the bejeezus out of it in our quest for natural-looking curls. If we have glorious red hair, we want blonde. In fact, as many of us age, regardless of our natural colour we opt for blonde—all-over or strategic tone-on-tone highlights—to soften the face.…

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There’s no business like shoe business

You'll definitely feel less guilty about what you spend on shoes when you learn that design mogul Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. just shelled out $1.5 billion to buy Jimmy Choo Ltd. I know I felt vindicated when I compared that shoe purchase to my own weakness for buying too many pairs of FitFlops™. At least my brand of choice provides a level of comfort. Fabulous shoes are like little magic carpets. When we're wearing great shoes we feel like we can soar above the crowds. We achieve a level of…

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