Putting it together
Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:51 pm
Putting it Together
This essay is about how you can figure out what style and design of clothing and makeup is best for you.
The most simplistic place to start is to realize two things - and these two things are almost contradictory. One is - you've got the mind of a teenage girl. The other is that you have the body of an older woman.
Now - unfortunately, that teenage girl has been kept in a prison of sorts her whole life. She wants to express herself - she wants to be free... She wants to experience the life she was never allowed to live!
The problem is, that a lot of the things that a teenage girl likes are considered a bit inappropriate for an older woman. Clothing styles come first to mind - and oddly, furniture. I knew one girl who right after she transitioned she got for herself the kind of bedroom set that any 14 year old girl would have loved. White painted furniture with a satin pink valance and pink pillows... Honestly, it was a bit - erm, over the top in terms of femininity. She honestly couldn't figure out why her boyfriend wouldn't spend one night in that room.
Another newly transitioned to full time girl I had as a roommate, brought home one afternoon some high heel shoes that were amazing. They were every colour of the rainbow - and I mean - the bold colours. They were well made - don't get me wrong - but I don't know where on earth one would wear them. She thought they were cool and because they were made with so many colours, "She could wear them with anything!' :she said. Well, she wore them once to work, and after dealing with the laughter (Which she thought was very unsupportive of her change), she put them in the back of her closet - never to wear them again. No offence to her - but that was a smart decision.
I've had other girls who were roommates who were in their forties go out wearing mini skirts...sweaters much too tight and of a style inappropriate to their age group. I've seen T-girls wear so much makeup it looked like it had been applied with a trowel...colours that just weren't right for - (Need I say it again) - their skin tone and/or age group.
Okay - enough about insulting everyone I've ever known. The question is - how do you find the right style and the right colours to fit you - the woman you are of the age group you belong to.
Okay - first clothing colours. I suggest you go and buy this book: Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson. This book does an excellent job of dividing up skin tones of everyone into four major groups. She defines these groups by the seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. These colour schemes weren't chosen haphazardly - no, they were chosen with a lot of thought in mind. The colours are the kind of colours that go with a particular season, and they are designed to go with particular skin tones. For example, I have an olive coloured skin tone, and the colour group for people with my skin tone is called 'Autumn'. Now - Autumn has colours of the tree's that are changing. Colours of Halloween and Thanksgiving. The colours are plums, browns, oranges to name a few. These colours work very well with my skin tone. Before buying this book, I struggled for years trying to find colours that would work for me. Some colours just look terrible on my skin. An Ice Pink, Blue or Yellow just look hideous on me. Yet, on a person of a different skin tone, Ice Pink, Blue or Yellow could look wonderful. Also, knowing my colour group has really cut down on the time I spend shopping for clothing. Rather than taking a mountain of clothing to the dressing room, I just take a small mountain of the colours that I KNOW will work for me. One easy way to do this is when shopping, take a sleeve of a garment and place it over your arm and see how the colour looks against your skin tone. If it makes you want to vomit - then you might not want to try on that garment.
Next involves makeup. Now, I'm sure you've all experimented with putting on lipstick, foundation, blush, eye-shadow, liner and maybe concealer - but do you know 'which' makeup colours would work best for your face? When talking about foundation, can you explain the differences between liquid, creme, powder, liquid-to-powder, tint, and stick? This book: Makeup Makeovers: Expert Secrets for Stunning Transformations explains the different applications for different skin types, different skin tones, different ages, different complexions, different bone structures, etc. This book also explains all this info in an very clear way that's quick and easy to understand.
And finally - clothing. The best way to start out a wardrobe is to have clothes that work together. This book: Looking Good: A Comprehensive Guide to Wardrobe Planning, Color & Personal Style Development, though a few years old, will give you idea's on how to put together such a wardrobe. This book explains the concept of 'Clothes Capsules.' Clothes Capsules are sets of your existing clothes like tops that go with slacks, skirts, and accessories. They are designed to work together so that you never say: "I don't have anything to wear." For a girl just starting out with a limited budget, it's a way of buying a few items, and making sets that will work together easily over a multi day period.
I'm sure there are other books out there that will help you in the same area's. And doing a few searches on Amazon is very likely to help you find alternative books. (And by all means - if you find such a book - please - share it with the rest of us!) The important thing is, buying the right clothing and makeup colours that will work with you, the right clothing styles that will work with your face and body, and not spending a lot of money doing so. You want to save as much money as you can for living expenses and for your surgeries, right?
Love, Teresa
For those that have read the latest edition of "Color Me Beautiful", what season are you?
I am a "Warm Autumn".
BTW and oldie but goodie for figuring out what clothing styles work best with your body type is:
"Flatter Your Figure"
http://www.amazon.com/Flatter-Your-Figu ... ey/dp/0671 762966
From Karen
This essay is about how you can figure out what style and design of clothing and makeup is best for you.
The most simplistic place to start is to realize two things - and these two things are almost contradictory. One is - you've got the mind of a teenage girl. The other is that you have the body of an older woman.
Now - unfortunately, that teenage girl has been kept in a prison of sorts her whole life. She wants to express herself - she wants to be free... She wants to experience the life she was never allowed to live!
The problem is, that a lot of the things that a teenage girl likes are considered a bit inappropriate for an older woman. Clothing styles come first to mind - and oddly, furniture. I knew one girl who right after she transitioned she got for herself the kind of bedroom set that any 14 year old girl would have loved. White painted furniture with a satin pink valance and pink pillows... Honestly, it was a bit - erm, over the top in terms of femininity. She honestly couldn't figure out why her boyfriend wouldn't spend one night in that room.
Another newly transitioned to full time girl I had as a roommate, brought home one afternoon some high heel shoes that were amazing. They were every colour of the rainbow - and I mean - the bold colours. They were well made - don't get me wrong - but I don't know where on earth one would wear them. She thought they were cool and because they were made with so many colours, "She could wear them with anything!' :she said. Well, she wore them once to work, and after dealing with the laughter (Which she thought was very unsupportive of her change), she put them in the back of her closet - never to wear them again. No offence to her - but that was a smart decision.
I've had other girls who were roommates who were in their forties go out wearing mini skirts...sweaters much too tight and of a style inappropriate to their age group. I've seen T-girls wear so much makeup it looked like it had been applied with a trowel...colours that just weren't right for - (Need I say it again) - their skin tone and/or age group.
Okay - enough about insulting everyone I've ever known. The question is - how do you find the right style and the right colours to fit you - the woman you are of the age group you belong to.
Okay - first clothing colours. I suggest you go and buy this book: Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson. This book does an excellent job of dividing up skin tones of everyone into four major groups. She defines these groups by the seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. These colour schemes weren't chosen haphazardly - no, they were chosen with a lot of thought in mind. The colours are the kind of colours that go with a particular season, and they are designed to go with particular skin tones. For example, I have an olive coloured skin tone, and the colour group for people with my skin tone is called 'Autumn'. Now - Autumn has colours of the tree's that are changing. Colours of Halloween and Thanksgiving. The colours are plums, browns, oranges to name a few. These colours work very well with my skin tone. Before buying this book, I struggled for years trying to find colours that would work for me. Some colours just look terrible on my skin. An Ice Pink, Blue or Yellow just look hideous on me. Yet, on a person of a different skin tone, Ice Pink, Blue or Yellow could look wonderful. Also, knowing my colour group has really cut down on the time I spend shopping for clothing. Rather than taking a mountain of clothing to the dressing room, I just take a small mountain of the colours that I KNOW will work for me. One easy way to do this is when shopping, take a sleeve of a garment and place it over your arm and see how the colour looks against your skin tone. If it makes you want to vomit - then you might not want to try on that garment.
Next involves makeup. Now, I'm sure you've all experimented with putting on lipstick, foundation, blush, eye-shadow, liner and maybe concealer - but do you know 'which' makeup colours would work best for your face? When talking about foundation, can you explain the differences between liquid, creme, powder, liquid-to-powder, tint, and stick? This book: Makeup Makeovers: Expert Secrets for Stunning Transformations explains the different applications for different skin types, different skin tones, different ages, different complexions, different bone structures, etc. This book also explains all this info in an very clear way that's quick and easy to understand.
And finally - clothing. The best way to start out a wardrobe is to have clothes that work together. This book: Looking Good: A Comprehensive Guide to Wardrobe Planning, Color & Personal Style Development, though a few years old, will give you idea's on how to put together such a wardrobe. This book explains the concept of 'Clothes Capsules.' Clothes Capsules are sets of your existing clothes like tops that go with slacks, skirts, and accessories. They are designed to work together so that you never say: "I don't have anything to wear." For a girl just starting out with a limited budget, it's a way of buying a few items, and making sets that will work together easily over a multi day period.
I'm sure there are other books out there that will help you in the same area's. And doing a few searches on Amazon is very likely to help you find alternative books. (And by all means - if you find such a book - please - share it with the rest of us!) The important thing is, buying the right clothing and makeup colours that will work with you, the right clothing styles that will work with your face and body, and not spending a lot of money doing so. You want to save as much money as you can for living expenses and for your surgeries, right?
Love, Teresa
For those that have read the latest edition of "Color Me Beautiful", what season are you?
I am a "Warm Autumn".
BTW and oldie but goodie for figuring out what clothing styles work best with your body type is:
"Flatter Your Figure"
http://www.amazon.com/Flatter-Your-Figu ... ey/dp/0671 762966
From Karen