Frump to Fab 2021

Wednesday2000

((Hugs)) Sugarbaby - what a sweet thing to do for you.xx

Wednesday2000

Looks like a gorgeous day by the sea Chanie - you obviously picked the right day to go to the seaside with your family!

Floss - I too was surprised that it was 3 years that you had broken up with Wayne Sugar. xxx I think I joined this Frump to Fab thread just after you had broken up as I remember reading the whole thread back.

Maman - thanks, there is definitely something wrong with the system as my husband tried today again to get my Covid pass and it didn't work. We are with Virgin too. He is going to try again tomorrow at work to do it and if it doesn't work I am going to flip! I've waited so long for this.

One of the Youtubers I started followng during lockdown seemed quite judgemental towards about me going to a concert so "early" I have been double jabbed for a while now and I want my life to get somewhat back to normal.

What a lovely bunch of ladies on here anyway.

The more people I socialise with after Covid the more I appreciate you on here, we are so supportive of one another and generally a decent bunch of people.

Who wants to thank LL/Helen for starting this thread?! I'm sure Martin Lewis does!

Floss

@Wednesday2000 I've been to the theatre and to a comedy gig over the past couple of weeks, and was masked, sensible & used sanitiser. This is going to be our new normal, life will probably never go back to exactly how it was in 2019.

Wednesday2000

Floss said:

@Wednesday2000 I've been to the theatre and to a comedy gig over the past couple of weeks, and was masked, sensible & used sanitiser. This is going to be our new normal, life will probably never go back to exactly how it was in 2019.

I am double jabbed and exempt from using a mask but I was planning on using sanitiser and not planning on french kissing every stranger I see at the concert! I'm just sick of judgemental idiots considering everyone who goes to a indoor social event now a crazy anti-vaxxer.

Wednesday2000

The "judgemental idiot" was about the Youtuber I mentioned, not you Floss by the way. 

His wife has tested positive for Covid at the moment and he is still thinking of socialising in the next 10 days and he is judging me for going to see live music again as I may be too close to other people. Hmm.

maman

I'm another that really values the women I've met on this thread @Wednesday2000. I joined way back when @helensbiggestfan (aka LL) started it and it's boosted my confidence in myself hugely. That was mainly on the fabbing and sharing the general chat, beauty and fashion tips.

But it's gone beyond that in the past year and a half as I could meet with my virtual friends on here regardless of lockdowns and viruses. 

Now we're sharing our experiences of taking steps to try to get back to some sort of normal. We're here for each other and it's good to be able to express opinions. 

P. S. Doesn't look like you're going to need the vaccine passport anytime soon. 

chanie

Helen echoing what Wednesday posted.  Thanks for starting this thread and keeping it going.  Great to have you back.

Going back to covid.  I’ve noticed that so many people aren’t wearing their masks on public transport and in shops. I definitely think we are in for a rough winter.  I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I have a chest infection and had to isolate while I took a PCR as I was coughing loads. It was getting better, but I went into the office on Thursday and Friday and I think the commute has made it worse. I think a visit to the Pharmacy is needed.  

Wednesday2000

Hope you feel okay Chanie.x

I feel the same Maman about how this thread has boosted my confidence. I now look at my body shape/clothes/colouring differently. I would never have noticed that before LL started this and all the incredibly helpful advice on here.

I always (well and still do) think of myself as a tomboy but maybe I don't have to dress like one.

I wouldn't exactly say I would ever be a bombshell, lol, but I feel more self-assured in myself more than I have been in my life.

helensbiggestfan

Ah thank you my lovely friends.  I have benefitted hugely from this thread too. It was literally a lifesaver for me. When I started it I felt I was standing on a precipice staring into the abyss but gradually I clawed my way back, not just improving my appearance but regaining my health, my sense of purpose and my very identity.  

Most of my working life I was in the public eye one way or another and I learned that ones appearance was of paramount importance.  It could make or break ones chances of promotion or even getting past the interview stage and securing a job in the first place.  As the great Hollywood costumer Edith Head once said "you can be anything you want, you just have to dress the part". 

Of course you do need to be competent and looks are no substitute for ability but a killer look will at least get you through the door and the rest is then up to you.  

It wasn't until I had to give up work and become my husbands carer that the rot set in and I became something of a bag lady.  My appearance was firmly on the back burner. I was so wrapped up in looking after my husband that I had neither the time nor the inclination for self care and I did rather let myself go.  

One thing that came out of my journey back to some semblance of Fabdom was the realisation that taking care of oneself isn't just a superficial thing but that the ramifications are profound,  How we "style" ourselves,  for want of a better expression, determines how we live our lives in so many other ways.  

It isn't about mere vanity, it's about self esteem, self respect, well being.  Tbh some of the benefits surprised even me.  It turns out that when we elevate our style we also take charge of our lives, our relationships, even our destiny.   We get treated with more respect, we get better service.  There has been loads of research to prove that "Good looking people" get better jobs, more money, more opportunities, apparently they even get more lenient prison sentences.

There's no doubt in my mind that we live in what I call a "lookist society" when everyone is judged by their appearance. And whilst traditionally it was women who were judged for beauty and sexual allure, increasingly men are now subject to the same level of scrutiny. .  Men are apparently increasingly turning to style gurus, personal shoppers, image consultants and undergoing surgical procedures.  The rise of the metrosexual male is a well documented phenomenon.

As you all know I was rather a plain child, and the birthmark certainly didn't help but my dear Aunty S and my Aunty G took me in hand and taught me how to make the most of myself, how to dress well even when money was in short supply.  Neither of them were wealthy, both were tall and striking rather than beautiful or even pretty but boy could they put on a show.  They knew all about style and glamour and they always looked like a million dollars.  

Aunty G loved the old Hollywood movie stars and loved to emulate them. She was no great beauty but she had style and always exuded glamour.  She was about 94 when she died, but right to the end she was mad about clothes and was always well groomed and immaculately turned out. And she could still flirt with the best of them. She had this mantra......

"A little bit of powder and a little bit of paint, 
can make a thing seem, just what it ain't" 

Aunty S was very striking, tall blond, athletic, like a Viking. Despite being a penniless widow with three young children, she would get dolled up, especially when she was either shopping or had a business meeting.  She had a great passion for hats and furs. She would really push the boat out if she was seeing her solicitor or the bank manger. When her son saw her in all finery he would say "mums off to slay dragons again" meaning she was all armoured up, ready to sweet talk the bank manager into extending her overdraft or to flirt with the butcher so he would allow her to buy meat "on tick" to feed her family😂.  Funnily enough her strategy always worked.  

Changing your style really can change your stars and you can reinvent yourself as often as you like. Look at the likes of stars like Kylie, Cher, Madonna, Jane Fonda, Joan Collins, Tina Turner, constantly changing and evolving over the decades. They remain as relevant today as they were 20, 30, 40 years ago.  

As for some of the 80s and 90s super models ........Like Elle MacPherson, Christie Brinkley, Iman et al .......well they just seem ageless, they go from strength to strength.  Cindy Crawford was in the fashion supplement today in the Sunday Times today.  55 and absolutely stunning, 

The supplement was interesting today - all about the autumn trends. apparently tweeds are the thing this Autumn.......so glad I picked up an amazing vintage pure wool tweed jacket for £2 recently .....just the ticket.  

There was also a feature on what they called TV coats, the type of coats worn by news commentators, journalists and presenters when they are doing outside broadcasts.  The likes of Laura Kuenssberg and our old friend Lucy Worsley.  Apparently we should all have at least one "News Reporter Coat" in our wardrobe, a statement wool coat, preferably in a bold primary colour.  

Turns out I'm well ahead of the game.......I have pure wool coats and jackets in all colours of the rainbow.......red, orange, pink, lime green, moss green, mustard, classic camel and of course my favourite......winter white.  The funny thing is they all either proper vintage or at least pre loved and the most expensive one, a gorgeous white mohair number which cost me just £10.  

Realistically I probably never need to buy another coat ever again....but I probably will.  Some women have a thing for shoes, some for handbags....mine is coats and jackets.  😉 

I love wearing a brightly coloured coat on a dark gloomy winters day, a pop of colour among a sea of black, greys and navy.  

Well I always did like to stand out from the crowd and be noticed.  😂🤣

sugarbaby125

Thanks for the hugs Ladies.