Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Last week, my mom e-mailed me and told me that she had enjoyed reading the Musings that I had written about looking for pants and about paying attention to how I dress. She told me she has a high school reunion coming up and she really wanted to look nice for it. I suggested that I come up and help her find a great outfit that she would be happy with.

We arranged for me to come up this past weekend, which was also, coincidentally, the day after my birthday. My sister and her husband came up, too, to celebrate my birthday with me and, in my sister's case, to help with the clothes shopping.

The day started off with a quick trick to the harvest festival my hometown has every year. I was wearing a cream skirt with brown and black plaid that I had bought recently, along with a black sleeveless shirt and a brown short-sleeved jacket, with some comfortable lime green high heels. My sister was wearing gray pants, a periwinkle tank top and a blue and white patterned one-button jacket with gray heels.

So it's safe to say we outdressed most of the festival attendees, with the exception of my former boss at the newspaper where I worked for a few years, who was there manning a booth for the paper.

The Gryphon, my sister's husband and my dad hung out at Dad's place while we women went shopping. We drove to the local mall with high hopes.

We started our journey at JCPenney's, but we soon discovered that their clothes fit smaller than we expected, and my mom had to go up several sizes. Even so, many of the clothes were made out of stretchy materials, which aren't flattering on full-figured women, and most of the items were business clothes, not evening wear. The only thing we managed to find her was an undergarment.

We moved on to Avenue Plus, and this store definitely represented the nadir of our experience. First of all, we had a nosey salesperson who kept asking if we needed help but then, when I asked for help, she had no suggestions to offer!

Another problem was that the garments were unstructured, which wasn't helpful. They basically made her look like a shapeless rectangle, which wasn't what we'd hoped to achieve.

My sister and I got into a heated discussion over whether a certain pair of pants fit Mom properly, until Mom tried on a a pair my sister suggested and I was willing to concede she'd been right. The pants were great. We encouraged her to buy them, because even if she didn't wear them to the reunion, she could always use a pair of black pants.

By this point, my mom was growing disheartened. She wasn't happy with how the clothes were looking on her, and she was blaming herself. My sister and I, though, tried keep her positive, explaining to her that the garments didn't work because they weren't cut right for her body type and that, if she stayed with it, we'd find her something that would work.

As Mom and I took a bathroom break, my sister went ahead to scout out a better store. She called me from her cell phone to tell me to meet her at Fashion Bug, which had some great options. When we arrived, she met us with a couple shirts she thought might work with the outfit. A salesperson, hearing about our project, came to assist us. Even though they didn't offer petite items, she was able to help us find a shorter skirt that would fall the right length on Mom.

Sure enough, when Mom tried on the skirt, which was a black skirt with a handkerchief hem, we all loved it. She began to feel optimistic.

The top was more of a challenge, because a lot of shirts had deep V's, which were far too revealing on my mother. I did, however, find a great jacket for her. It's a fine corduroy which looks very velvety, and it's a deep red brick color that was great for her complexion.

We told her that all she needed to complete the look was a black top, but we didn't have any luck at that store, so we agreed we'd give JCPenney one more shot on the way out. If not, Mom would have to pick up a black shirt sometime before the reunion. We did manage to find her a black shirt with asymmetrical neckline that worked independently but not with the outfit. She also found a cream jacket that fit her nicely. She can wear them to work.

While they were paying, and while my sister thanked the salesperson for being so helpful, I went ahead to JCPenney and found three possible tops that didn't have as deep of a neckline. The one I liked best was a light sweater with a square beaded neckline, very sophisticated. As I'd predicted, it looked super on her. The others, not so much.

By the time we were done, she had a great outfit that looks sophisticated and is appropriate for the occasion. The last thing I suggested was that she get herself some satin flats with a little bit of color in them. (She can't wear high heels because of knee problems.)

So although it was a hard day, we came away successful, and Mom was feeling much more positive about making an appearance at her reunion.

Here's an approximation of her outfit, showing the exact items she purchased at Fashion Bug. I had to do the colors in PhotoShop, since the web site only showed the jacket in tan and the skirt in brown. Also, you can't get the full effect with the black shirt, because the jacket is buttoned.

The jacket is a perfect fit for her, since it comes in slightly at the waist and also has a seam across the midsection which creates more of a waistline. The small lapels and the fact that the jacket buttons over her bustline helps deemphasize her ample chest.

The skirt, which has a sheer, ragged hemline over an opaque lining, shows a little more leg than Mom normally does, which lengthens her legs and makes her appear taller.

The black and the deep brick red are perfect for both her complexion and the occasion, and the unseen black top with beaded neckline adds some extra flare and completes the look. Because she is pairing a black top with a black skirt, it lengthens her line and makes her appear leaner, especially when paired with the jacket.

However, I told her that just wearing black doesn't make people look leaner. You have to make certain to get garments that fit properly and work well for your body type.

If she adds a chunky silver or gold necklace and some satin flats, preferably with hints of a contrasting color like green or blue, or even better, with metallic accents, she'll look stunning.

As a last touch, I gave her some tips I'd printed out about how to dress for her body type, which should help her the next time she goes shopping.

For dinner, the men drove up and joined us, and we ate at Ruby Tuesday's. My sister had suggested it because she wanted to have a salad for dinner, and they have a great salad bar. Unfortunately, their entrees left something to be desired. All the items were prepared in an unhealthy way, either fried or with fatty sauces. So I decided to order the salad bar and a bowl of chili.

My sister and her husband gave me their birthday present, and Mom also got a belated birthday present from my sister. At the close of the meal, the waitress surprised us by singing happy birthday and bringing us two three-scoop sundaes to share between the seven of us.

Then my mom hugged us and headed home, while I shared some wedding ideas with my sister. After she and her husband drove back to Bellefonte, The Gryphon and I went over our wedding budget with my father. He had said that he would help out, but we weren't sure what he'd offer to contribute.

After looking at the budget, he generously offered to pay for at least half of the wedding, even though he already paid for my first wedding, 10 years ago. It's going to make the difference between being nearly able to afford what we want and being able to throw caution to the wind. I was very, very grateful. What a great way to celebrate my birthday!

Copyright 2006 by Alyce Wilson

Musings Index

What do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):