There is nothing like the onset of cold weather to stop me in my tracks. Any reader will know that I do not function well in winter it's a massive shock to my system. My body needs help. I'm calling what I do in winter my Wellbeing and Creative Project. Nourishing healthy food, lots of soups again - my speciality - and taking some Vitamin D. I have my stretching and limber routines which make me want to get out of bed. I have never been able to sit still but there is something about winter which makes everyone hibernate a bit too much. I'm no paragon of virtue, I picked up the habit of smoking in my teens and have never been able to drop it - it probably helps to keep my size and measurements constant. I gave up meat for a while, but started eating it again when I was pregnant and still do eat meat now. This is in no way a preach.
Mentally, I tell myself that if I plan for next spring, it shrinks the cold weather away. Also it's cheaper to buy outfits cleverly out of season. Luckily I know which trends are coming from doing the fittings, so I can search the next season's colours at a fraction of the price before they start marking the prices up. So I'm buying a new swimming costume right now, and hoping to get a little wear out of it in the pool (out of holiday season).
Fittings is becoming a full time job just now. Sportswear is my happy place. I love the intelligent temperature regulating fabrics that Peak & Flow (a sustainable activewear producer) use. This is definitely the future of clothing, what we wear needs to function equally as well as it looks.
A large high street brand had me try on 52 outfits in one day - a whole range, underwear, party dresses, separates and outerwear. If you love dressing up you have to tell yourself that this isn't the throw a load of outfits on and admire yourself game, not like spending a day pretending you're doing the montage scene from Pretty Woman! Although the underwear at Little Mistress did have me wondering.
Fold Clothing is another favourite of mine, well-tailored professional wear. I could try these suits on all day, they change the way I stand.
I do a lot of different things with my hair - of which more later - including extensions, but I couldn't enjoy wearing human hair because I hear stories about women being exploited. It's the same for accessorising with fur, it looks better on the originator.
If you get the impression that my day is spent pampering myself and turning up being dressed in fancy apparel all day, any fittings model will tell you differently. When I'm not being draped in fabric, I'm out in all weathers trying to find my next assignment. I found myself encouraging one of my friend's four children to accompany me to the pet store to pick up the special diet that Diego, our gecko, requires. Trying to keep a nine year old jolly whilst stuck in a torrential downpour on the way to get supplies reminds me why I don't have a large brood! One young person to keep happy is quite enough.
Speaking of which, my lovely daughter is getting in more demand for self-tapes and call outs now. She can manage the camera work herself so I don't have to wonder what she's doing, she reads the brief and works out what's required. She's moved out of her goth phase into a more sensible one, if just as difficult to get precise. The amount of effort for one particular type of loafer seems like overkill. Pages of internet search often produces something you can find locally. But preparation is everything and she likes to exhaust every avenue.
I can't finish this trawl through my last month without adding that there is always more to life than fittings I have time to do dance cover on quieter days as well, downloading Bollywood music and giving the odd class. Luckily I am not confined to one specialism where teaching is concerned.
I did do my bit for neuroscience this month. I participated in a study which consisted of an EEG scan on my head - no hair extensions that week - to monitor brain activity on a tube train. For marketing purposes they were interested in eye focus, sensitivity to sound, and so on, all about maximising brand effectiveness. While I was growing up my mother worked in advertising and we were always very aware of how the Want Makers are getting into our headspace so it was an interesting lesson in how we can be affected in that medium. No I don't have a photo of my brain, or even one showing me electroded up. Instead I'm choosing this edition's photo to be of the artwork in the lobby of the company doing the research. Sums up everything about what winter means to me.
Mentally, I tell myself that if I plan for next spring, it shrinks the cold weather away. Also it's cheaper to buy outfits cleverly out of season. Luckily I know which trends are coming from doing the fittings, so I can search the next season's colours at a fraction of the price before they start marking the prices up. So I'm buying a new swimming costume right now, and hoping to get a little wear out of it in the pool (out of holiday season).
Fittings is becoming a full time job just now. Sportswear is my happy place. I love the intelligent temperature regulating fabrics that Peak & Flow (a sustainable activewear producer) use. This is definitely the future of clothing, what we wear needs to function equally as well as it looks.
A large high street brand had me try on 52 outfits in one day - a whole range, underwear, party dresses, separates and outerwear. If you love dressing up you have to tell yourself that this isn't the throw a load of outfits on and admire yourself game, not like spending a day pretending you're doing the montage scene from Pretty Woman! Although the underwear at Little Mistress did have me wondering.
Fold Clothing is another favourite of mine, well-tailored professional wear. I could try these suits on all day, they change the way I stand.
I do a lot of different things with my hair - of which more later - including extensions, but I couldn't enjoy wearing human hair because I hear stories about women being exploited. It's the same for accessorising with fur, it looks better on the originator.
If you get the impression that my day is spent pampering myself and turning up being dressed in fancy apparel all day, any fittings model will tell you differently. When I'm not being draped in fabric, I'm out in all weathers trying to find my next assignment. I found myself encouraging one of my friend's four children to accompany me to the pet store to pick up the special diet that Diego, our gecko, requires. Trying to keep a nine year old jolly whilst stuck in a torrential downpour on the way to get supplies reminds me why I don't have a large brood! One young person to keep happy is quite enough.
Speaking of which, my lovely daughter is getting in more demand for self-tapes and call outs now. She can manage the camera work herself so I don't have to wonder what she's doing, she reads the brief and works out what's required. She's moved out of her goth phase into a more sensible one, if just as difficult to get precise. The amount of effort for one particular type of loafer seems like overkill. Pages of internet search often produces something you can find locally. But preparation is everything and she likes to exhaust every avenue.
I can't finish this trawl through my last month without adding that there is always more to life than fittings I have time to do dance cover on quieter days as well, downloading Bollywood music and giving the odd class. Luckily I am not confined to one specialism where teaching is concerned.
I did do my bit for neuroscience this month. I participated in a study which consisted of an EEG scan on my head - no hair extensions that week - to monitor brain activity on a tube train. For marketing purposes they were interested in eye focus, sensitivity to sound, and so on, all about maximising brand effectiveness. While I was growing up my mother worked in advertising and we were always very aware of how the Want Makers are getting into our headspace so it was an interesting lesson in how we can be affected in that medium. No I don't have a photo of my brain, or even one showing me electroded up. Instead I'm choosing this edition's photo to be of the artwork in the lobby of the company doing the research. Sums up everything about what winter means to me.
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