Until recently I’ve never actually been dumped. There’s nothing quite like an unexpected ditching (by text no less, and for a reason so pathetic, it’s actually made me glad he gave me the heave-ho, as he was clearly a little bit of a plonker). It makes you reassess absolutely everything. When you’re with someone, there are things you don’t change about yourself image-wise, because you work under the assumption that your partner must be fond of the way you look (or why else would they be with you?).
When I broke up with my ex husband, and moved in with Princess, we spent half a day literally going through every item of clothing that I owned. Possessed by the spirit of a Roman Emperor, Princess sat on my bed as I modelled each garment, simply giving them either a thumbs up or thumbs down. Needless to say after about 8 years of not being particularly fussed about my appearance (it’s difficult to care about the clothes you wear when you’re modelling them in a size 22 carcass) most of my outfits were given the thumbs down.
Luckily the break-up diet had ensured that at this point I’d already dropped a couple of dress sizes, so we set to work on finding out what styles did suit me, and quickly established that I have good legs and great boobs, so it was all about making the most of those assets. We looked at finding ways to disguise my waist (which has no definition) and my arse (which quite frankly has the same surface area as most modestly sized English villages). Leggings and skinny jeans are now my best friends, and empire line tunic style tops which accentuate my boobs and leave my waist and bum as a bit of a mystery are common place in my wardrobe. I also discovered, that whilst I enjoy dressing up in conventional “going out” dresses for nights out at the weekend, I’m most comfortable in my day time attire, which I suppose has a casual, slightly safe “wannabe rock chick but too old to pull it off properly” feel to it, and this is certainly my happy place.
Following the demise of this most recent break up, it wasn’t exactly necessary to have a wardrobe overhaul to quite the same extent, but a couple of things have indeed spurred me on in terms of a slight image make-over. Firstly I was (and it’s sad to admit it), slightly inspired by the recent advert for Boots...you know the one, mental woman twirling around in a summer dress, hair two shades lighter than usual, and a lipstick a shade brighter? Yep, that made me realise it was time to go back to blonde. Also though, I read a great little blog entry (http://news.bravissimo.com/003970/work-smarter-not-harder/) which completely made me think about the power image can have on one’s self esteem and productivity!
So, for these reasons, last week I hit the bottle...the bottle of hair lightener that is... and I scheduled myself in with the hairdresser for a chop. It’s not often you walk out of the salon instantly loving your new do, but I can honestly say that as my hairdresser did the obligatory “show you the back of your head with a mirror” thing, I felt instantly revitalised. A graduated bob, and a few highlights have done wonders for making me feel as though I’ve regained control, and the diet has started again in earnest. I’m saving my pennies for a bit of a spending spree once I’ve shifted a few more lbs, and I’m ready to face summer head on.
I’m not a vain person, and I also don’t feel that you should ever judge a book by its cover, but it’s certainly true in my case, that a pretty frock and a set of killer heels makes me like myself that little bit more, and there’s nothing wrong with putting yourself first every now and then!
