Dressing Young (Part 1)

Parent Cafe
4201

<p>Hey, this thread is so fun that it occurred to me that it would also be fun to have the same sort of thread but targeted at home decorating . . . wall colors, furniture, lighting, etc. That’s a whole world of taste and fit and price just like fashion.</p>

<p>And I currently need all the help I can get as I try to settle into our new home. To give you an idea – the powder bath has faux red marbled walls above a wood stained chair rail, below which is more faux painting in a dark green sort of diamond checkerboard pattern with splatters of the red paint sort of dribbling abstractly here and there. The ceiling is . . . gold, as in gleaming metallic gold, also with splatters of the red paint. (Not making this up) Then there’s a dark green marble counter with a little bit of whitish gray. The sink is an enormous Kohler painted job with red tulips and a poem about tulips written around the rim. Best of all, the ceiling light is sort of a Garden of Eden floral arrangement with plastic grapes and a cluster of lights that look like . . . corn cobs!</p>

<p>I can’t spend a ton here as the kitchen is turning into quite a project, also. I’m thinking neutralize but picking out neutral colors is not easy. And to complicate, DH, who never cares about decor has developed a love for the crazy sink. Fixtures are all super duper shiny brass. </p>

<p>The floor is lovely. Good site-finished oak hardwood in a warm shade. I like the floor, I like the floor . . .</p>

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<p>sewhappy I love the new thread idea…and I have to say ANY neutral color sounds like an improvement. The sink may even be ok with a neutral background. Can you just paint the walls the basin color of the sink for now? It might not be the greatest choice, but just to tone it all down until you decide what to do?</p>

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<p>Wow, that’s quite a bathroom! Did Bob Guccione live there before? The counter sounds salvageable, but with all of that going on, it’s probably difficult to imagine it alone. Would the sink be cute in a more neutral setting?</p>

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<p>Gmom, BB, I seem to wear a size 40 in Italian sizes, but just barely. If I don’t breathe too heavily. Not that my sample is enormous, mind you. Sparse data. I’m not wildly posh, but I have indulged a little bit. </p>

<p>In jeans I tend to buy a 27 and then be told I should have gotten a 26. Therefore, at a guess, I should go for a 4 in the KM. And then, of course, I will find out I should have gotten a 6:). </p>

<p>I believe you and I are very close in size, except if I remember you are taller. So, last question, verging into TMI. My waistline has suffered most from middle age. Pants for curvy people do not work on me, as they cut in at the waist, pinch my flesh, make breathing uncomfortable, and cause me to cry. How are the KMs in the waist?</p>

<p>BTW, the J. Crew shorts I recently bought are a size 2. Good lord.</p>

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<p>My JCrew shorts are 2, but that seems to be my size except for Loft and Gap with the vanity sizing issues where the 0 seems big. I’m NOT a size 0. I love JCrew shorts and like that there are choices of lengths.</p>

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<p>I’m a 42 or a 44 in Prada, Etro, and Piazza Sempione, although Etro runs smaller and I never wear a 42. Italians have a difficult time dealing with the more statuesque markets. Many years ago, I could not buy US size 9 shoes in Italy because most stores only carried up to size 8. The French brands seem to be more generous - Celine runs large, but not sure about Chanel, although I would guess that it is very small…</p>

<p>Jeans always stretch out and as a good friend told me, if you can pull them over your butt and zip them, they’re fine…</p>

<p>My waist is thickening, and I cannot deal with anything tight because it is (i) uncomfortable and (ii) it accentuates the fleshiness, which quite frankly, no one would know about if the damn pants were not digging in.</p>

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<p>Gourmetmom - that was the funniest thing you ever posted. I love it.</p>

<p>I have an uncomfortable theory. I think the thickening waist might have something to do with gradually shrinking height. I am obsessed with doing Pilates so I stretch myself and at least feel tall.</p>

<p>Oh, and MoWC - I think you and I are about the same size but I clearly have more “junk in my trunk” because I could never wear a zero in the aforementioned brands.</p>

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<p>OK. So the fleshy middle is ALSO making me think I need to switch from tee shirts to camp shirts. At least some kind of top that retains a respectful distance from my waistline.</p>

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<p>sewhappy that bathroom is so over the top I’d be tempted to keep it for the laughs. :)</p>

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<p>To be specific, regarding my waistline at least, it’s a firm little pad of fat located in the mid to lower center of my midsection. I’m quite toned as a result of diligent and near obsessive Pilates ;), but this area which is the size of two well portioned chicken cutlets placed side by side, is incredibly resistant. The odd thing is that it is not jiggly as one would expect of fat, but almost hard and armor like. My relatively ripped abs seem to almost encircle and support the little demon. I’ve heard of something called the menopausal bulge. Maybe this is the budding of the bulge? Anyone else? Liposuction?</p>

<p>Clingy tees or anything skimpy, transparent or short in the torso does not work anymore. Structured around the middle or fabric with a bit of body is still okay.</p>

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<p>Sewhappy, please do start the thread and come back and tell us about it. That way the link will show up when I log in and select my control panel!</p>

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<p>Sewhappy, that sounds like quite the bathroom!</p>

<p>Out of curiosity I did an internet search and I think I may have found your sink - tell us if this is it! And if so, what does the poem say?</p>

<p>[Kohler</a> Artist Editions 25" Self Rimming Bathroom Sink with Fables & Flowers Design - K-14173 | KitchenSource.com](<a href=“http://www.kitchensource.com/kohler/lavatory-sink-k-14173.htm]Kohler”>http://www.kitchensource.com/kohler/lavatory-sink-k-14173.htm)</p>

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<p>Holy Mollie! For the price of that sink one can get a Chanel bag (of course, a very tiny Chanel bag). A $100 sink from HD will do just fine, IMO, and will look much better.</p>

<p>OK, I did make it to the Karen Millen store. I got a little distracted by the sale at the Wolford store conveniently located nearby. Luckily for me, all the good stuff was sold out, so no long term monetary damage was inflicted. The pants is qestion were not there, so I tried on a bunch of other bottoms. There was a pair of bell-bottomed khakis made of the same material as the skirt, and size 4 US (8 British) was a super perfect fit for me:</p>

<p>[Tailored</a> Cotton Pant](<a href=“Women’s Clothing | Ladies Clothes & Fashion | Karen Millen”>Women’s Clothing | Ladies Clothes & Fashion | Karen Millen)</p>

<p>The pants are smaller in the waist than in the hips, and for me they came right at the middle of my belly button without digging into my flesh or creating muffin tops. I would have bought them if it weren’t for the bell bottoms. I do not think bell bottoms look good on anyone shorter than 5’10". I liked the fabric and the design so much that I even considered buying them and getting them altered so they would not be so flaired.</p>

<p>All denim pants that I tried had to be size 6 to fit more comfortably in the hips, but then there was an extra inch or inch an a half in the waist (below the belly button). Size 4 fit great in the waist, but was too tight in the hips. I took a pass on them.</p>

<p>Now onto dresses. Again, excellent quality, both of the fabric and craftsmanship. Size 6 shirt dresses were perfect, but anything more contoured and fitted was too loose in the chest, like this one:</p>

<p>[Neon</a> Print Dress](<a href=“Dresses | Shop Women's Dresses for all Occasions | Karen Millen US”>Dresses | Shop Women's Dresses for all Occasions | Karen Millen US)</p>

<p>KM must have watched too much *Baywatch *and decided that dresses for American fashionistas need more fabric in the chest area to accomodate certain elements of the female anatomy. Ahem, not really. So there is the difference between this brand and Burberry. Burberry tops are made for the smaller-chested ladies. However, this dress was perfect in size 6 for me:</p>

<p>[Signature</a> Stretch Satin Dress](<a href=“Women’s Clothing | Ladies Clothes & Fashion | Karen Millen”>Women’s Clothing | Ladies Clothes & Fashion | Karen Millen)</p>

<p>The more I think about it, the more I want to go back and buy the denim shirt dress that I tried on. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks for that great report, BB. I’m going to stop in the store at Copley in Boston later this week. I hope the pant in question is there, but if not, it sounds like there are lots of dresses - I especially like the shirtwaists.</p>

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<p>College_query: Yup! That’s our sink, in the extra large size! There are also coordinated tissue holders and soap holders. </p>

<p>Thank you, everyone, for letting me write my Powder Room Post. Just getting it all out there was sort of therapeutic. In a sense, I do want to keep it because it’s just so over-the-top that I have to admire the sensibility behind it. I want to get out the Linen White paint and erase it all but somehow it’s hard. </p>

<p>Am going to start the home decor thread and hope all my virtual friends with their wonderful taste and humor drop by. Any suggestion for a good thread name? Have always liked “Dressing Young”.</p>

<p>Oh, regarding midsection flab. I have it, too, even though my weight is the same as 20 years ago. My RIL friends who have done a ton of abs exercises say that has just given them a layer of muscle under the midlife flab . . . no answers here.</p>

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<p>Bell-bottomed? Uhoh. I just ordered these yesterday. On the other hand, I actually like my flared 7 for All Mankind jeans, so maybe they will work. We shall see. At least 4 is the right size:).</p>

<p>And for the home decor thread, maybe you could call it Home Decor For Smarties, referring to the Weight Loss for Dummies? Oh, wait, maybe that sounds mean. I give up. I’m terrible with copywriting…</p>

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<p>Sewhappy, What kind of cabinet do you have, or is it a pedestal sink? If you don’t want to redo the whole thing, I would just paint the walls and the ceiling. Would a soft neutral green like Benjamin Moore’s Baby Turtle work at all with the countertop and sink? Check out Gardenweb’s Home Decorating forums, too. You can post a photo and get lots of advice or do a search etc.</p>

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<p>Roshke, that’s an insightful question on the cabinet. It’s a pickled wood of some sort in a pale off white (that does not go with the sink background) and it takes over an entire wall with cabinetry, inlaid spotlights, a mirror and the counter extending over the toilet. The room is big enough to handle it all but it’s way more than is needed in a powder room! </p>

<p>Am thinking I’m going white on white on white in there. Going to have the cabinetry painted white, the walls and the ceiling. Then the only color will will be the green marble counter and tulip sink. Going to switch out the shiny brass faucets for pewter probably. Then to find a ceiling light fixture and two sconces, did I mention the grape sconces? </p>

<p>The question is finding some subtlety on all the white - cabinet white, vs above chair rail wall, vs below chair rail wall vs ceiling. </p>

<p>Seriously have to get the new thread started. Don’t want to impose this on the great fashion discussion underway here.</p>

<p>Alumother, I kind of like Home Decor for Smarties. It has attitude. Going to let it simmer while I go usher at our high school graduation and if nothing else surfaces than I will go forward and baptize the thread Hone Decor for Smarties. </p>

<p>J. Crew sizes are insane lately. I had to buy a 0 in their shorts last summer and believe me I’m not big but I’m no size 0.</p>

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<p>I like “The Powder Room Posts.” We are smart bunch, we would enthusiastically extend our questions and comments to other rooms, and it would be original.</p>

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<p>I have my own “Situation Room” (aka dismembered master bathroom), so I welcome any remodeling posts :slight_smile: It is the continuation of the bathroom mirror saga. H took this project waaaay too seriously and decided to invest a good part of his unexpected bonus into this, which resulted in several trips to home shows, a trip abroad (:eek:), multiple stops at the Home Depot, a weekend-long electrical wiring project, and now a tiling/paint job. We really should start a new thread so all this chatter about clothes would not get in the way of important remodel stuff.</p>

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<p>Alumother, as I recall, you and I are about the same height, so you will have to trim about 4 inches off of the bottom of the pants, because when I was writing my post I forgot to mention the fact that I had to roll them up that much (I got distracted from posting - had to deal with the neighbor’s dog who climbed on the boat stored near the fence and jumped into our yard). The khakis will still be flared after hemming, but much less so.</p>