Despite being desperately homesick, I had a lovely time away visiting family in South Texas. I'm glad these outfit photos, taken before I left, were on hand to post (hooray for backlog!) because I am flattened and having a hard time getting out of jammies.
Due to very limited internet access, I wasn't able to comment much during my trip, but keeping up with some of the style-related discussions gave me much to mull over, as always.
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| green-yellow shirt: Typhany, thrifted ($2), last worn here grey pleather motorcycle jacket: Coffee Shop, My Habit, last worn here vintage wool / alpaca sweater dress: Lo Ri, Netty Vintage, last worn here deliciously soft and comfy boots: Fluevog Presence Intuit, last worn here |
Lisa's blog post at Privilege, "Can Middle-Aged Ladies Wear Biker Jackets?" poses a question I'd never even considered as a question - there are seriously people who question this? and would I be just as judgemental to label that position uptight and judgemental? - and is a must-read for the best workplace dress code ever, plus check out her spectacular jacket for which she got to go shopping with Audi. Wow - the complete and utter coolness just knocks me right over!
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| necklace: a gift from my mother, last worn here yellow vegetable turquoise bracelet: Gabii (Progreso, Texas), last worn here usual wrist wear: detailed here watch: Stuhrling Tuskegee Skylancer, shown more clearly here |
What I always appreciate about travelling, both in real life and on the internet, is bringing home a fresh perspective on all the things I am so privileged to take for granted.
And the integration of connections, finding bits of home away from home - the pelicans reminded me so of my hens in their preening, sunbathing, impossible folding / unfolding of outrageous wingspan, and flock behaviours, their birdnesses-in-common.
The pelicans are hauntingly prehistoric in their own ways: great mossy throats and leathery feet, the architecture of beaks and necks and air-chambered bones and bodies, but their intent gaze of curiosity and optimism - in full anticipation of the delicious - and their very palette are well-known and touchingly familiar to me.
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| brown pelicans loafing, South Padre Island, Texas |
Hope y'all have been well! I look forward to catching up with everyone's posts over at Patti's Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday, such welcome breaks from the process of unpacking.
Pelican pics! Those are so beautiful you could hang them on a wall.
ReplyDeleteYou have the best accessories and wear them so well. I love the touches of green with the blouse and the bracelet.
I missed you LOADS!!
Likewise - thinking of you often!
DeleteI am in love with that bracelet!
ReplyDeleteToo bad you didn't post some stylin pics from Texas - those slick lil cowboy boots you have woulda done the trick ~
Thanks, Tami! Couldn't have done it from there due to lacking technology, but do have a few shots I may yet cobble together. Cheers to your awesome Travelling Yellow Skirt post!
DeleteOMG, the insanity of what should a middle aged woman wear?! Lisa looked AMAZING in her biker jacket! I'm so tired of rules, dammit.
ReplyDeleteMust be a bit of a shock, coming back from the heat of Texas! Travel, especially to 3rd World countries, is perfect for perspective.
This frock is fascinating, and I'm waaaay into that necklace and bracelet!
My parents lived in a beachside town in Australia that had a huge pelican colony. crazy looking things, very pre-historic indeed.
Welcome home! XXX
Stop the insanity, lol. I love you, man!
DeleteThe green with grey is beautifil.
ReplyDeletePretty boots.
XO Arezu
Thanks, Arezu! xo
DeleteThe pelicans are kind of Pterodactyl looking! Glad you made it home safely - I find that travel always leaves me with a new perspective on home, and a renewed appreciation for having a home to come home to!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very cool sweater dress - love the pattern and the grey and green look fab together.
Truly - you articulate it perfectly, Shelley. Thanks!
DeleteWelcome home. Dreamy dress we're seeing on you today, and the green layer is just perfect. I've always thought "prehistoric" when looking at pelicans too. They are strange beautiful creatures. Thanks for linking up, and have a bit of a rest : >
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Patti! Visible Mondays are such a highlight, hate to miss 'em, glad to be back!
DeleteI'm in love with all your earthy tones, from the great boots to your yellow vegetable turquise bracelet. You do an amazing job of accessorizing. My absolute favorite is your sweater dress, WOW!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lynn, those Pelican photo's need to hang on a wall. Thanks for sharing with us.
What a generous comment, thanks, Trina! The dress was a fun find at a great local shop, and I strongly suspect the pelicans were hamming it up something fierce. :D
DeletePeople are so judgemental these days. It must be exhausting for those people. Anyway I think you look right cute in your moto jacket and sweater dress! You've got a bit of 'pelican' inspiration in your outfit I think!
ReplyDeleteI'm rather fond of my hummingbirds. They're little jerks, but I like sitting on the back porch and watching them. Crows too. They're everywhere right now.
Judgement, part of the human condition!
DeleteI am ever fascinated - both personally and professionally - by its manifestations and effects, the ways it informs our connectedness or othering. Why do we judge? What anxieties or fragilities does it depend on, attempt to cover, might it reveal? What functional significance does it carry that so much energy is diverted thusly, to the extent that it becomes, as you reflect, exhausting? What would happen if we didn't focus so much on what we believe other adults "should" or "shouldn't" do?
Wings be with you, dear Megan.
So happy to see your face. I've missed you. That dress is amazing and you are proof that biker jackets can be worn by anyone with style. Which you have. In spades.
ReplyDeleteOh Gracey, likewise! You're the best!
DeleteRules schmules! I'll wear a biker jacket till I'm ready to pop my clogs if I feel like it thank you very much. Long live older women in biker jackets. I love yours! And I love the pop of lime your collar gives this outfit too! Nice to have you back.
ReplyDeleteMeant to say also that I had that exact same necklace! I bought it with matching earrings from H&M - I loved it and then lost it in a burglary to a thief who mistook it for proper gold.
ReplyDeleteLike the pattern on the dress-- green is a beautiful accent to the blueish/gray. The necklace is stunning! Grey boots are unusual, look great with leather jacket. Hope we all are wearing leather jackets way into our 80's. I am planning on it!
ReplyDeleteLove that bracelet! I've never seen or heard of vegetable turquoise -- where have I been?? I'm going to find out more about it. On another note, I wear biker jackets; however, I also ride my own Harley. If middle-aged ladies (I'm 61 -- maybe I'm older than middle-aged now) can ride their own bikes, then we can certainly all wear biker jackets!
ReplyDeleteHeather from Friendship, Life and Style
I wasn't sold on the dress until I saw it without the jacket and then it rocked my world! Love the wonderful pattern. Your necklace calls to me.
ReplyDeleteI read that post - how can someone even question this? I now need to get a replacement for my long-gone biker jacket of the late 80s/early 90s! I intend to wear leather for my entire life!
So good to have you back, Amber! I missed you!
Of course you already know that we can wear biker jackets:). Thank you for the mention. I come from a culture of such conservative dress - I admire the way you use color and layers for an original statement of your aesthetic. And how you write about pelicans too.
ReplyDeleteI'm into the complete and utter coolness of your outfit and bird discussion. Your sweater dress is divine and love it paired with the green/yellow shirt.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to see your blog light up with your always thought provoking commentary and your exquisitely creative and unique style. You have been missed.
Nice to have you back in a graphic look!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the mix of grays with that olive green! And that fact that it carries over into the bracelet of yellow vegetable turquoise - something I've never heard of before. It's like saying purple pigeon lazuli. Anyway, it's gorgeous, and I'm glad you're back.
ReplyDeleteI am sooooooooooo glad to have you back. You had me worried.
ReplyDeleteXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Welcome home. Beautiful colors, beautiful photos, and beautiful writing. I appreciate your artistry and intelligent perspective, and especially your loving-kindness in the world.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back my dear you were sorely missed! Hope your settling back in nicely!
ReplyDeleteHey Amber, welcome back to the barn. Did you dress pelican-esque on purpose? Love the colors together. Although you certainly don't look prehistoric! I have or had that necklace too - from the 70's. I think I might have it in one of my paintings. I mean painted a painting of it as part of bedroom series I did. I'll have to check that out... Did the article mention anything about middle-aged men wearing/not wearing motorcycle jackets?
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Amber!! I really love the bright green with the greys and black!!
ReplyDeleteWhy not wear a biker jacket?? Rules are made to be broken!!
It's so good to have you back, Amber! Travel is great, but so is coming home. I bet Beary and those hens were overjoyed at your return.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time, the blogging community has a wonderfully wide, all-encompassing wingspan, like those quirky pelicans. So it comes as a shock to hear that old chestnut of "you're too old to wear..." I checked out the link to Lisa's blog, and she is rocking that jacket! If you're judging the judgers, then so am I!
I love the pattern on your dress, and the chartreuse shirt and beautiful green bracelet work so well with the greys.
Beautiful plumage, my dear friend, including the jacket which I hope you will enjoy wearing until you are at least 100! xxxxxxx
another great outfit. love lucyx
ReplyDeleteGreat example of how a diminished color palette can be so vibrant. You really rock these combos! Nothing goes much better with lime green than silver or gray.
ReplyDeleteThis week, I chose a moto jacket to raise the age appropriateness factor of floral patterned jeans! It depends on the woman, her sense of design and style and her milieu. I can relish the bad-boy (or bad-girl) narrative that comes with this kind of jacket. Perhaps that subtle storytelling that garments can sometimes carry doesn't fit her own presentation of self.
Since my husband and I have not had a vacation in 16 years, the internet has opened up our lives in ways we never imagined. I would be bereft without my wi-fi, laptop, and e-readers.
Welcome back!
I was just ooohing and ahhing over at I Love My Lemonade Life cuz she was rocking the fuck out of grey and red. And here you are, doing righteous damage to grey and yellow and looking every ounce the style icon I believe you to be. Ok, I get it. Grey is good, but is best with a bright pop of color. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know you're enjoying your vacay. Off to read your suggested post. xo! Bella Q
Gosh what an unusual dress, I love the geometric pattern, very 60s chic! Love the jewellery too, particularly that incredible necklace! Welcome home, glad you had a good trip - sounds wise to stay in your jammies now to recover, we do always need a holiday after a holiday don't we!
ReplyDeleteI love your expression, "hauntingly prehistoric pelicans." They are strange creatures and so unique, aren't they? Nice to see you back again. I'm wondering how your hen yard responds to you when you return after being away. Do they get naughty like cats?
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a sweater dress, and it sited me as well as yours do you - it would be so handy to throw on top of my skiing underwear on a cold day!
ReplyDeleteYour dress is fantastic, and perfect with the green bits! Winter's colours with just a touch of spring.
I remember seeing pelicans in South America when I worked as a stewardess on a ship, many years ago. They were amazing animals, and a bit scary with those enormous beaks.
Just found your blog this morning. So, already it's a good day. Have to say, though, my jaw dropped at the biker jacket question. As I sit here in my favorite studded biker boots, I'm sad for a woman who's corralled by the judgment of others. She needs to read your blog more often! You are an inspiration to me and others--thank the Universe for artists!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow do I love your jewellery! THat bracelet is perfect with your outfit and don't even get me started on that fab necklace!
ReplyDeleteHa it baffles me too why people question things like that, I think everyone can wear a biker jacket! I am a huge fan of grey too xx
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