The Price of Being Hip

So I bought an In Style magazine last week. I used to subscribe, but have recently let a few subscriptions lapse because I just can’t keep up with them all. (See previous entry re: reading…) I’m not sure but I think for the first time in years I didn’t even renew “O,” Oprah’s magazine…

Anyway I thought I’d treat myself and buy some fluff reading for the weekly snow-in. (More on that in a minute. Grrr.) A few pages in I found my interest waning. Half way thru I started thinking, “Who are these people? And why do I care what $1,500 bag they carry? Or that Justin now has a clothing line? Or that the latest trend is to drink champagne on ice with a twist of lemon? (way to ruin good champagne!)” I never made it to the last page.

Could it be I’m getting so old I’m losing interest in fashion? Is it possible I am realizing at my age that there are more important things in the world than the latest trends? That maybe, contrary to what my "lounging" pants say, it is NOT all about me?? Am I possibly outgrowing the need to be hip, instead opting for comfort and goodwill? And speaking of comfortable hips, I learned last year that the increasingly nagging ache in my left one is officially osteopenia – a predecessor to osteoporosis. It makes sitting for any length of time or walking in anything but shoes w/good support uncomfortable. No, I’m not quite into Grandma’s orthopedic shoes yet, but let’s just say The Walking Company gets a lot of business from me and Motrin is my friend…

Again, I credit my Mom for my love of fashion. (I wrote a whole piece about that back in the ol’ blog days.) She grew up in a large farming family, so there wasn’t a lot of extra cash lying around for stylish clothes for all the sisters. Grandma sewed and all the girls learned the craft as well. So when my sisters and I (there are three of us) were growing up, Mom sewed almost all of our clothes. (My older sister and I inherited the sewing gene; I don't know what happened to Robin...) Anyway, I thought everyone’s Mom sewed. Until four of my friends and I needed cheerleading uniforms because we missed the “ordering” window and they needed to be hand-made and no one else’s Mom knew how to sew. Yup, Mom made all five of ‘em. In between trying to sleep because she was a nurse on the night shift at the local hospital.

But I digress. (You’ll find I do that a lot.) I think fashion started taking a backseat for me when I finally left the corporate world (just about the happiest day of my life) and rid the closet of all those snazzy professional clothes. Then a couple of years later I took a serious grip on my new camera and headed into the woods. Suddenly it didn’t matter what I looked like because I was behind the lens, not in front of it. My uniform became a baseball cap, jeans, a solid color tee or sweatshirt and hiking boots. An outfit that requires thought gives me a headache now. And the money I previously spent on clothes now goes into camera equipment.

In closing, I know you’re just dying to hear today’s weather. As promised, it’s snowing ~ nice big fluffy flakes sometimes coming down at a slight horizontal slant as the wind gusts. They’re saying anywhere from 6-8 inches or more. It might quit this afternoon or it might not. At this point it’s like that $1,500 bag… Who cares?

Happy weekend to y’all! I’m off to look thru those Caribbean vacation photos…