Changing seasons

I have always thought I dealt well with change. After all, I went from public school to Catholic school without a hitch. I went from a sheltered home to a university in another country and thrived. I went from living at home to living in a small studio by myself and loved it. And last not but not least in three years time I went from being a single young woman living alone in an efficiency in Antwerp Belgium to being a married mother of the cutest young boy ever in a house in the Suburbs of Columbia SC in the USA. And I never had that much trouble with the changes. Or so I thought.
Today I realised though that I have a tendency to cling to the past. This realisation came to me while I was walking the stroller down the street, with two sweaters over my summer dress with bare legs. Yes, you heard it right! Mrs. "Modesty but NO frump" was wearing two sweaters over a summer dress and freezing her calves off. I won't even try to pretend that I looked perfectly elegant.




Autumn has crept up on us and then all of a sudden jumped and shouted "Boo" from beneath the color changing bushes. Two weeks ago, I could have paraded out in a bikini during the hottest hour of the day had a I been so inclined (which of course I wasn't). Three weeks ago I hadn't even touched my vest, let alone a coat or a shawl. A blouse was more than warm enough and I still was grateful for airconditioning. But all of a sudden winter is lurking around the corner. A friend in Minnesota is speaking of snow and laughing at my descriptions of autumn chills which to her would probably still spell summer. On my drying rack, a shoulderless dress that I wore with the cutest little white bolero is still hopefully spread out. I need to accept that even in South Carolina, the weather is getting colder. I need to prepare for the extra effort that wintery elegance requires.




Throughout this post, you see some winter garments from one of my favorite stores: Petite Sophisticates. Every so often we go to the Tanger outlet malls near Hilton Head and this outlet store is always my first stop. Of course not every piece of clothing is to my liking, but in general I think the brand does a very good job in making you look feminine without sexualising your look. Their skirts generally come to either just above the knee, fall on the knee, or come right under. While I love my extra long Tznius skirts, skirts that fall to or just below the knee still fall into my acceptable category.
Winter always gives me a few challenges. It's so tempting to just burry myself into bulky knits and only think about the warmth I crave. Still, there is a happy medium, and hopefully I'm up to the challenge to find it again.