Wow and thanks

This is the reason I do this.


A person thinks about things in her own head in her own house and just wonders. Turns out she's not the only one. 


This is what makes blogging, Pinterest (which I love) and the rest of it so interesting.


All the great ideas on the nail issue fascinated me and gave me nail hope. Thanks so much. And of course any of the folks who do the gel/shellac/lacquer thing and want to give more detail please feel free to do that.


This discussion is all part of a larger issue to me and that's the whole letting go syndrome.


You know what I mean. 


Even when I was little I remember my mother and her friends occasionally talk about someone who let herself go. This meant the staying at home thing, the not working or being older syndrome where the issue was no was was around to see.


So why bother. 


Of wearing it still because it hadn't worn out. Of not caring really what was new or not this season.


And I think that at some stage in most women's lives there comes a point where they can say it doesn't really matter any more.


I was talking last night to my mother and she had run into the granddaughter of a friend and nemesis of my paternal grandmother. A certain Katie White, who my grandmother used to dis for still having her nails done and wearing good shoes even in her late 80's when she lived alone in an apartment with her sister.


I seem to recall my grandmother saying something like "who does she think she is?"


Well exactly.


It seems to me that women get into the most trouble in their lives when they stop thinking they are something. That they are worth a future, respect, presence. When they think it matters only if someone is watching.


The world is certainly not going to give you more respect and care than you are giving yourself.


That's part of why nails are not a frivolous question.


But busy women need strategies to do this. 


I work, I take care of grandchildren, I walk dogs and I run around a lot. I need style that has comfort and doesn't take more time than I have.


This is a topic I will be coming back to a lot.


In the meantime I am going to start a proper Pinterest board of style with comfort for the speedy life, and here's a start:


Smoking shoes: a big fall trend and one that works for me:

Bouchra Jarra's easy to copy family holiday look:

Philp Lim's coat for women who want some of the biker jacket look but want it to be wearable and warmer:

More later.