Girls, Ladies, how often to you "glam up"?

[DishLady]

I was reading a book about why it's psychologically important to "glam up" and look your best, which involved the following:

1. Removing anything from your wardrobe that's ill-fitting (overly baggy/tight/worn out/frumpy cut).

2. Taking time to continually maintain hair, nails, makeup, etc.

3. Taking time to manage a good diet and exercise/fitness routine.

4. Reciting a positive prayer or mantra as you walk out the door every morning.

5. Facing the day and every person you meet with a positive attitude.

6. Respecting yourself enough not accepting any level of poor treatment from others.

7. Speaking up to engage others.

Apparently following these seven steps will make you appear "glammed up" and charismatic to everyone you meet.

I'd love to know how many of you consciously follow these seven steps daily. I find that I follow most of them... (I have to remind myself to work on #1 because I get busy and forget to clear stuff out till it's "clothing drive" season.)

[7Phoenix7]

I was reading a book about why it's psychologically important to "glam up" and look your best, which involved the following:

1. Removing anything from your wardrobe that's ill-fitting (overly baggy/tight/worn out/frumpy cut). I definitely do this often... I hate clutter lol...

2. Taking time to continually maintain hair, nails, makeup, etc. I don't wear makeup, but i do make sure my hair is nice and healthy. I prefer to get my manicures done at the shop... but when i don't have time i do it myself.

3. Taking time to manage a good diet and exercise/fitness routine. I'm working on that. I eat pretty good. But i have to set a new fitness routine for myself.

4. Reciting a positive prayer or mantra as you walk out the door every morning. I do like to write meaningful and positive affirmations. I read them in the mornings sometimes...

5. Facing the day and every person you meet with a positive attitude. I am pretty good at showing a positive attitude. I struggle during "that time of the month".

6. Respecting yourself enough not accepting any level of poor treatment from others. This is where I struggle... because I don't accept any poor treatment or disrespect from random people or strangers. I tend to let things slide when someone close to me (family, close friends, partners) hurts me. I try to forgive and fix the situation. But I do have a limit...

7. Speaking up to engage others. I'm an introvert at heart... lol I'd rather relax and observe. But I do speak up when necessary.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

1, 2, 3 and 7. I'm working on the other ones. :D I get my hair trimmed and blown out every 8 weeks; I'd love blow outs more often but it's not in the budget right now. I don't dye my hair because it's high maintenance and very damaging, so I opt not to. Pedicures are summer mostly, although they are wonderful in the wintertime, too. Waxing is every 8 weeks in the months I don't have hair appts. I do my own manicures and don't have them polished because it's too high maintenance and I hate chips.

I only buy clothes that fit and do my own alterations as needed. I used to cycle through clothes all the time because I'd buy second-hand clothes and try to get things to work. I always felt like I had so many clothes and nothing to wear. I finally made a plan and only bought clothes I loved and that fit me perfectly. I have saved so much time and money just having a clothing plan and proper fit. I wear most of my clothes most of the time now, and I don't have a ton. I review silhouettes about twice a year to make sure I'm on trend and add a few trendy accessories to stay up to date.

[DishLady]

You'll have to teach me your trick for #1. I'm thinking of setting a reminder or something. I'm never 100% sure what to keep and what to discard. I mean... it's not like I have an infinite wardrobe...

[DishLady]

I hear what you're saying with the mani/pedi stuff, but I still go every two weeks. It's my one splurge bc I do have to look polished at work (and bc I'm on my feet most of the day so the pedis keep everything looking and feeling great). Waxing etc isn't needed too often (low hair growth) I think you're right about every other month, but I do know girls who have to go almost weekly.

I love that you do alterations! I do certain simple alterations and repairs, but take anything more complicated to a friend who's a genius with that stuff. Yes, "the clothes I love" philosophy works for me, but sometimes I get something I love for a particular occasion that ends up not really being super flattering.

I end up doing seasonal donations and won't buy something new unless I've discarded at least one large bag of older stuff. (Like this year, there was a gala. I knew I wasn't going. I knew I had a load of dresses from previous years that I probably wouldn't wear again and that the other gals from the community center had LOVED. So I donated them to the community center to start a "Gala Dress Swap" rack that's very popular now.)

I made piles this week because I was inspired by the book, but I have to sit and try each item on to determine whether it's a "keep" or "donate" item, which may take a few days to get through.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@DishLady Lucky lady. :D I would LOVE to do pedis more often. Someday... And I'm one of those women who also has less body hair anyway, so it tends to take that long for it to be long enough to wax.

It took me forever to figure out clothes because I hate trying on clothes, ha. I finally bit the bullet and spent an entire day trying on just jeans. I must've tried on twenty pairs at least to find a good fit and three brands that worked at multiple stores. I'm fit and work out, but I am not a boyish stick figure and so many jeans have a waist gap because they're cut straight. Basically, the fashion industry is in denial that women have hips, no matter how thin they are.

I also finally figured out that I need to buy petite pants and tops. The knees on regular pants do not hit the right spot and it messes up the proportions. Short skirts don't flatter me unless they are very short, so I tend to go with very long, high-waisted skirts or midi skirts that don't have too much fabric around the hips and flare out. I'm a committed buyer of V-neck or turtleneck tops that are fitted, and I don't buy loose tops unless I can pair them with a fitted high waist.

A full-length mirror is pretty essential to find a flattering outfit, so that's super important. I choose seasonal color schemes that are fairly neutral and then play around with shoes or accessories. Fall might be browns, deep reds, soft whites, jewel blues and a trending color like olive. Winter might be bright whites, light greys, crisp reds, black and/or navy. You get the idea. I've found I can wear almost any color if I just make sure the color close to my face is cool-toned. Makeup covers a multitude of sins, but there are definitely colors that pop more than others.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@DishLady You likely know a lot of that already, but it's still fun to chat about! :D

[DishLady]

Yeees! I hate trying the clothes on also!!! But when I finally did I discovered that “long” and “high waist” on pants hit all the spots better than the “regular” leg. I still have to stitch the waist in a little but that’s way better than the weird “boyfriend jeans” and low cut stuff.

The pedis I will always bite the bullet and do it. It was either that ($) or PT ($$$). Long story short, the place I go to is very affordable (not city pricing) and they include a therapeutic massage that I badly need bc of physical trauma from my ex. PT would break my bank. I was in pain for years bc I couldn’t afford the PT. A friend directed me to this place.

[DishLady]

@TheRealPepperPotts Yes, it is. :)

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@DishLady Wow... That's both sad and really neat. I'm sorry you went through that, but I'm glad you found a good solution. Good for you!

[DishLady]

Thanks. It’s also why I do a lot of work at the gym. Strengthening the muscles with low-stress free weights helps reset a lot of the aches and such I felt for years. Folks think it’s a “revenge body” but it’s just what’s needed to feel healthy and mobile again.

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@DishLady Same. I need to get back to the gym, but I want to let the New Year's resolution crowd thin out a bit. I was waiting until after Valentine's Day. :) I'm just walking for now.

I hate the revenge body slur. It's like, did it ever occur to folks that a woman might have been so busy trying to hold a relationship together and/or having babies for a man that she had no time to work out? Or maybe she was controlled by the man and not allowed to do certain things because of his insecurities? Or maybe the money was so tight that buying healthy food and having a gym membership or having time to work out was wishful thinking? I hate that when something really good and healthy is happening, so many people assume it's for nefarious purposes.

OK, my little mini-rant is done. :D

[DishLady]

LOL. Fair point. I have a few small things at home to do simple workouts if I can't make it to the gym (or if it's overly cluttered with Gen Z taking selfies). I think they just call it that bc folks like Princess Di (back in the day) was considered as doing the "revenge dress" so it became a popularized concept. Folks don't always consider that you're exercising either to recover from a physical ailment/setback or to alleviate stress that naturally builds up anyway.

My ex DID like me on the chubby side, but was always pissed that I was "chubby hourglass" instead of just plump and fat like a Thanksgiving Turkey (which is what his dad did to his mom... SHE used to be really pretty... a shame).

[DishLady]

I love your mini rants, by the way! They're similar to what's rattling around in my heart as well. No worries!

[TheRealPepperPotts]

@DishLady Thanks and right back at you! :D

[Abbycado]

1, 2 and 3 hardcore. 5 is questionable on certain days. XD

[DishLady]

Yeah, 2 and 3 really are daily. 4 I do so I can achieve 5-7. 1 is the only one I need to get more serious about. I made piles yesterday after finishing the book.

[Abbycado]

That’s a good start! One of my roommates loves to do hair and makeup like we are dolls lol. She is actually good at it. Does it so I don’t look 16 lol.

[DishLady]

Ooooh. I'm a little jealous. My mom used to do my hair and I remember feeling so spoiled and gorgeous when she did my hair. Now she's passed on and I just go to the hairdresser for a proper blowout when the fancy strikes.

[Abbycado]

It is kinda nice when she offers. Far be it from me to judge for her liking doing my makeup. Saves me some hassle.

[DishLady]

Lol.