I was really really good this week upon our return from the gluttonous three days in Paris. My only regret on the trip was that I never treated myself to chocolat chaud—and it was because I actually forgot to stop and have a cup. I was too enamored with the café crèmes!
How could I have possibly FORGOTTEN about chocolate chaud. Last year’s visit to Paris had me drinking multiples! I really have changed my eating and drinking habits!
I’m happy that I dropped another pound. Not necessarily because of the numbers, but because I’ve managed to stick to something. Will power and determination are still my motivation.
I made a promise to my feet that next weekend I will give them a proper pedicure! Almost 20 pounds lost without deprivation!
And during this Holiday Season, I shall not deprive myself but I will make small changes. One of the changes is that for the first time in many years, I will break tradition and not serve the beloved Martha Stewart Eggnog. Between the whipped cream, the heavy cream, the sugar, the eggs and the booze, it’s just too heavy.
Instead, we will have cocktail hour—or rather cocktail hours. I will be reading through my “Schiller’s Liquor Bar” series of cocktail recipes and keep everyone’s spirits bright. Yeah—empty calories will still be consumed but won’t be laden with fat!
My volume of cocktails that I will be studying. Schillers Liquor Bar series is quite the treasure chest of spirits! Notice how protective Bonaparte is of the Creme de Cassis!
I’m also cutting down on the amount of baking. But that’s another post.
With this weight loss of almost 20 pounds over the course of almost four months, it is a great feeling to be able to fit into clothing that I haven’t been able to wear in a long time. It’s fun to fit my calves into a pair of boots that I broke trying to pull the zipper up.
Three months ago, I broke the zipper pull on these overpriced Tory Burch boots. The reason being was the I could not zipper my calves into them. I cannot believe that I have a bit of room between boots and jeans now. I stopped hating these boots!
But—the article of clothing that I’ve failed to pay attention to is pretty underwear! Yeah. Sexy underwear. Feminine underwear. Pretty, lacy bras that push you up and almost defy gravity.
And the panties. Yes. The panties! Truth be told. And you know I’m going to be completely honest with you as I have no boundaries. Some of my panties have got to be, like—ten years old! I swear, I’m not kidding! They are models that I don’t even think are made anymore. Somewhere in between granny pants, high-waisted and high-cut thigh bathing suit bottoms that were popular back in the 1980’s—that’s what I have. They suck the tummy in, but they also give intense panty line. And why do I even walk around with panties that have exhibit such severe panty line that it looks like I have a four-cheeked ass!
See what I mean? Look how ill-fitting and disgusting these old, year-of-the-flood panties make my ass look. I’m a four-cheeked wonder….
And now–with the magic of the ONE pair of those panties that don’t give panty line, and a pose that would make Kim Kardashian jealous, I have a normal derriere! I give photo credit to Bonaparte-even if he tried to talk me out of taking these pics!
Why do we stop paying attention to what we are wearing under our clothing when we get older? Look—I have some nice matching sets, but they are relegated to airline flights. I figured if I wear a nice matching set and something happens to the plane and my body is sliced in two, the rescue workers can put me back together by matching my bra with my panties. Can we talk about this?
I wish I could talk to a therapist about why we stop wearing pretty underwear when we reach a certain age? Why?
I had heard many times and had read that French and other European women are really into their pretty underwear. I had proof of that last week as I decided to treat myself by purchasing a couple of bras from Princesse tam tam at Galeries Lafayette.
Buying French bras was actually quite a lovely experience..
Yes. This IS the best bra I’ve ever worn in my life. Comfortable. Great fit and just enough lift. And the color is awesome! I think I could wear this as a bathing suit top!
Still, the sales girl was perplexed when I told her I didn’t want the matching panties. I just wanted the bras. I figured I could just make do with the old and raggy panties I have at home.
And when I arrived home I spotted a pop up for the site Adore Me and went in. It was from “Adore Me’. Have you ever seen this site? It’s a site for lingerie, swimwear, active wear—and most of all, pretty, lacy, feminine, girly and womanly underwear. And the prices are very purse-friendly! At $24.95 with free shipping on the first “set”, I’m intrigued.
I’ve perused this site for over an hour last night looking at the many sets and realized that I need to treat myself more often to decent undergarments. I felt like such a voyeur—looking at young women in their underwear! Shame on me! The site wasn’t enough—I ended up following Adore me on Instagram! But the sets are so beautiful.
I felt like a voyeur–just looking at all the pretty underwear that I didn’t have made me feel so shameful. I need to do something about this right now! I need to get me more pretty underwear!
I even made a wish list—of which I will be shoving in Bonaparte’s face as a reminder of what Santa needs to bring me!
Readers. Meet Noreh. Isn’t she adorable? Oh..and the sets have exotic names too!
This is Evetta–and resembles more of what I’m used to–in a bra! I do love this set because the bra is a perfect one to wear under a t-shirt!
Elexis –I think I will make you mine because of my love for the color red! I could have used these panties before I reached the age of menopause because they would remain stain free if you know what I mean!
Surprise!! This is Paris! Can you believe it? Actually the bra looks a lot like one of the bras I purchased from Princesse tam.tam. I LOVE this set.
And completely out-of-the box for me is this corset. I would actually wear this corset as a top with skinny jeans and a black blazer. I love this. Meet Bernice–the name may not sexy but the look sure is!
And this pajama set is right up my alley. Plaid shorts.
I do have to give some major kudos to the Adore Me for including women of all sizes. It’s about time that curvy and voluptuous women get the the same beautiful undergarments and lingerie that their leaner counterparts have always had access to! It is a pleasure to see inclusion rather than exclusion….but…..
..The one thing that is lacking is photos of older women on the site. Women of all sizes and ages wear bras. And panties. And swimwear. So please don’t dismiss us. We’ve come a long way—curvy women used to be ignored and now they are celebrated. Let’s come into the home stretch by celebrating women over 50 plus! Lots of older women have bangin’ bodies! Hey—give me another ten pounds and I would pose in the sets. My only demand would be a bit of airbrushing, a stellar bikini wax, spray tan and a good makeup artist! I can supply my own wardrobe of hair!
That’s right. 60 is the new 20! And SOME of us don’t have fillers or botox (yet)…
Seriously. Older women—unite! Get the girls into some sexy underwear. And be sexy for yourself! You don’t have to impress anyone anymore! Do it for you! And while I decide which sets will make my short list, I just may treat myself to the cute 5-pair for twenty dollars panties! My derriere could use some lovin’ in the form of no panty lines!
Am I right?
Back to normal and work and here’s a sampling of what I wore this week!
Monday’s look was my favorite! Mostly because I had clean hair and only needed a smaller topper! But I’m loving these plaid skimmer pants that I ordered from J. Crew Factory. I wore them with shoes from Nine West that have been in my closet, unworn, for years. And the sweater is an old Tippi sweater from J. Crew. I love these pants–and they are lined too!
Tuesday’s look was one that I thought was fun. J. Crew Factory had a huge 40% sale and so I ordered this cute tweed skirt. I love it and it is adorable for Holiday Season. I wore a buffalo plaid shirt under another old Tippi sweater. Black and white and read. The combo is great.
Lately, I’m into pointy-toed heels with ankle pants and jeans. I wish I knew the “name” of these pants that I got years ago from J. Crew because now that they fit, I love them! A striped sweater keeps me warm in the office. My red Longchamp bag is getting lots of love from me this week!
I over slept today and threw on old J. Crew pixie pants, a plaid shirt from J. Crew Factory (BTW, I wore the unlined lace bra from Princess tam.tam today–it was perfect under this shirt because the buttons stayed put around the bust line!) A cardigan and the boots that didn’t fit for years!!! I wore my fake hair back today for a casual look–but mostly because I didn’t have time to fool around with it!
And that was my week in clothing! If you notice, I wear a lot of old clothes. I think if you stick to simple cuts and clothing that isn’t trendy, you can get many years of use from them!
Well, whadaya think? Are you in with me to start wearing more womanly underwear? I think I’ll go clean out my underwear drawer now and get rid of the really raggy stuff!!
Since I’m on a girly roll this week, how could I not play this song by Jane Birkin “Apocolypstick”? What a title! What a singer! What a girly!!
I cannot wear those crack panties………..THAT WOULD BOTHER ME NO END!NOW a full lacey pantie would be fine………….I LOVE THE RED SET…………I will check them out!I am having problems with bras this year……..maybe because I am gaining weight but I have been measured at least three times by YOUNG THINGS and none of these EXPENSIVE bras are working for me………..some are MASSIVE!I just TOSSED one the rest can go when I find a replacement!
OFF TO SHOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SEE MY COMMENT on your last POST…………underwear at the SUPERMERCADOS in FRANCE are THE BEST!
Elizabeth! I just replied to the other comment. I think bras are fitting me better due to the weight loss. But the crack panties–the thongs. I have a good story for you. Years ago. YEARS ago when the kids were all young and thongs came out for the first time. I had a couple of pairs. Anyway, they were so comfortable that I forgot I had them on. Well, we drove to Florida and had to make a rest stop in the middle of the night. I went to the bathroom. And when I pulled up my pants, I thought it was odd that I wasn’t pulling up my panties. I FORGOT TO TAKE THEM OFF WHEN I WENT TO THE BATHROOM!! I rode the rest of the way commando. That was the last time I wore a thong!! XOXOXOXO!!!
CAN you hear me LAUGHING!!!!!!!!!XX
I want to thank you so much for your post. Really for all of them. I am drooling to go to Paris now. The lingerie thing is important. I am going to buy some right now because I need to update my granny undies and bras. I am a 38DD so I am always worried about support in the lacy, attractive bras. Also you are amazing. 20lbs in 4 months is really great!
Do you exercise regularly? I have found that routine workouts really maintain weight loss but the ONLY way to lose is to eat less cals. I so admire your work in your blog. Where did you get the Catherine “cartoon
Hi Julia. Shamefully, I do not formally excercise. My excercise while in Paris was walking. When I lived in NYC my excercise was walking. I walked everywhere. Everywhere. Now in the ‘burbs, to excercise you have to spend a fortune at a gym. And I can’t stand walking around here because it’s boring. So I’ll go to the mall and walk and at work, I park down a hill and walk to the office and back to my car. I also find myself going up and down the stairs at home a lot. Eating less is really the only way to do it. But when I reach goal I’m going to have to find an activity.
The cartoon is actually from “bitmoji” a mobile app. Go to app store on your phone and upload it. It’s a riot!
Julia–go and buy those bras! Aren’t they great??? I think we all need to treat ourselves!!
Thank you so much for your compliments about the blog–I swear that’s what keeps me going! XOXOXOXO!!!
The seamed construction of those lacy bras do all the work. They lift and hoist and hold. And they don’t give you ‘extra’ like those t-shirt bras do. I will never go back.
Hi Patricia! I hear ya on that. I compared my princesse tam tam bra to the victoria’s secret bras and bejeezus….the VS bras have a ton more EVERYTHING and the Princesse tam tam has half the “stuff” yet gives a better shape! Go figure! XOXOXOXO!
Love your cute outfits! Looking good, girl!
Thanks Hannah!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I wear better underwear now than I did in my youth! I watched an episode of Oprah when she had a couple of British women on who were bra fitting experts. They just randomly rolled up to women shopping in a department store and asked if they wanted a new bra ( these were women who clearly needed ‘support’! )One comment they made was that North American women are all pretty much wearing the wrong size bras! Cup too small and bands too big. The biggest cup you can usually find is a DDDD. I took myself off to a bra shop and came out pretty shocked that I really was a 34FF! My bra was 36C! Amazing what a well fitted bra can do…in the US there is a great web site called HerRoom.com. They carry a huge selection of lingerie, bras, panties, hosiery etc! They ship to Canada and have great sales! Check it out. I love Fantasie and Fayreform. Freya and Prima Donna are great if you’re feeling flush than Empreinte is gorgeous!
There is absolutely NOTHING that will make you look more ‘matronly’ at any age ( or boob size) than a badly fitted bra and a saggy bosom. And it’s such an easy fix!
Hi Momcat. That’s why I was so incredibly thrilled when I was fitted at Princesse tam.tam. I have quite a bit of Victoria’s Secret bras and I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my bras just buckle..the new bras didn’t do that! At all! I’m definitely going to check out HerRoom too! Thanks for the heads up!! XOXOXO!!!
Catherine, it is completely ok to talk underwear on your blog!! I appreciate the information and while I know that spending the time and money to shop for good quality bras and nice underwear would be a good thing to do, I just never feel like i have the time. I know it is silly, but life is so full and I guess I think because no one can see it, who cares. Guess I need to reevaluate my mind set. Thanks for the good info! – Amy
http://stylingrannymama.com/
Hi Amy. Am I right? We NEVER talk about the foundation to a great wardrobe. Yet–I can remember in Catholic school the nuns always talking about a good foundation for values. Why is it that we don’t take that thinking into everything–including underwear!!!! XXXXXXOOOO!!!!
The thong style is Not for me – I like a good support in the panty with no visible lines and I think being fitted by a bra specialist is important – too many women in the wrong size or type and it ruins their appearance – foundation garments are an investment in maintaining some chic! We don’t have to broadcast our gravity issues as we age! Good topic!
Hi Olwyn. I’m glad you are liking this topic. I’m not much of a thong person, but I am a fan of those panties that don’t exhibit panty line! Bra fitting is stellar and I cannot begin to tell you how “off” the bra fittings in the USA are! It takes a European fitter to give your girls what they so deserve!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!!
In France sexy underwear is very common. And the French man is very appreciative! My drawers house mainly lacy thingies with a couple of plain flesh coloured ones to wear under close fitting T-shirts.
I buy mine nearly exclusively at Galeries Lafayette; during sales period, mind you. They have these very amazing fitting rooms where you can actually move around without slamming your elbow into the wall. You can even bring your other half, it’s so spacious. They also have two settings of lights. One for daylight and one for the evening with low lighting. Very chic! You must try it next time.
Oh B, I was in fitting room heaven at the Princesse tam.tam fitting room! It was so girly and spacious and comfortable!! I need to travel back to France based on underwear alone!!! XOXOXOXOX!!!
I have to agree that the foundation is just as important as the building—and thus the reason for nice undies and great bras!! I love the selection you’ve shown!
I love my thong undies….it’s funny how some women are so against them. But it’s like anything—don’t you remember hating wearing a bra, but we got used to it!!
jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Hi Jodie! It’s funny, but I never hated wearing a bra. During the high school days of bra burning, the test was if a pencil falls to the ground while resting under your boobs you don’t need a bra. I went braless a lot! But after having kids , a doctor actually told me that an underwire bra was the way to go…and I”ve been wearing them ever since. It’s a shame that we don’t address our underwear the way we address all other clothing!!! Right???!! (BTW, I LOVED your funeral dressing post!!! ) XOXOXOXO!!!
The red bra and knickers set it gorgeous. I too only buy the bra and never the undies. I have never worn a thong (g string in Australia as thongs are flip flops) and I always wear some sort of spanx type of underwear over my knickers. I feel naked without it though can be a bit hot in the summer!!
Yvonne. It’s soooooooooo weird that I don’t pay attention to the panties the way I pay attention to the bras. I’m actually happy that you feel the same way. The spanx types, I can’t deal with. I would rather let my fat hang out!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Jumping up and down clapping! Yes! Although I’m not a fan of thongs, there are lots of cute panties with no-show elastics, boy shorts and other styles that don’t show lines. And you can’t have too many lacy bras.
(And I fear no fat, but the carbs add padding where I don’t want it. If only I could squeeze it upwards where I could use a little extra. Oh well.)
KB. Did you ever see the movie “Up the Sandbox” with Barbra Striesand? There is a scene where she does just that. Pushes the fat right upwards to her tits. I love it because that is what I would love to do too!!!!! XOXOXOXOX!!!
You and I are on the same weight loss path – I altered my diet in May and have dropped about 20 lbs. Looking to lose those last 10.
I’m a diehard granny panties kind of gal though.
LOL. Tami. Those last ten pounds are a bitch-and-a-half! It takes longer for those pounds to say adios than the other pounds!! Sometimes. I would rather just go commando!! XOXOXOXO!!!
Such a timely post…I only wear underwires and the wires in both came poking through jabbing me in the underarm area…guess there is a lifespan for bras and my time was up. My biggest concern with bras is that the straps slide off my shoulders…it is so positively annoying. It doesn’t matter how much I spend, the same thing always happens. I finally (actually I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner) sewed a short piece of elastic around the shoulder blade area connecting the 2 straps. Now no slippage. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Your weight loss is impressive….I am trying to use you as an inspiration to walk more and cut out all the junk…20 lbs less looks excellent on you. 🙂
Wait. Jeanne. How did you sew that elastic? My bra straps are constantly falling and it drives me crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!! No matter what I do, they slide!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
In answer to the straps falling (which incidently I have shoulders like a ski slope). When you buy a bra study where the straps are, you need to find one where the strap are more central to the cup, so they stay on you shoulders, if you sew you could unpick the straps at the back and re position them an inch or sew inwards to help them stay put.or like mentioned you can attach elastic to the straps grouping them together at the back so they resemble a racer back bra, sort of! hope that helps x
Hi Louise. OMG. What a simple solution. I do sew and I cannot believe I didn’t think of that!!! Thank you!! XOXOXOXOXO!!!
Hey Catherine…here is the link to my post on elastic strips…it’s not attractive and once the pieces are in place, you have to put on the bra over your head, like a tee shirt…but it does work. Happy Sewing. 🙂
http://doodlet.me/2015/09/slip-and-slide-the-end/
Have you ever checked out Reddit.com? It has a sub reddit called abrathatfits. Tons of great info on how to measure for a properly fitted bra as well as sources for purchasing them.
Hi Jeunefille! I’m going to check Reddit out for “abrathatfits” Thank you for the suggestion!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
I´m a big fan of fancy underwear, even though being a 34DD I have problems finding properly fitting bras at H&M and cheaper stores here in Stockholm, so I always have to go to expensive stores for the REAL stuff! I also hate when they do bras with slinky straps that doesn’t really do the job of keeping the girls up…Years ago I went to Dublin for the first time, and found that Irish girls obviously have a bit bigger butts (Like me!) and boobs (like me) because for the first time I found both trousers and bras that fitted! Lets admit, I went a little crazy…I also found the loveliest salesperson who just didn’t give up until I found bras I actually loved! I walked out of that store a new woman, back straight and the girls looking good under that sweater. A few years later I went back to Dublin and she was still there and another 4 bras were bought:) Dublin will always be my Bra-paradise city.
PS Being into vintage I can tell you those corsets are really sexy (and make you feel it too) and clothes look absolutely amazing on top of them…
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