On Dressing nicely....For Other Women

Hi Ragers and Ragettes!!!  It's a rainy, grey and bleak Saturday.  Boo. So here I am typing this from my vanity table, which I cleaned while I am waiting for the laundry to finish it's spin cycle.   But that hasn't stopped me from wearing my favourite vintage dress (blue, turquoise, lime green flowers), my favourite tan sandals, my red lippy and the necklace that Suzanne gave me.

Why am I all dressed up you may ask?  Well, after my Personal Training session with Brad today (I am losing weight!  6 pounds down and I am noticing a difference as I am getting my waist and my curves are started to get more defined....Body Con dresses here I come! Plus Suzanne says that my cheekbones are starting to come through....result!) I got home and showered.  I put my favourite dress on because I went to get my nails done.  

Now getting your nails done or going to a beauty salon has an unwritten understanding about fashion here in Merseyside. You go to the salon to be seen.  As St Helens is a relatively small town everyone seems to know everyone's business.  The girl who does my nails for example lives a 5 minute walk to the St Helens Rage Towers, plus Simon's mum goes to this same salon.  So when I sat down to get my nails done, Cindy (names changed to protect the innocent...or not so innocent) the nail technician and all around nice girl and beauty therapist she started discussing my life from the perspective of Simon's mum.  Wow.  That's strange....and uncomfortable.  Cindy immediately complimented my outfit and look today.  Around me women were wearing maxi dresses, sandals, capri pants, cute tops.  

You see, when us women get dressed up, we are not dressing up for men, we are dressing up for us women.  Especially in Merseyside, fashion is taken very seriously.  The look here is what I call The Orange Barbie.  Most women in Merseyside are bleach blonde, tanned to the point of looking like they have been gang raped by a bag of doritos.  The clothing?  In summer you will get the following looks:  maxi dress with seriously high platforms, jean shorts with tights under (yes, I don't get it either), playsuits with flat sandals.  The hair is either long curled extensions or pulled up on the top of the head in a huge bun.  

Now as I said before, fashion is a personal thing and I would never, ever criticise anyone for their fashion choices but people here look like carbon copies.  So when I was sitting there getting my Shellac nails (nail polish that stays on for 2 - 3 weeks) the amount of looks I got.  Some gave me nods of appreciation, some just stared at me like I was a curiosity in a freak show.  Either way, I provoked a response, which is what us women want.

Fashion is like art.  It's a statement.  I knew a girl in university who used to have a mess of curly hair.  I mean this was a big blonde afro!!  She used to come into school every day wearing a long skirt, long t-shirt and her hair....well, she would put branches, leaves and all sorts in it!!!  I remember she came in with fake birds in!!  Wow!!  She did it, though, to provoke a response and that is what us women do when we go out dressed to the nines.

In Trieste, Italy,  where Mama Rage is from, there is a high percentage of people who are elderly and the women, every day, when they go to the shops you don't see them wearing jeans, t-shirts, and trainers.  No, they put on their dresses and skirts, their nice sandals, do their hair and make up, take their best hand bag and go out to be seen getting pastries, cheese and such.  It's something that has always stayed with me.  That's why when I go back to Trieste, I don't pack sloppy clothes.  I pack my best dresses, make up and I make sure I bring my straighteners, curling iron and hair powder.  When in Rome, after all...

So after I had a gorgeous scarlet colour called Decadence put on my nails, I got up strutted my stuff in front of the room, I could feel the other women's stares on my outfit and pale skin and ruby red lips, I strutted to the reception area to pay for my treatment.  I booked in for another session in 2 weeks time and I even booked in for a pedicure.  (My feet are a state!!  I mean really!  It's so bad that I can exfoliate my legs with the bottom of one foot!!!  It's not very good at all!!) I left a generous tip, put my large sunglasses on (even though it was raining) and strutted out the shop feeling like I won the fashion parade today.  

Simon pulled up in his Range Rover and I got in.  I felt smug, like a million dollars for the first time in a long time.  And why shouldn't I?  I have an amazing boyfriend, a great job, good friends and I am getting my body and my power and confidence back.  

So Ragers and Ragettes, when I woman is dressing to the nines, she isn't having an affair.  She is trying to win the fucked fashion parade that us women do every day.  My catwalk is the pavement.  And I own that shit!

Have a great Saturday, Ragers and Ragettes and remember, if you are feeling sad, put your best outfit on, even if you are going for a pint of milk or to get more bread at the shop.  It keeps people guessing and there is nothing more delicious than people wondering what you are up to....being a woman of mystery is a very sexy thing!  I am going to run a bath now, pour a glass of wine and see if I can pull Simon away from his playstation for a half an hour or so...I mean, who else is going to help me scrub my hard to reach bits?  A couple that bathes together stays together!!!!

Lots of Love

The Fabulous Betty Rage