Can I bring up something weird that made me think of you (but is otherwise totally unrelated to this hilarious post)…? I’m traveling now as well and every mirror I look in makes me look ancient! I want to go home to my dim lighting. Does this happen to you? New mirrors new awareness of the shadows catching in unexpected places?
Jun 14, 2022·edited Jun 14, 2022Liked by Valerie Monroe
Funny and eloquent. Thanks for the knee slapper, Val. :)
Good luck with the Japanese rx system. Please report back. I think whatever you might write would offer helpful perspective on our system here in the US.
As you know I'm reading your posts backwards so I was looking for the "judgy" stance that was mentioned in the next post yet I couldn't find it. Was it about the mini-skirt and age? But you also wrote about how everyone can judge for themselves what's appropriate for them. I tend to seek the so-called rules for fashion and so on. Then again, as I get older, I kinda say "F" it especially as I've spent time with college students for the last 23 years and they definitely tell you how it is. Back in 2000, I wore a lovely red wool double-breasted knee length dress with shoulder pads (leftover from engineering days in the mid-1980s) and I loved it BUT...a first year student said to me, "Um, Elena, shoulder pads are OUT" with all seriousness. I took the pads out but the dress just wasn't the same so off it went to the Goodwill. I was sad but my fashion choices borders between youthful to, yes, I'm an adult. These days it's all about jumpsuits...!
Always such a pleasure to read your column! When admiring those long, loose, rather expensive dresses, I wanted to mutter that older women who don't happen to be wonderfully toned and extremely slender can prefer not to show off their upper arms. Sleeveless is not a happy choice for most of us. (Who cares about knees? I am just grateful mine still enjoy walking.) The cool, loose option is great. But on hot days I emulate the the desert women in their flowing longer-sleeved robes and still stay nicely cool. Or mostly.
I really laughed out loud at this line, Val: "One of the better things about knees, IMHO, is that they’re not on our face." You're such a good writer. Now I'm scrolling back up so I can click on everysinglelink to find a summer uniform.
First, hope every day brings you more relief from your back pain, Val. ❤️🩹 It certainly hasn’t stopped you from posting excellent reads. This one in particular made me laugh, stirring up a memory from long ago.
Supposedly Coco Chanel once remarked something along the lines of the knees being the “ugliest part of a woman’s body,” needing to be covered at all times. Apparently the nuns who dictated the dress code at my high school, back when the original mini skirt moment was in full flower, agreed with Mademoiselle. At least the part about keeping knees covered.
When it came to deciding the length of the hemlines of our school uniforms, the Sisters of Mercy showed no mercy. We would periodically be called down to the school auditorium for surprise inspections.
One by one we would go up on the stage and then kneel before the nuns. If our hems didn’t touch the floor of the stage, we failed the inspection. Cannot remember the penalty, but wearing mascara got you 10 demerits and Saturday detention.
Some of my resourceful classmates sewed snaps under the hems of their uniforms, snapped them to shorten their jumpers, then unsnapped them
before their turn for inspection. To mimic a mini, the rest of us hiked up the skirts of our jumpers and cinched the extra fabric under the uniform’s belt. All this effort to show off our knees! And our independence!
On a beauty note, good to know what’s available at the derm’s office for aging knees. But I agree that it’s easier—and breezier—to slip into a swingy caftan!
hahahahah (“And so what if we were?” you might ask. And I might answer “You’re right—and so what?”). I love this post and I love...is it still called the 1000 YEN store?
Can I bring up something weird that made me think of you (but is otherwise totally unrelated to this hilarious post)…? I’m traveling now as well and every mirror I look in makes me look ancient! I want to go home to my dim lighting. Does this happen to you? New mirrors new awareness of the shadows catching in unexpected places?
Funny and eloquent. Thanks for the knee slapper, Val. :)
Good luck with the Japanese rx system. Please report back. I think whatever you might write would offer helpful perspective on our system here in the US.
As you know I'm reading your posts backwards so I was looking for the "judgy" stance that was mentioned in the next post yet I couldn't find it. Was it about the mini-skirt and age? But you also wrote about how everyone can judge for themselves what's appropriate for them. I tend to seek the so-called rules for fashion and so on. Then again, as I get older, I kinda say "F" it especially as I've spent time with college students for the last 23 years and they definitely tell you how it is. Back in 2000, I wore a lovely red wool double-breasted knee length dress with shoulder pads (leftover from engineering days in the mid-1980s) and I loved it BUT...a first year student said to me, "Um, Elena, shoulder pads are OUT" with all seriousness. I took the pads out but the dress just wasn't the same so off it went to the Goodwill. I was sad but my fashion choices borders between youthful to, yes, I'm an adult. These days it's all about jumpsuits...!
Always such a pleasure to read your column! When admiring those long, loose, rather expensive dresses, I wanted to mutter that older women who don't happen to be wonderfully toned and extremely slender can prefer not to show off their upper arms. Sleeveless is not a happy choice for most of us. (Who cares about knees? I am just grateful mine still enjoy walking.) The cool, loose option is great. But on hot days I emulate the the desert women in their flowing longer-sleeved robes and still stay nicely cool. Or mostly.
I really laughed out loud at this line, Val: "One of the better things about knees, IMHO, is that they’re not on our face." You're such a good writer. Now I'm scrolling back up so I can click on everysinglelink to find a summer uniform.
YOU GOT AN AUDIO BOOK CLUB!!!! How fabulous! Just joined your squad.
And I love the midi-shift.
And I loved the pop-wear-em-once contacts.
But what I don't love is you lying on tables in medical clinics, Val!! May the gods speed you to a faster recovery!!!!
First, hope every day brings you more relief from your back pain, Val. ❤️🩹 It certainly hasn’t stopped you from posting excellent reads. This one in particular made me laugh, stirring up a memory from long ago.
Supposedly Coco Chanel once remarked something along the lines of the knees being the “ugliest part of a woman’s body,” needing to be covered at all times. Apparently the nuns who dictated the dress code at my high school, back when the original mini skirt moment was in full flower, agreed with Mademoiselle. At least the part about keeping knees covered.
When it came to deciding the length of the hemlines of our school uniforms, the Sisters of Mercy showed no mercy. We would periodically be called down to the school auditorium for surprise inspections.
One by one we would go up on the stage and then kneel before the nuns. If our hems didn’t touch the floor of the stage, we failed the inspection. Cannot remember the penalty, but wearing mascara got you 10 demerits and Saturday detention.
Some of my resourceful classmates sewed snaps under the hems of their uniforms, snapped them to shorten their jumpers, then unsnapped them
before their turn for inspection. To mimic a mini, the rest of us hiked up the skirts of our jumpers and cinched the extra fabric under the uniform’s belt. All this effort to show off our knees! And our independence!
On a beauty note, good to know what’s available at the derm’s office for aging knees. But I agree that it’s easier—and breezier—to slip into a swingy caftan!
hahahahah (“And so what if we were?” you might ask. And I might answer “You’re right—and so what?”). I love this post and I love...is it still called the 1000 YEN store?