|
Looking Good in laterlife is a regular column
reporting on the latest tips on beauty products and
processes for the more mature face and body.
Anyone who has looked after her (or his) appearance
over the years has the edge in later life compared to
ravers who burned all their candles at both
ends.
 A vast industry is out there
to help with all and every beauty concern. In this
column every month laterlife.com will report
on ideas and products, old and new. All with the
focus on maturity of course.
Click here to view previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife
LOOKING GOOD IN
LATERLIFE
HOW TO PACK FOR
THE HOLIDAYS
Sarah Frankel offers her personal version
Having spent the last half an hour emptying the contents
of my summer wardrobe, I’m about to burst into tears. Yes, old
girls still cry! My clothes look faded, dated and six sizes too
small (almost the size of my budget). With a deep sigh, I start
trying them on. By the end of the exercise, which is almost as
tortuous as press-ups, there’s a tiny pile I can get away with
for one more summer holiday and a mile-high pile for the charity
shop, probably the only mile-high club that’ll have me these
days!
After leafing through the latest magazines for fashion ideas,
I’m up to speed on what my daughter should be wearing, but
there’s precious little for women with flabby arms, breasts
vainly trying to resist gravity and pot-holed bums. So, it’s off
to the shops with a mental note that I should stick to basic
colours and see what I can get away with.
Packing is what I’m planning for. I hate packing. I go
away with huge suitcases I can’t lift, and men aren’t as helpful
as they used to be when I was young and beautiful. Now they’re
worried that helping a damsel in distress will put their backs
out for a month. I don’t even need all the stuff I pack, and
don’t wear most of it, but I never seem to get it right. This
time I’m determined that less is more. I decide to go for black
and brown as the basic colours, teaming them up with bright,
summery shades in the way of accessories and tops. The brown
Principles jeans in my cupboard are the start of my holiday
wardrobe and I move on from there.
Once on the High Street, all is not doom and gloom. I see
that almost anything goes; styles are reminiscent of the 70’s
and the whole place is awash with gold, a perfect accessories
colour to go with my brown/black plan. Popping into Marks &
Spencer I choose a large handbag with zips and pockets, perfect
for travelling, and only ₤25. It’s on the small side of large
and attractive enough to be the only handbag I take with me.
It’s also the same bronze gold as the platform sandals I was
given for my birthday. If you don’t have a pair, buy some. They
go with everything.
At the cash desk I find two must-haves for holidays: a
small battery operated fan and flip flops. The flips flops are
shimmering and at ₤5 a pair, affordable. Primark also have nice
flip flops this year at ₤3 a pair; some on a platform for added
height.
Now that I’ve got flip flops, I need a bathing suit. I
find that BHS has the best selection that actually manage to
cover my bum. They’re also reasonably priced and if you’re a
really savvy shopper you’ll buy one at the end of season sales.
When you take it out for next year’s holiday, provided you
haven’t piled on the pounds, it’ll feel like something new
without having blown your budget. I choose a black swimsuit,
decorated with a few sequins, as I remember that I’ve got a
long, black T shirt at home to throw over it during that
all-embarrassing walk from the hotel room to the pool or beach.
No glamour look is complete without shades. You might
know them as sunglasses but this year they really are shades,
covering all those nasty wrinkles and half your face: the
perfect camouflage for ageing ladies.
Comfort is important when relaxing, and there’s nothing
more comfortable that the gypsy skirts which are still hanging
on this season because nobody wants to give them up. They’re so
easy to wear with their elastic waistbands, they don’t crease
and they cover a multitude of sins.
I also spot a white pair of trousers, thick enough not to
be transparent. To test this, put your hand inside. If you can
see it, dump the trousers. My daughter taught me that we too can
and should wear itsy bitsy knickers under trousers. I always
thought they must be excruciatingly uncomfortable and not fit
for purpose but since she converted me, I find them even more
comfortable than my big knickers. Voila, no panty lines are
visible.
Armed with more shopping bags than I can easily handle, I
make my way home. I lay out my purchases and check that all the
T shirts and blouses that I own will go with them. No point
buying new ones if your old ones still fit and look good. Lots
of them go very well, not difficult with black, brown and white.
I choose five short-sleeved T shirts, three long-sleeved and
two blouses. That’s enough without being too much. But then
I worry. Is it enough for two weeks? One more reach into the
cupboard produces my black wrap-over dress. These too are still
available on the High Street, through the whole price spectrum.
Because I don’t want to have a boob drop out, I add two
camisoles, black and white.
The final count: two pairs of jeans/trousers, two skirts, one
dress, enough T shirts/blouses/camisoles to mix and match
and not have to wash more than once, 1 cardigan, one jacket, one
bag, one pair of sandals, one pair of flip flops, sexy shades
and the bathing suit and top.
Then there’s the underwear, a cap or floppy hat, suntan
lotion and all those make-up and moisturizing samples you
collect all year. Toothbrush, hairbrush or comb, deodorant and
any medication needed and you’re there!
It’s now into the suitcase. Easy peasy. I roll everything
up like sausages. It’s the best way to fit the most into a
suitcase and avoid crease lines. Stuff sandals, flips flops in
any nooks and crannies with scrunched-up underwear and make-up,
putting spillables in a plastic bag wedged in a well-padded
place.
You might think I’ve forgotten to pack my books. Not so.
I can look at the printed page at home. When I’m at the beach, I
people-watch, enjoy the warmth and etch into my memory the blue
sea, bluer sky and golden beach scenes, so that they’ll warm me
during the cooler, duller days I’ll be coming home to.
If in any
doubt about any of the information covered in
health related articles and it's relevance for you, consult
your GP.
View previous editions of Looking Good in laterlife
laterlife interest
The above article is part of the features section of laterlife.com
called
laterlife interest.
laterlife interest
contains a variety of articles of interest for visitors to
laterlife.com written by a number of experienced and new
journalists.
It includes both one off articles and also associated
regular columns of a more specialist nature such as
Healthwise,
Talkback,
Gardener's Diary,
and a beauty section called
Looking good
in later life.
There's also
'It could
be you' by Maggi Stamp laterlife's counsellor on human
relationships.
Also don't forget to take a look at our regular IT
question and answer section called
YoucandoIT
by IT trainer and author Jackie Sherman.
To view the latest articles click on
laterlife interest or to
view indexes to previous articles click on
laterlife interest index.
To search for articles about a certain topic, use the site search
feature at the top of the navigation.
|
