Out and About -- In the World at Large

[partlyscot]

A little later, another little girl 6 or so looked up at me so I winked at her and she broke out ion a huge grin. I also got similar reactions from other little girls.

I seem to get most reactions from younger girls, about that 6-7 year old range. I don't think, mostly, that they notice more than others, but they are more likely to show it. They are usually looking at the skirt with a frown, of concentration or confusion, I feel sure. A couple of times I've caught them looking for long enough that I am able to pull out the side of the skirt and say, "Do you like it?" with a smile, I always get a quick grin and a definite nod.

[Pdxfashionpioneer]

Hi Stevie,

The young fellow who shook my hand also said something to the effect that being oneself is what it's all about.

Sorry Kiltie,

I don't remember which shirt or blouse I was wearing that day.

For those of you wrestling with the issue of footwear, let me offer this. I was shopping in that same Fred Meyers today and this very sheepish woman in her 20's came up to me to tell me she loved my shoes (Nude patent leather pumps with 2-1/2" heels from Payless). I get compliments about my shoes from the other side of the aisles all the time. Ask yourself, when was the last time anyone complimented you on the shoes you got from the men's department?

Some day someone is going to ask me why I dress the way I do (it almost never happens ... honest) and I'll have to be honest and tell them, "It's the result of all of the positive feedback I've gotten for it." We all know that positive reinforcement increases the frequency of the subject behavior.

[crfriend]

Ask yourself, when was the last time anyone complimented you on the shoes you got from the men's department?

In a word, "Never."

I sort of envy the guys who can mix and match from either side. With the size trotters I have it's an absolute impossibility as the only stuff that's available from the "distaff side" is even uglier than the shoes I regularly wear. So, it it seems like I get testy on that count from time to time, that's why.

[Tor]

Well, Carl, you might have a harder time finding footwear you like (not that my feet are any smaller), but here's one you'll probably enjoy:

"It takes a bigger foundation to hold up a cathedral than an outhouse."

You can use church (or I suppose another grand building) if you prefer.

[crfriend]

"It takes a bigger foundation to hold up a cathedral than an outhouse."

I love it.

But it's not necessarily always true. I am drawn to two buildings in New York City, one of which was much beloved by my ex and another by me. Two more different buildings it's hard to imagine. This led to a certain amount of playful sparring to see "whose building" would show up at the tag end of the nightly network news -- and it was about a 50/50 split.

She loved the Empire State Building -- which sprawls (man-spreads?) across an entire city block before going vertical. My favourite has long been the Chrysler Building which, while almost as tall at the Empire State, has a positively tiny street-side footprint. I liken it to a "teacup skyscraper" -- very dainty and very ornate whereas the Empire State Building is this big macho gorilla by comparison.

[Pdxfashionpioneer]

Interesting choices.

I've always loved both. The Empire State because it was always the tallest while I was growing up and it just has such solid lines to it. And the Chrysler Building because there's nothing else I've seen to compare to it's Art Deco Cap.

They show up about as emblems of NYC, but I think the Empty State Building more frequently. Vacancies were a huge problem for its first decade of existence. It didn't break even until the '50's. But what a structure! And what a classic of project management. Built in record time and everything was lift straight off of the trucks and into place on the building. No staging areas.

[Ray]

Inspiring stuff! Being yourself and having the self-belief to do so can be a very attractive trait, especially when it involves swimming against the tide.

[Tor]

I've been atop the Empire State Building once, at around sunset. Long enough ago now that some of the details are lost to the mists of time. I do remember the pretty cap of the Crysler building being lit up (or at least starting to light up). Most of the rest of the details are, sadly, lost in the mists of time. There might be a few pictures that there is some hope of dredging up if I look for them, though.

I wouldn't mind getting back there sometime. Though the idea of nothing but wilderness forest for miles around is a little more interesting to me than a city, on the whole.

[oldsalt1]

On the lighter side. I am going to try skying again for the first time in a long while. To beat the rush I went and got my skis and boots rental today.
If you want a truly unique experience try putting on and especially taking off a pair of ski boots while wearing a skirt. Thank god I don't go commando.

[Kirbstone]

Frankly, Skiing is no place for skirts. For years we did downhill, but about ten years ago switched to langlauf, or cross-country. The kit is lighter and the boots are much more user-friendly than the downhill variety. With the proliferation of boards on the slopes now, cross country skiing is a lot less dangerous as well.

It is now almost 50 years since I first visited the Empire State. The twin towers weren't built then (1967) and the Chrysler building was the only 'rival', poking its elegant spire above all the others. The Woolworth building was Nr. 3.

Tom

[oldsalt1]

Tom I agree skying is no place for skirts. This was this morning trying on boots with the lady clerk at the ski rental shop.

[Kirbstone]

Too right, OS. We have a mounted photo on the pianoforte of MOH's grandmamma skating in Andermatt in 1928 in a skirt & overcoat. Ladies didn't wear trews then, but her 12 yr.-old daughter, my Mother-in-law was suited up very smartly on skis in matching trews & short jacket.
It was the Brits who started skiing in Andermatt and built the very first ski lift.

Tom

[crfriend]

We have a mounted photo on the pianoforte of MOH's grandmamma skating in Andermatt in 1928 in a skirt & overcoat.

Skating and skiing are two very different activities. I'd be willing to bet that if I could still stand up on skates I'd be able to deal with the endeavour in one of my long winter-ready rigs and acquit myself reasonably well. The problem is that I never learned to turn properly and could use up most of a very large pond to make a 180 degree turn. It was always easier to lie down, get up, and take off in another direction. But, I could go like a bat out of hell in a straight line.

Skiing I've never tried. Strapping barrel-staves to one's feet and caromming downhill on same at breakneck speeds seems like a recipe for disaster to me. I'll take my thrills elsewhere, thank you very much.

[Kirbstone]

My MOH was sent skiing from S. England several times as a schoolgirl, so was very competent when I met her, aged 21. I, coming from Ireland, had never ski-ed and undertook a term's tuition on a dry slope near where we lived prior to our first ski holiday 8.500 feet up an Italian Dolomite.
I took to it well and we went somewhere each year, even taking our first-born with us initially.

Fast forward 18 years and we're all six of us on the Feldberg in the Schwarzwald, Germany. On Day One, MOH & I are in an Auberge half-way down enjoying a gluehwein when No 1 spots our old-fashioned skis stacked outside, clumps in (in his downhill ski-boots) and it's an extra gluehwein. He is rapidly followed by the other three, so it's 6 (expensive) gluehweins!
Next day we hid our skis round the back and enjoyed our drinks while all four offsprings glided by in sequence and proceeded downhill assuming we weren't there! One of the joys of parenthood.

I grant that skating in a long skirt would be perfectly feasable. I enjoy it, but will never be a Torville. Advanced Cross-country skiing uses a rythmic skating motion and is surprisingly fast, but you need to be a rower, runner or cyclist to be fit enough for it.

Tom

[Charlie]

Ahhh skating. Take me back to the days of my yoof when they opened an ice rink in Bristol. Us lads all took up skating just to go and look at the girls in their short skater skirts. When the girls started wearing jeans our interest waned somewhat.
Half a century later I've got my own skater skirt which is just right for a hot summer's afternoon in the garden
Charlie