Femininity is not just for charming vintage decades past. It is not just a phase of little girls. It is not just for the teenager and 20 something who has youthful beauty on her side. Femininity belongs to women. It is timeless.
As silver hairs begin to glitter around my face, the late 30s mean age changes things but it does not erase my womanhood. My penchant for princessy style and romantic living has only blossomed.
I have years of learning under my belt. Like what shapes look best on me and why. How some skirts make me look like a tubby midget and other skirts make me look like sleek royalty. This is a vital key to nurturing your feminine style: tenacity to hunt for those special clothing items that shape you just right. Over time you will recognize the fashion formula that you gravitate toward, however it still takes trial and error. You have to try things on! Even when something does not fit into your formula it might be a surprise that makes you shine. Every item has different fabric and different shape even among very similar styles. I just donated a skirt similar to this one, for all intents and purposes it is the exact same style skirt but it erased my waist and made me look W I D E. I looked like breasts sitting on hips in it. I had almost decided that skirts just do not work on my petite short waisted body but this skirt which is basically the same, allows for my waistline to look proportionate. I have a small collection of skirts that all look effortlessly beautiful and flattering on me even though most skirts do not work. As a seamstress who analyzes clothing, I couldn’t give you the secret sauce of why some skirts work and some do not but nurturing your femininity means trying on all the clothes until you find pieces that just make you dazzle. Never give up. No matter how hard it is to build that feminine wardrobe because you can’t find the exact styles you prefer, or your large bust makes it a challenge to fit certain things, or you are just impatient with shopping….just working toward the goal of finding feminine clothing is nurturing your femininity.
A positive to my many years of life that have given me crows feet around my eyes…is that I just do not care if I am unusual to other people. I have grown comfortable with being unusual. The fashions of today are unusual to me. While most people are overly casual now days I look dressed up to people. I am not trying to be dressed “up” I am just “dressed”. Nurturing your femininity means pushing beyond the lowest denominator for what qualifies as “ready for the day”. Feminine women do not necessarily take more time on their appearance but they make purposeful choices so that the top they quickly grab is the more lovely option not the slobby one such as a classic blouse versus a boxy baggy t shirt.
One thing I have found with age especially is that casual things that looked ok in my 20s now look much worse on me in my late 30s. As your skin and hair looks drier and takes more grooming your clothing also needs a little more spiff to uphold your feminine features. I steer clear of baggy boxy androgynous clothing for this reason. I have also seen older women morph into little old men as they cut their thinning hair shorter and wear masculine shapes like boxy shorts paired with boxy t shirts. If an older woman wears jewelry with short hair and hourglass shapes like a flowy skirt with a blouse, it is apparent she is a woman from afar not just upon further investigation. Jewelry is a way we perk up our faces and look more polished. Without it, an older woman can look quite plain or even manly but a younger woman may look fine without it. I make it a point to wear jewelry every day and it is at least a pair of earrings whereas that use to be an occasional item I would wear. Nurturing your femininity means noticing what you need now versus what worked ten years ago.
We make life as beautiful as we want. Femininity is beautiful on women, we were made to cultivate elegance and grace spilling forth from our hearts into our homes and wardrobes. Let it all be beautiful.
Nurturing my femininity is a form of honoring God for making me distinctly woman from man. I practice being thankful for being a woman even with the hardships it brings. So I will take all of the pretty things and be thankful.
Until next time ladies!
