She said, oh, not at all.  You should see what others bring in here.  She changed her mind when I returned, and hadn’t been able to get them on the hanger.  I said sorry for the tangled mess.  She said, thank you, in that way that says F you.  lol.

I felt sorry for parents shopping with teen children.  One boy was grumbling about having to model for his mother what he had chosen.  Several mothers of girls said that next time they’d drop the girls off and come back in an hour.  But if the girls had picked out anything inappropriate, that next time mom would just buy what she found acceptable and the girl would be stuck with it.  This seems a universally acceptable mother statement.  I was hearing it all over the store, with various interpretations of what was encouraged, forbidden, and would happen if the forbidden clothing made its way home.

Playa Del Carmen – Swimsuit Issue by ex_magician

After reading all of the buying tips in How Not to Look Fat, by Charla Krupp, I decided that I don’t have it so bad.  Apparently, there are women out there who are too mortified of their imperfections to go all summer without wearing shorts.  And who will wear dark colors from head to toe, every day, with shapewear underneath.

Yeah, I’m not doing that.  I’m far from perfect.  But I’m not willing to roast.

The thing about fashion advice, is that you have to figure out which things apply to you, then which things you’re willing to endure.  I can work with navy blue dresses, but not usually black.  I refuse to give up white shirts, peach and turquoise in the name of “No Fat” dressing.  I need the brighter colors to keep from looking like a corpse.  Looking thinner, but anemic is not a good look, imho.

I found oil – argan, linseed and flax – for my hair, a knock-off brand for nine dollars.  Wee!  The Aveda that the salon sells is 25 dollars for a tiny bottle.  It’s great stuff.  But ouch, expensive.  It’s funny that I actually put oil in my hair.  Curly hair is such a challenge.

I ended up buying two suits, and the oil.  I took two of the suits out of the dressing room, so I could find them one size smaller (hallelujah).  But I wasn’t able to, put one back on the rack, and picked up another that I hadn’t been able to find in the correct size, as I walked up to the registers.  The one I hadn’t tried on fits – and looks positively matronly!  Ugh.  That one is going back for certain.  It’s cute on the hanger, a turquoise, black and white print.  And the top fits great.  The bottom has boy legs that go straight across like a horizontal line in front and back.  So unflattering!  The other one is a two peice with a black bottom and multicolored halter top.  It’s a little bit too big all over, so doesn’t provide much in the way of support.  And I’m concerned that it might sag and become revealing when it gets wet.  So I haven’t decided if I’m going to keep it.  I think now that I have overcome my fear of trying on bathing suits it’ll be okay.  I’ll find something that isn’t too mortifying to wear out in public.

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Ugh.

I decided to cover my grey hair.  This is fairly stupid, since my hair is very dark.  Miss Clairol and I do not agree on what dark brown looks like.  To me, my hair looks nearly black.  So I looked at the box and did my best to choose the same color (as my natural color) 4N.  Yeah, not so much.  My natural color has a lot of red.  But… being completely clueless about hair color, I read several articles all of which said use a neutral color to cover grey.  Well, it came out darker than my natural color and washed out in a week.

Really, permanant should last more than one week.

My new hair color. by lizzie1326

A month later, I tried again.  L’Oreal this time I think.  5N.  It did cover the grey, and absolutely every hint of red that was in my hair.  I look washed out and tired.  People are asking me if I feel okay – like when I wear black.  I am very fair with dark hair.  Wearing black is Elvira-ish in a very unflattering way.

Yeah, covering grey is not supposed to make me look older.

Will try one more time, with a reddish shade.  If this is unsuccessful, I will accept hair color defeat.

I checked out a half dozen books with hair and fashion advice.  Most of it should be obvious and therefore is not.  Such as that wearing clothing that is stretched out or doesn’t fit makes you look fat.  I read this and thought how silly that I haven’t noticed that my bras are all stretched out.  Duh, I haven’t purchased a new one since before I got pregnant!  I went shopping.

Shopping sucked.  The bras are flattering.  The baby hates them.  She cannot gain unauthorized access to the food source.  She’s quite ticked.

I went back to the same store a few days later.  The baby was done shopping.  I was not.  I got four tanks for layering.  I attempted shapewear – also a fashion magazine recommendation.  I could not get any of it over my head.  This prompted me to workout, which is far more pleasant than the thought of stuffing self like a sausage and being unable to remove garments to pee.

Sadly, I still need to shop.  I need a bathing suit that does not make me feel like troll.  Because I must make sure my kids know how to swim.  And pool avoidance has gone on long enough.

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Cashmere goats by cramsay23

This has not carried over into yarn so much, or specifically sweaters. I used to crochet (not well enough for sweaters). And DD and DH both have blankets that I crocheted for them. DDs is very cute. DHs is an odd color combination to me. But he picked it out. And he likes it. So there you go. Both of those are acrylic, which is not my favorite. Because after a while, it pills and can look very cheap. And if I can choose something not a petroleum product, I will.

So here is what I found out about fabric/fiber and eczema:

• Cotton is king. (I knew this.)
• Silk is queen, because it has hundreds of microfibers and is very smooth. But it can have resins in it that are irritating to some people.
• Bamboo and rayon are breathable, natural fibers. They rank next.
• Wool is the number one itch offender. But not all wool is created equal. Wool is classified by microns, which is the thickness of each strand. The thicker the strand, the scratchier the surface. The finer the strand, the smoother the surface.
• Cashmere, angora, and alpaca are names of animals. I’m sure you knitters and lovers of animal husbandry say duh. But I did not know until recently. I thought cashmere and alpaca were types of sheep, not different animals altogether.
• Since cashmere is finer than many wools and comes from a goat some people who cannot tolerate wool can wear it.
• Alpaca, an animal, not a sheep. Finer than wool, potentially tolerable.
• Angora, from a rabbit and claims to be hypoallergenic, even to those with very sensitive skin.

Obviously, these things are somewhat subjective. But I post it here in case it can be useful to somebody else, and for commentary.

Close-up of baby alpaca by m_morgavan

I read more than one article by dermatologists claiming that silk must be dermablend, the kind that is antimicrobial and used in hospitals. But I have always found ordinary clothing silk to be pretty skin friendly, especially if hand washed.

My experience with bamboo has not been the best. The bamboo fabric I’ve encountered has been extremely thin knit and has run. I’m thinking this may have been a fluke. I can’t see it having become so popular if it ran all the time. It was not at all itchy. I’m thinking I will give it another try.

I’ve had very good luck with wool blend suits that are lined. They wear well. And if they are blended with rayon or something and lined seem to always be comfortable.

I can’t even be in the room with an angora sweater. I don’t know what that’s about.

I am about to give up on lining these three sweaters that belonged to my grandmother. They are 100 percent wool. And even lined, they itch me like I am on fire. I find this so sad. They fit me perfectly. And I really prefer to keep them.

I wonder if I can justify consoling myself with a cashmere sweater or a silk scarf.

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Now she is poking around in bags and saying, “Hey!  Maman!  Why is my dress in this bag?”

Because you have suddenly grown two inches and now that dress makes you look like a hooch.

And what about the drum?

It was getting on my nerves, for the last six months.  Surely there is a needy child who must have a drum.  We had a chat about needy children who need toys that are too aggravating for me to bear.

And I can no longer tell her the truth lest she repeat it.  Maman, why are these pants going away?  They are not too short.

Well, because they need to be worn by a shorter child with a bigger butt.  It is a law of fashion.  A butt is necessary to hold up jeans.

What she said:  I’m giving you my jeans because you have a bigger butt than I do.

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She had been sleeping in her own room. But when my current job was new, and she started at a new school she freaked out about sleeping in her room and would wake up screaming several times per night. Some would tough that out. But I chose sleep. (I found it impossible to concentrate at work with very little sleep.)

Ten months later, she is still sleeping in my room most of the time. Although, she does not mind the sofa, which is on the same floor. And she does take naps in her own bed under protest.

I have a pair of earrings that I’m going to give her when she sleeps in her own bed consecutively for a week. So far, it is not going as well as the earrings for staying dry trade. She didn’t mind that. She really does not want to sleep in her bed.

Fortunately, she does want the earrings.

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But the sarong is fabulous. Not finding a cover-up that wasn’t too big, too small, black, ugly, or outrageously expensive, or combination thereof, I resorted to making my own. It was cheap and easy, gotta love it.

I just cut a piece of fabric in this shape. The first piece of fabric I bought. It was knit, and three yards. I found directions somewhere saying use two and a half yards for an average size woman. I estimated myself to be an enormous size woman. Not so. Three yards was way too much. I cut it down to two and a half. This is much better.

It was so much better that I dug up several pieces of cotton fabric that I intended to make into something useful but never did. At this moment, I have two sarong for me, and two for DD.

More fabric is in the laundry. This could be a beach laundry lifesaver.

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This must also be the mumu effect. Does anybody else remember the mumu dress from the 70s?

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