Some thoughts on glamour

Glamour has recently got a bad reputation - at least there has been a shift in its perception, which sometimes is not the way how real glamour should be understood. So, what is real glamour? Certainly not a loud hollywoody-celebrity-thing. Lady Gaga is far from it and there are more than one or the other actress running near behind her.

 No, I think, real glamour is much more a quiet thing, and therefore does not belong to the overall re-designed starlets.

There are some obvious things which belong not in this ticking box: Botox is not glamourous; neither are too weird shoes. Leggings, definitively not - only on Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, perhaps. And a handbag with too many troddles and applications. Badly coloured hair - no, no! Too small clothes on ALL bodyshapes.
Bad manners are a dead sure glamour killer; and hanging on the telephone all the time: at the table, in the metro, while being apparently in a conversation - in short, being available all times of the day. Speaking too loud is not glamourous as is being actively rude to other people while driving a car ( swearing your head out could be glamorous though - alone in the car). French manicure has lost its place in glamour. Short short skirts after 45, even if you have the legs. Lying naked on the beach - no. There is a fine line...

If I may take the liberty, I will make a not exhaustive list for your amusement and for mine of some things I - personally - do consider as being glamourous. And I do encourage each and everyone of you, women, men and children, to take good old glamour up again. Life is beautiful!!!

So, let´s get started.
A real smile is glamourous. Nice and clean teeth, even if not in perfect hollywood alignement. Good smell, not overwhelmingly announcing itself half an hour before the actual person comes near you. Clean skin. Little make-up. Graceful movements - every bodyshape can be graceful. Paying attention. Looking sharp out of intelligent eyes. Having a recognizable style of one´s own in dress and make-up. Being curious and open for all sorts of things. Learning something new. ( Here comes one thing I should do: learn how to put pictures on this blog... I promise, I will conquer it!)

 Knowing many different people and try to find common interests  - hereby providing a much bigger circle to all of your friends and aquaintances. Being honest. Courage, specially in the face of adversity. Having a signature scent and stick to it for years - the bliss of it! Humour and self-irony - actually humour is a sign of intelligence. Knowing which fashion to follow and which to leave to others. Better: Not following fashion slavishly at all. Dressing one´s age without giving anything of fun and beauty away ( this is a difficult one, but one can master it!)

 Aging gracefully. Many many laughing wrinkles. Laughing generally.....Beautiful hands (and short nails, preferably buffed and not lackered ALL the time). Well treated feet. Smoking, sometimes, for the fun of it. Not counting calories, but enjoying one´s food and be grateful for the good life we all lead. Kindness to everyone, also the beggar in the street. Talking one´s mind. Reading. Knowing how to look at art. And at people.

An old glamour secret: Keeping one´s mouth shut, when having nothing interesting to say.
The Unexpected is glamourous, but not the artificially unexpected - there is a trap here!

And concerning dressing, it is easy: by a certain age, we all know, what fits us and what does not really promote proper self esteem. This rule applies to women and men all the same. Clothes are there to fit us, not we to fit them! To stick to some beloved and proofed lovely garments, changing subtly the colours as the years advance and skin tones change, and then simply forget about how you look. Good qualitiy is always advisable. But sometimes the cheap find in the bazaar is a hit - why not? Knowing to dress up, when the occasion arises - and then not doing it in the Aschenputtel fashion, but with poise and grace and fun.

In short:  Glamour is there to feel alive, do as you like, having fun, loving life and being the unique "me" we all are in the end  - all the rest is bullshit  - easy!!