Body surfing waves is playtime for me. My usual uniform is a plain Speedo. When I crash into the shoreline, I don’t want to shock the beachcombers with any body parts hanging out.
There was a time all my swimsuits were black.
I was after the illusion of sleek flesh, hard to get when you are round as I am.
These suits lack…sizzle. Think wet nun and you’ll be close.
Black had other advantages beside slimming my curves. My mother would not let me near the colour, despite my pleas, until I was 16. I promptly went out and bought the first of what would become a series of black dresses, imagining it lent me some fatale with my femme.
Wearing black sent a very adult message, I reasoned. It is still a wardrobe staple. But only as an anchor for the screaming colour fiesta on top.
Moroccan born Alber Elbaz is creative director of Lanvin, one of the most revered fashion houses in the world. Elbaz advised diminutive actor Natalie Portman to resist the temptation to wear heels.
Speaking in this month’s Style magazine, Portman says she learned from the Parisian based designer what the French are known for:
“celebrating something about yourself that others might say is your flaw.”
I’m listening.
This month, Jann Arden is featured nude in the Zoomer magazine centre fold and says turning fifty is no time for slinking into the shadows.
Right on.
When I get to fifty I may join you in the fuchsia spotlight.
Abandoning the black suit is now the plan. I told the sweet and very helpful staff at the swimsuit store that it was time for some colour.
Look for me surf side, in a tropical garden…of cleavage.
That’s worth celebrating.
I’d like to think the great Maya Angelou agrees with me.
Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Maya Angelou
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