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| Ellery Fall 2011 via Fashion Gone Rogue |
I've never exactly been what you would call "edgy", sartorially speaking. My style has always veered towards the classic, the elegant, the understated - or that, at least, is what I've been aiming for. I tend towards tried-and-tested, timeless silhouettes. I play it safe with colour. I have a chronic fear of over-accessorising. You get the picture.
Don't get me wrong, I have made some baaaaaad decisions in my time (2001-2003 was a particularly dark period. Khaki fishnet fingerless gloves, anyone?) but once I eventually found what worked for me, I assumed my days of "experimenting" - *shudder* - were finally, blessedly over.
You might expect, now that I am, after all, a married woman, that I would inevitably drift further along this path, perhaps with a brief stopover in Boringtown on the way to Frumpsville. And I should confess that Anne Fogarty's The Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife (ladies' fashion circa 1959) is currently featuring among my bedtime reads.
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| I knew Urban Outfitters wouldn't let me down. |
You might expect, now that I am, after all, a married woman, that I would inevitably drift further along this path, perhaps with a brief stopover in Boringtown on the way to Frumpsville. And I should confess that Anne Fogarty's The Art of Being a Well-Dressed Wife (ladies' fashion circa 1959) is currently featuring among my bedtime reads.
But, as I have mused before, I am beginning to realise that perhaps everything in my life is not meant to be magically perfect by my late (cringe!) twenties. The expectation that I should have found my ideal career, ideal home, ideal style, in fact just have my ideal perfect life laid out before me like a mighty shimmering river flowing inexorably off into the sunset, is just C.R.A.Z.Y. And so, particularly in the last few months, I find myself... experimenting. Being daring. Taking risks. Dressing marginally more like the young person I am, rather than the boring-old-married-lawyer-lady I might easily perceive myself to be.
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| Just to be clear, that's NOT me. Sadly. It's an off-duty model (no wonder she's so bloody perky), via altamira |
Fear not. We're not talking fishnet glove-type scenarios here. For example, one day I wore bright red tights and a fashion-forward black dress to work, instead of the old grey suit (zzzzzzzzzzz). And on New Year's Eve, I wore black sequin leggings AS TROUSERS*. With black thigh-high suede boots AND two (two!) necklaces AND black feather dangly earrings. That's right. Badass. (I had an attack of over-accessorising paranoia when I added the second necklace - I'm with Coco Chanel on that one - so I took off my bracelet just in case. Well, baby steps.)
However, this post isn't actually about fashion (or, it wasn't meant to be. Oops). It's about the equally contentious issue of hair. Regular readers may recall that my hair is pretty bland. It's fine, it's straight, it's uninspiring. I grew it long for the wedding, now it's languishing in a bob that is in serious need of a trim. So far, so dull.
Then the super-stylish Celia pinned this picture, with this comment (the yellow bit was expertly added by me, so that you could fully visualise my reaction):
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I tried to find an original source for this picture. I really did. The closest I could get was here, but all the boobs distracted me. |
Hold the phones. There are people in the world who actually wish for fine, straight hair? There are haircuts especially for that?? That look good?! This blew. my. mind. Needless to say, I have been lusting after this haircut ever since. And this one, even more so:
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| From here, here and here, all via Pinterest |
So where am I going with this, you ask? Well. I suppose my question for you, dear readers, is twofold.
1. Do you think you need to be Edgy and Cool and On Trend and other such things to pull off a haircut like this, without looking like a middle-aged woman?
2. Do you think you need to have dainty, girly features (i.e. not mine) to pull off a haircut like this, without looking like Eddie Izzard?
Tell it to me straight. I can take it.
*I would never ordinarily endorse the worrying leggings-as-trousers trend, but somehow the sequins made it better. Plus I had a long top that covered the crotch area. Nobody needs to see a leggings-clad crotch. Ever.
(oh, how very edgy knitting is these days!). I promptly planned to knit myself an entire winter wardrobe. Cheap! Crafty! Creative! Of course, I would have to start with something simple - a chunky sweater here, a chic beret there - before I worked my way up to knitting fairisle socks, reindeer jumpers, and the like. 
*. All you need is wool, patience and a burning desire for a knitted Archbishop of Canterbury. And let's face it, who doesn't have a burning desire for a knitted Archbishop of Canterbury? Lookathislittleface!!! 
