Thinful fashion.............

There's a nip in the air these days. Fall is here in all of it's glory. Time to go for long walks crunching leaves under our feet, go on sing-a-long hay rides, snuggle together around campfires roasting marshmallows and wrapping ourselves in tartan plaid blankets next to roaring fires,sipping mulled cider out of heavy earth-hued mugs.
Maybe in your life.
Definitely not in mine.
In my world, it means frantically digging out coats and gloves and hats and scarves and sweatshirts. It means hauling down last year's wardrobe from the big closet in the attic and dumping it all on the floor of my bedroom with the promise that I will get to it someday....soon. In the meantime, I have to rummage through them as I need them. So, the past few days--rummage I did. That's when it hit me---I have a lot of clothes. I mean....a lot. Especially blazers and jackets. Lots of them. Lots and lots of them. As my weight soared over the years, I was always looking for some way to cover it up---hide the fat, camoflauge the bulges, create a slimmer silohuette. So, I did it with jackets and blazers. Jackets. Blazers. And more jackets and blazers. As a result--I have an amazing collection. A collection that doesn't fit....anymore. Even the jackets and blazers I bought last year during the first months of my weightloss don't really work right now. They look sloppy. I can fix a few of them by adding belts. But, the rest of them just don't work. So....it's time to shop.
As much as I love to shop and as thrilled as I am to have to shop because I lost weight, the task is daunting--in both dollars and energy. Even though planful shopping is not really my thing--I'm more of an impulse, serendipitious shopper--I figured I should try to shop with a little more forethought than usual. And, with the economy the way it is--shopping in excess just feels wrong (even though I do need to....). Luckily, catalogs appear in the mailbox in droves this time of the year. So, I decided to put them aside and gather up a few fashion magazines to begin my pre-shopping project. I figured the magazines would clue me in on what's going on in fashion and the catalogs would show me what's available and how much it would all cost and then I would plan accordingly. Armed with that thinking, I started my little project in earnest, tearing out pages, earmarking other pages, putting check marks next to items, putting multiple stars next to things that I really, really love. It was actually a very fun project to do. But...as it turns out....an overwhelming one. Why? Because even though I had only been working on it for 2 days, I loved and wanted and needed more than $10,000 worth of clothing. Yes, in that very short period of time.
Most of what I wanted were....yes...you guessed it.... blazers and jackets. That result begged to ask--am I still shopping as an overweight woman thinking that I need to hide my body or do I just love jackets and blazers? As it turns out....the answer is: a little of both. And, as it turns out....using jackets and blazers is not such a bad idea in dressing thinful. But you probably don't need $10,000 worth of blazers and jackets....

















As I was doing my little research project, I came upon a "tips for dressing thin" section of a Chico's catalog. Now, if I haven't told you before, I'm telling you now--I love, love, love Chico's. What they did in this particular catalog was zero in on how certain items of clothing and accessories can take pounds off. The catalog directed you to thier website where you could get some insider fashion tips from their expert designer on dressing thin. What a great idea! Naturally, I was completely into it all. As I was going through the layouts and the website, I realized that these style tips are actually mine. Not that I had them copyrighted or anything. But, I've been doing these things for years. Blazers. Mono chromatic outfits underneath. Bold jewelry near the face, long chains to lenghten the look. Hip slung belts. All of this to make myself look thinner. To take off the pounds. Create the illusion of being a few pounds thinner. Ask anyone and they'll tell you. I've been using those tricks forever. I've got the blazers, the jackets, the belts and the jewelry to prove it. I was never a stylist or a design expert by trade. I was just an overweight girl who wanted to look thinner. Those were my credentials. Who knew I could have made a ton of money, become famous and helped tons of women look thinner with just those credentials? Thinful....isn't it?