Matisse in the Mix: Print is here!
When the sun beats down, the only way to cool off is to take a trip into the world of technicolour. This season Matisse has me all dressed up. I just wish I had somewhere to go...
One’s mid- to late thirties are a very odd time. You still have the energy to do the things. All the things. Maybe not until 5am but until a respectable 1 am in heels at least. You might realise that boobtube tops and visible thong lines are a thing of the past or that they will in fact NEVER appear on your lithe (LOL), tanned torso. But you can still shake your tail feathers at the silent disco like the rest of them. Your collagen is clinging onto your face (barely) and your bank balance is remarkably more stable than that of your early 20’s where you had to decide between shimmer lipgloss and a kebab takeaway (no? just me then). But the world is ready to put you in the ‘geri’ corner (that’s geriatric for the geri’s out there who don’t know what FIL stands for1).
This little pocket of good times, is meant to be full of - good times. Career pats on the back. Weddings, babies, buying houses, new cars, setting up roots, or ripping them out for what you really want. Packing up and travelling, starting that side hustle, retraining as a reiki master. Throwing caution to the wind. Buying a house and settling down. Making decisions and not apologising for them. Hell I don’t know - embracing tye dye t-shirts as your uniform. Okay maybe not quite that. But you know what I’m getting at. You feel more confident in the world. Like your feet are firm but not completely anchored into the ground. You say no to things you don’t want to do and a firm yes to the Backstreet Boys reunion tour because you can and you don’t care what people think. You start giving waiters a 10 minute breakdown of exactly how you want your eggs benedict because you now know that you want your bacon extra crispy and your yolks runny but the whites hard. You work damn hard for your money so you will have your brunch just the way you want it thank you very much.
And yet while you are feeling out this new found confidence, the world is callously trying to derail you yet again. Getting a divorce? Oooooh are you going to freeze your eggs? Going travelling? On your own? But why, when you’ve worked so hard to get to where you are at that awful grey corporate place that smells funny at lunchtime? Where is your base? What do you mean you don’t have one? Homeschooling? Really? Is that the best thing… Ermahgerd the judgement never ends. I thought there would be a little golden gap between the high school judgement and the old lady judgement. A little eye in the storm of being a woman. This is a magical place where you finally have a handle on your period and don’t have to worry about the menopause just yet. You are living your best life - doing the things that you want to do and society just happily gives you the space to do it. BUT NO.
Having a baby in my late thirties I was termed a ‘geriatric mother’. Are you kidding me? Look up the term ‘geriatric’ and you will read about over 65’s and hip operations. At no point do they mention giving birth as a part of this world. So why was it on my hospital chart? While my female gynae didn’t bat an eyelid at me being a so called ‘older’ mother, she also didn’t refute the term. And yes medically I might not be as creak free as the teenage moms out there, but I am still not ready to put on that mid turkey neck string of pearls and peachy-apricot lipstick. I want to LIVE. Roll down my window and stick my head out. Revel in my slowly disappearing youth.
I might not be as creak free as the teenage moms out there, but I am still not ready to put on that mid turkey neck string of pearls and peachy-apricot lipstick.
But heading out to the trendy beaches in Cape Town has me wondering if maybe I need to push my zimmer frame back into my geri’ box. The amount of botox, trout pouts, hair extensions, marble abs, tattoos, butt grazing braids and micro thong bikinis clinging to lithe, golden limbed bodies by a..string was solidly depressing.
There I was in my CANSA association approved sunhat, under an umbrella in a long sleeve beach cover up. So on the one hand the carefree desire is there, but the responsible part of my brain takes over and reminds me that skin cancer is this country’s second biggest killer and those twenty somethings will be ruing the days they went out in a UVB factor 30 (UVA + UVB 50+ for the win people!).
That being said it’s not quite time to put my funeral garb on and retire to my sartorial coffin just yet. For with the arrival of summer comes an onslaught of colour. And colour can do wonders for your mood. No, scratch that, colour can do wonders for your AGE. Just ask Iris Apfel.2
Now we all know that Dopamine Dressing is a thing. You are welcome to pop off and buy another overpriced, pseudo intellectual book all about it. The moral of the story is that colour = good mood. Pick a colour that you like and go wild. You will feel good. End of.
So this summer I am taking dopamine dressing where no dopamine has gone before. This summer I am embracing print. Because I figured that print is colour 2.0. Find the right print and you look cool and interesting. It’s a statement, no matter your age. A bit like Matisse (the inspiration behind my moodboard) it shows you are happy standing out. Pastels are for wallflowers. It’s time to make a statement.
I’ve chosen silhouettes that are cool and floaty but their graphic prints give them structure and balance. You won’t feel like your drowning. If anything they will give you the direction to help navigate whatever judgy narrative the world is going to throw at you next. Navigate in style. Good luck…
picture credits:
Embroidered T-shirt, R499, Zara
Colourblock bag, R899, Zara
Tie-front detail dress, R999, Me&B
Jackie Veldman print, R2 500, Source Artistry
Soft trousers, R799, Poetry
Halter dress, R1 299, Zara
Coverup, R549, Superbalist
Tara Deacon, R2 500, Source Artistry
Pleated Skirt, R599, bash
Embroidered T-shirt, R499, Zara
Tie-front detail dress, R999, Me&B
Sigh - That’s First In Line in case you needed the help.
Ah love your newsletters! And being a lover of colour, you’re welcome to come and raid my (very old) wardrobe ;) x
Love the colour! My work colleague also loves bright prints and is obsessed with a local Aus brand @misterzimi , check it out ☺️