It's Never Goodbye to (Norma) Jeans ...

 

What's been happening in the big fashion world since Looking Our Best last took to Blogger back in August 2011?   Sparkly things, peplums, assymetric hems, onesies - not much there to whet the sartorial appetite of the stylish femme d'un certain age, methinks.  

Femme d'un certain age?  For any bewildered young fashionista who has accidentally strayed onto this blog, LOB (Looking Our Best) must re-state the minimum entry requirements - namely, if  cut-off shorts over faux suspender tights is your idea of the height of style,  then off with you  back to Forever 21  – there are thousands of fashion blogs out there in cyber space catering for you little darlings. LOB's blog is  for us elegant grown-ups who may be long past Miss Selfridge - but not quite ready for the elastic waistband hinterland of M & S Classics, either. 

There are enduring pieces of clothing, however, that transcend all ages, sizes, gender and trends - and no matter where you are are reading this, dear follower, look around and you will see evidence of these hardy perennials everywhere. Denim jeans remain a stalwart in any wardrobe, and have grown up in tandem through the decades with us baby-boomers. This also gives LOB an excuse to post  images of one of the most iconic stars ever to squeeze herself into a pair of Levis. Marilyn Monroe famously wore  denim jeans in her last completed picture, The Misfits, (1961),  scripted by her then husband, Arthur Miller, and directed by John Huston. 

These shots show that us wimmin can still look good in jeans,  even when blessed with a large rear extension. (Okay, okay, we don't all look like goddesses, and such a high-waisted style would have echoes of the dreaded 'Mom' jeans if worn by the rest of us). Marilyn was stuck with mens' jeans back in the day, so she would have loved Levis  modern Bold Curve range, designed for women with a small waist to hip ratio. Chain stores now too have got into the act with much more diversity in jeans styles and shape to accommodate all the womanly fruity variations, i.e. what we fifty-somethings refer to as pear-shaped or apple-shaped. (We will gloss over any 'elder lemon' references, thank you).   There are myriad websites out there with advice on how to choose denims to flatter http://www.typef.com/jeans-and-body-shape/.  Plus, the magic of elastane woven with denim gives modern jeans' designs that all important s-t-r-e-t-c-h, and a  degree of contour control. LOB is of the apple variety, and so to compensate the thickening waist and disappearing rear with a more Beyonce-like derriere,  finds Gap's Curvy jeans with back pockets flaps give the illusion of enhanced curve. Also spotted this week by LOB (in the current Debenhams sale) are these J by Jasper Conran jeans

   
  
(reduced to €50)  called Stretch and Lift. They are really flattering on the less than pert, with a wider than usual waistband and more detailed stitching, while the stretchiness heads off  attempts by the bum to sag southwards. Meanwhile, to keep the inspiration going (and to justify that headline), here's another pic of Marilyn, back when she was goddess-in-waiting Norma Jean, wearing her denims like a real star.  See, jeans really are timeless ...