As a society the general idea is anything goes or why bother. At meetings with support groups, random meetings with individuals, even shopping, doctor's visits, etc, it seems most are wearing what they grabbed in the closet without looking. If they have nice clothes they are saving them for the next party or next night out on the town. If I may offer a little advice without offending everyone. It doesn't take much effort nor cost an arm and leg to look nice, if not exceptional. Start with the basics, the cloth, the color, the cut, and the style.

Cloth be it from polyester, cotton, silk, or a combination, if it is woven from small light tight thread, one can tell by feel it is upper quality. Clothes made from this are found in the name brand fashion stores. Cloth woven from the thicker looser thread found in mass production makes up the clothes one finds in stores such as Walmart.

Denier is a unit of measurement used to determine the fiber thickness of individual threads or filaments used in the creation of textiles and fabrics. Fabrics woven from a high denier count tend to be thick, sturdy, and durable. Fabrics with a low denier count tend to be more sheer, soft, and silky.

Next one must understand Thread Count, also called threadcount or threads per inch. TPI is a measure of how course or fine the fabric may be. Small Denier thread may have a high thread count in upscale fabric and still be soft and smooth. I won't get into staple which is why certain kinds of raw cotton are chosen for high end fabric and why polyester almost put cotton out of the clothes fabric business.

Cutting through all the fog of choosing clothes whether dresses, blouses, suits, jeans, or? One should be able to feel.the material and understand where the dress or suit lands either as sold in Walmart or Bloomingdale's. An eight hundred dollar dress or suit need not cost retail price. Only two dresses were purchased on sale at exclusive fashion stores. My favorite ones came from the second hand stores at a tiny fraction of original cost.

For everyone who holds a woman in their arms and she feels soft and slippery? She is probably wearing a thousand dollar dress even if she didn't pay that much for it. Even if she no longer has the wow figure, she still receives the compliments. Women will say she looks nice. Men will admire her with their eyes. She knows without doubt the dress was worth every penny. And if anyone wants my opinion? The soft blue, silk, Mandarin dress is beautiful. It also showcases the extra five pounds and I can no longer wear it. The tan, polyester, ultra soft shirtwaist dress is cut to show a slim figure. It too shows the extra pounds. Skirts and blouses or jeans can hide a lot and are low maintenance. If one no longer has a wow figure, wear the clothes to do the work. Jewelry will present a wide compliment to any attire, even denim.

Twice this week while out shopping I received compliments. One was in a parking lot. "Miss, miss, i like your outfit." She called out as I was walking past her car. I thanked her for the compliment and told her it was sweet of her to notice. Several days later the second was inside Walmart, I was wearing jeans. A lady was walking down the aisle toward me. "I do love your hat and your coat." I stopped, thanked her, and complimented her on her beautiful daughter in the cart. I said she must get her beauty from her mother. The lady was actually quite attractive. The conversation lasted approximately three minutes. I often compliment females on their attire and or hair if they are outstanding, receiving polite responses in return.

Ladies, whether you are genetic female or transgender, you represent all of us. I hope you are comfortable and have enough self worth pride to do so with grace and dignity. If your thing is to march, protest, scream at the unfair treatment women are subjugated to. Go for it. I'll support you but I won't join you. Maybe you could give my way a trial. Dress nice look nice, be nice with that body you were blessed with. Compliments are confirmation one is doing it right. Remember there is only one first impression. Today you might make one first impression or several hundred.
Barbie Jean