More Fortyisms

Apologies; I have used this picture before. But it perfectly illustrates my latest forty-esque rambling.

On the left, a vision of sophistication and elegance. On the metaphorical right, me, dressing like a children's TV presenter from the 1980s.

In the middle, a useful wardrobe purge of the multi-coloured (eyesore) the horizontally striped (make your boobs look massive) and the plain weird (extra long plunge front jumper with differently coloured sleeve motifs).

And the oft heard resolution not to impulse buy stuff in the sales. And that if it also comes in black that can be an option too.  And that confidence and personality doesn't have to manifest itself in outfits that are damaging the retinas of any passer by...

Ultra Hamster

For fitness enthusiasts: Ultra Hamster in a retro weighlifting leotard. You never see those anymore, or hear the word leotard much either.

As a kid I always envied the gymnastics girls in my school because of their shiny, super-hero-like leotards.

Here is a link to the history of the leotard, with interesting bits on fashions in fitness wear.

Cinderella

A sad sight spotted at the end of our road on Sunday morning.

Fabulous en France

On my annual trip to Paris, I am always inspired by the amazingly stylish people you see going about. Following from this (and featuring my blog's first ever male fashion picture) I offer the following tips which I am trying to apply to my own wardrobe. (If I didn't have a rotten cold so shrouded in a giant jumper, that is.)

Cast aside: Your Ugg boots and fake tan. You won't see them here. Yes, I know France might actually enjoy sunshine, unlike Scotland. And maybe it's not quite so cold.

Embrace: knee boots over skinny jeans with a fitted jacket, lots of black with bonkers accessories like bags and scarves, everything leopard pattern and fur (sometimes real, sadly). A great Paris look is a black mac, dress and black court shoes. Red lipstick is a must have. Yes, you can still wear those shoes high. Stride with confidence, feeling fab.

And gents. On the right, a gent I saw strolling along Boulevard Montparnasse wearing a full evening suit with bowtie and olive green shoes. Amazing.

Parisian men either dress very classic (with a twist) or very hipster with cardigans, coloured jeans, sneakers (not trainers.)

And so to my wardrobe project: A daring purchase of a leopard pattern belted mac in the Hobbs sale. An ongoing search for a pair of black high heels (seriously new territory for me) and for a classic black handbag. Any advice on the latter two appreciated.

Night Time

This is a wonderfully Gothic church clock tower, especially when lit up at night. It's Holburn West Church on Great Western Road and is (sadly) a great landmark of mine, on my route picking Alistair up from Working Late at Night in the Winter. It does cheer my car journey though.

Next to it is a lovely house which I fantasise about living in. Sometimes the current owners leave the front door open while going about their Perfect Family Life and I can see a beautiful Victorian staircase inside.

I will try and paint that sometime, too.

Hello Puddies

This weekend we are feeding a friend's two cats. This is a picture of cats I drew on my shopping list to remind me.
Actually so far we have only seen one cat (the other is presumably hiding somewhere). And the first cat gave me the evils the entire time I was there, probably thought I was a burglar or something.
Also, the cats are black but if I coloured them in you wouldn't see the wee faces.

That Forty Project

Serene facial, not disembodied zombie head, before you ask.
I'm pleased to report (for anyone who fancies trying) that regular running and a healthy diet will remove middle aged spread AND return your bum back up to where it ought to be. Well worth 1hr-ish of weekly suffering. I recently ran my first 5K and am now onto my 10K training programme!
A parallel strand of That Forty Project is a series of trips to that much feared venue The Beauty Salon. PureSpa is the most friendly and does excellent online deals. I've tried variously:
Back Massage: fantastic, really sorts out those crunchy malformed bits. Hot Stone Back Massage: soothing, but a sad lack of vigourous kneading so not so good as the basic massage.
Manicure: completely pointless with my manual job. Acrylic nails: too freaky as you can't remove it and have to put your hands in a UV lamp which made me think of hand cancer.
Pedicure: will awesomely transform your feet especially if you get the scary scalpel hard skin removal.
Facial; feels amazing, afterwards looked exactly the same as before. If Amy Pond thinks she has eye wrinkles she should see mine. Think I'll be spending that facial money on some lovely face cream instead.