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Oh my, who out there loves to dress up?
Right from the time I was a tot (from the minute I could walk), my mother used to wake up daily to find me, having clambered out of my cot, sitting amongst a vast pile of her shoes and placing them on my feet to stumble about in. My mother, needless to say, would end up in tears as once more she would have to get up and deal with mess and the array of shoes sprawled across the bedroom.
To this day, I have a crazy love of shoes, and am known as a complete shoe whore.
Dressing up, is always such a huge part of children’s development. Rummaging around in wooden boxes full to bursting with various bits of random material; hats, scarves, dresses, beads, tutus, handbags and purses, to name but a few!
But how many of us take this wonderful freedom of expression and exploration into adulthood? If we do remain a fan of all things clothes, shoes, handbags and of course hats, we tend to dampen down our imagination and under the ruse of ‘refinement’. We often develop a less adventurous dress style, conforming to trends and changing fashions. I firmly believe that whatever your love was as a child, it can follow through to adulthood, if we allow it or recognise it.
We all know that one person that turns up at a party with the over colourful patterned shirt or “hideous over frilly dress” that many of us balk at, but instead of looking on in horror that their wife/husband/partner has let them out of the house dressed in such a manner, we should love and embrace the fact that his/her inner child and imagination is free of confinement’s & is still a huge part of who that person is as an adult.
My daughter, who at about the same age as I was when I found shoes, found my bright red Chanel lipstick! All over her face she plastered it and, to my utter horror, I awoke to a face that resembled a crime scene (and my mother thought the shoe thing was bad!). She then spent days with red stained chops looking like she had a severe case of hives. Not to mention my completely ruined lipstick!
My reason for sharing this anecdote is that, to this day my daughter loves all things make-up & whilst I throw my make-up on in 10 minutes flat, she loves the process of spending a good few hours getting ready and beautifying. As her mother, I love the fact that the inner lipstick stealing tot is still present and correct at 30!
I, for one, still love to dress up, whether it’s for a fancy dress party or I am going somewhere special, I love, love, love the feeling I get from looking and deciding what I am going to wear, to the whole process as I get ready on the day or night. Whether it is a ‘sensible’ outfit or more whacky & whimsical, it is always a great feeling when you feel you look fabulous! Who cares what others think!
Whilst my guilty pleasure is shoes….. and hats, many peoples love of accessories stretch to handbags, scarves, funky ties for men, jewellery and watches and even nails.
Looking smart is one thing. Looking smart and fabulous is another!
Whatever your guilty pleasure is, when getting dressed and leaving the house, embrace it! Channel that inner child rummaging around in that dressing up box and head out of your door with a smile on your face and a spring in your step and never worry what others think!
Rachael x