Our color class was taught by one of the classiest women I’ve ever met: Cindy Wakefield:
Again, a creeper picture. I wasn’t able to get any great pictures of her in our color class, and so I hoped to get one when she sat across the table from me. I set my camera on the table. Aimed it… and *snap!* But it wasn’t all that great.
Creeping does not pay.
I wonder why I keep doing it.
Cindy had us each sit in a chair at the front of the class and she took a magical little magnifying glass with a light on it (maybe there wasn’t a light. I can’t remember). She used it to look at our eyes and determine whether we were warm or cool colors. After checking our eye color, she’d drape a pink piece of cloth over us… and then a peach. If the pink looked better than the peach, we were cool colored. If the peach looked better than the peach, we were warm colored.
My Aunt Julie Strong joked as she sat in THE CHAIR that she felt like she was at Hogwarts getting sorted.
Mom and I were both cool colored. I always thought I was warm colored, and luckily Cindy said I could get away with wearing both but I look better in cool.
Whew! I don’t have to trash my wardrobe. I don’t think I could afford that. We’re in a recession, you know.
Cindy listed about 5 or 6 different styles that we all fall into (casual, classic, dramatic, natural, feminine…) and she also taught us a shopping trick.
If you’re cool colored, you should paint your nails pink before shopping for clothes. THEN hold your nails up next to the shirt (or whatever) you’re looking at and see if the colors go well together. If they don’t, then you shouldn’t buy it.
If you’re warm colored, paint your nails more of a peachy color and use the same technique. She said this technique works just as good as taking a cool color wheel or a warm color wheel and trying to find colors that match the wheel.
Does that make sense?
Obviously, this isn’t my strong point.
But I’m getting better!
My sister, Ju, is most definitely a warm colored person. Maybe I should hand some of my wardrobe over to her.
Mom getting “sorted”:
After our color class, we took a short break and walked down the hall to our style class taught by Kris Denison.
Kris taught us what our body shape was, what our face shape was, and to never -under any circumstances -put our cell phones in our control top pantie hose.
I was certain my shape was rectangle and that my face was round.
Mom was certain her shape was rectangle and that her face was square.
We were both wrong -we both have hourglass figures (!!!) and oval faces. Best. News. Ever. I’ve been dressing differently ever since!
She taught us the 8-point system. As luck would have it, my handout on the 8-point system is NOT where I thought it would be. Stink!
Here’s a link to a more complicated 16-point system. Same idea, but the 8 points is easier and much more practical for someone like me (and you) who is always on the run… right behind -and always two steps behind -two little runts!
As soon as I find my 8-point handout, I’ll share it.
She listed for us the 10 fashion staples:
#1) Little Black Dress (check!)
#2) Black Blazer -fitted (what’s a blazer?)
#3) White Shirt -can even be worn over bathing suit (check!)
#4) Necklaces -layer them, wrap them differently (check!)
#5) Clutch bag/hand bag -can be worn with jeans or a dress (half check! -could definitely use a couple more)
#6) White Jeans -bit belt (NO! NO WHITE JEANS!)
#7) One Great Shirt or Top that you can always grab and feel great (I have a few! Triple check!)
#8) Trench coat -neutral color (need!)
#9) Scarf (check! But I need a few more for variety)
#10) Spanx -get at Target (need!)
She also told us that the key to getting your eyes to really POP has nothing to do with make-up and everything to do with earrings. And all you have to do is WEAR some.
With all of her amazing information, I have so much more confidence. When I walk around a clothing store, I finally have some DIRECTION! It’s so nice! My poor husband’s wallet!
To be fair, I haven’t robbed it yet. But, OH, how I want to! Now that I know what I want and what I’m doing clothing stores are dangerous places… it’s good for me though. I have the hardest time shopping for myself, and really -I’ve been given the tools to find a great outfit for my body whether I’m in Nordstrom or Goodwill (Savers being eliminated from the equation).
My daughter is the coolest girl in the world. She goes to school next year, and I’ll be left at home wallowing in lack of coolness.
Maybe then I’ll get my next baby. And she’ll be a girl. And she’ll be cool like Lacy.
We headed back to the dino museum that night for our final devotional:
Songs were sung TO us (by Stephi, who was in our group):
Songs were sung BY us (warning: this pictures is cliche of what goes on when women get together for three days of feminine fun times):
We had to say goodbye to friends we’d just met but felt like we’d known forever:
And we had to say goodbye to friends with celebrity names (Pamela Anderson):
We had to say goodbye to our tiny roommate who didn’t quite reach my shoulder:
Of all the ladies I miss most:
MOVE to Joe City, girls! Buy Speedy’s and then MOVE to Joe City!
Between dinner and the final devotional, mom and I took some creeper pictures of a woman whose daughter had received her mission call THAT DAY and driven to the retreat to open it with her mom. Several members of the family drove down as well, and they gathered together to share a special moment… mom and I hunkered behind some bushes or pillars or what-have-yous and snapped a picture:
And then we left, later finding out that she’s going to be serving in BRAZIL!
As we checked into the Salt Lake Airport, we saw two groups waiting for missionaries to come home. So what did we do?
We watched.
I took that through some plexi glass. A missionary hugging his sister for the first time in two years. Aw!
I confessed to mom that we might as well make our creeping complete by rushing a laboring mother in a nearby hospital and snapping pictures.
For shame!
But it was so sweet to see their joy… so so sweet.
We said goodbye to camp, came home and said “hello” to a new version of ourselves:
Barbara Barrington Jones “A New You” Retreat for Women really did change my life. I came home with my priorities in order, a new perspective, and loads of confidence (the good kind, mind you. Not the kind that make you want to kick me in the shin)… I went expecting a few days alone with my mom and maybe a cute new haircut, and I came away with a brand new take on life.
Have I told you that you should go?
You should.
GO!