Sisters-in-Style! For Women Over 50! The Oscar's Fashion - Yea or Nay

Trendy is the last stage before tacky.

Karl Lagerfeld

Another year of demonstrating that money does not buy style, that slavishly following the latest trends is not for everyone and that finding a great fit and colour is still important. But, who listens?

Here are some of our overall comments: Black and pale pink do not look great together, particularly with black lace. Showing less is still the classier approach and many dresses looked like they belonged to two different outfits.

You’ll also note that some dresses feature on both the best and worst-dressed lists. Among a sea of mediocrity, here are our best and worst:

Best for Sue: I loved Janelle Monae’s glittery outfit. It fitted her beautifully, had a hood and lots of glamour.

Best for Geri: Jane Fonda looks gorgeous at 82 in this beautiful red dress. Even better, she wore it years ago and it looks just as good now. I love her best with grey hair!

Honorable mentions to America Ferrara who glowed, to Mindy Kaling who looked gorgeous in yellow, to Sigourney Weaver for a great colour and shape and to Rene Zellwegger for a beautifully fitted gown, though we would have preferred another colour to white.

Worst for Sue: Cynthia Evro’s outfit looks like a wardrobe malfunction is imminent. Why do exposed breasts mean strong or fierce? Also, the bottom half looks like it used a crinoline to make it wide enough.

Worst for Geri: Rooney Mara’s outfit was wrong in so many ways, it didn’t fit, had strange cut-outs and feathers?

Other contenders: Kristen Wiig’s strange geometric shapes reminded me of Lego, Gal Godot looked like she was wearing pieces from two dresses as did Saoirse Ronan.

Fashion is a form of such ugliness, so intolerable, that we have to alter it every six months.

Oscar Wilde

Make someone smile today!

Geri & Sue

Online Dating – Sex on the First Date?

People ask me, “Why are you single? You’re attractive, intelligent and creative"? My reply is “I’m overqualified.”

sofeminine

Online dating is a great source of humour for me! Just when you think that it could possibly work, you’ve got to laugh!

I received a nice little note from a gentleman. He was nice looking, had a good job and hobbies – pretty normal and stable and was looking for a long term relationship. We exchanged lots of emails and then we decided to talk. This is when they usually disappear because online dating scammers are "always out of town"! Well, this one didn’t disappear; he talked and talked. And he was funny and smart.

We were planning to meet for coffee, but this is when it got weird. He was going to come up to my neighbourhood for coffee – good. But he wanted to meet after dinner – a little strange. But it got stranger… He kept talking about how after coffee, I could kidnap him and take him home! I still didn’t clue in that he was serious! The kidnap talk didn’t go away, it started to dominate the conversations. Finally, I said that I wasn’t going to kidnap him, and I had no intention of having sex with him the first time I met him. He was not delighted with me!

It truly never occurred to me that having coffee with an unknown person could be expected as a sex partner. But, you learn something every day.

I must be part squirrel, I attract all the nuts.

Hubpages

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Sisters-in-Style! For Women Over 50! Shopping at Bayview Village

It was a typical Toronto winter day, cold and grey. We decided to go to Bayview Village and as it was a Thursday afternoon, we figured it wouldn’t be too busy.

Bayview Village is a high-end mall with designer boutiques to browse. As it’s still winter sales season, we thought we might find some bargains.

Our perusals into the first few stores yielded expensive items, even when on sale, and uninterested salespeople. Then we went to Chadwicks. They carry a number of luxury brands such as Michael Kors, Eileen Fisher and Joseph Ribkoff among others. We were greeted when we arrived and we joyously headed over to the sales racks. As we looked, we noticed a salesperson taking a great deal of care with a customer, who was looking for an outfit for her Canadian Citizenship Ceremony. Her name was Gina and she still managed to find time to talk with us and ask us what we were looking for. Sue headed off to the changing room with a number of well-priced clothes, while Geri looked at beaded dresses. Sue’s pants were an instant hit and only cost $50 on sale. She also purchased a blue T-shirt that flows beautifully over the body and was clearly designed for a women’s body rather than a prepubescent teenager.

Chadwicks is a great store for women to visit, whether you’re looking for sales items or investment pieces. They carry a range of apparel from casual clothes to evening dresses. We noticed that all the salespeople were equally attentive and happy to offer suggestions. This is what shopping should be!

Stay tuned.

Geri & Sue

Sisters-in-Style! For Women Over 50!

Geri’s on the right and Sue’s on the left. We’ve been best friends for over 25 years and we’re Sisters-in-Style for Women Over 50.

We met in Montreal and bonded over our love for tennis, good food and fashion.

When I first met Geri she had bright red spiky hair and I thought she looked fantastic. Since becoming friends, I’ve become more adventurous in my fashion choices. She chides me when I don’t wear lipstick and she’s right, I look better with it on. She would never be seen without her MAC Russian Red lipstick while I have a palette of pinks, reds and even coral.

When I met Sue had started developing her own sense of style. Mine was rather outrageous. I have a passion for sunglasses, the bigger the better. And I have 25 pairs, and I’m still looking. Sue’s right, I’m never without my red lipstick – even to take out the garbage. Sue has got me not to wear black exclusively. My colour palette has expanded to white, grey and red.

Our styles are different but we share the same view of fashion. WE DEPLORE the lack of interesting clothes for women over 50. It’s not that we’re looking to dress models, all body types should be celebrated.

We’re going to share shopping experiences – not all clothes have to cost a fortune, finding independent boutiques with interesting selections, our dos and don’ts and ways to feel fabulous over 50.

Stay tuned!

Geri & Sue

I Thought He Was, But He Wasn’t

When dipping into the online dating pool, one must remember that anything can be polished online.

Quote Master

I have a classic online dating scam to share with you. I began communicating with a very nice gentleman. He was called Radford Oswald, age 63, living in Toronto and Swedish.

Radford was a widower. Ten years ago, his wife and daughter were killed in an accident. Unfortunately, Radford was a cardiac surgeon and couldn’t do anything to help his family. He was left with twin boys. Unable to stay in Sweden, he and the boys moved to Toronto.

No longer wanting to practice medicine, a friend of his in the States, got him interested in designing surgical suites for hospitals. When Radford and I started communicating, he was working on a job in Ottawa. We started texting or talking twice a day, and it was lovely. Before his Ottawa job was finished, he got a large job in South Africa. So, he finished the Ottawa job, came home to Toronto, and left for South Africa.

Everything was fine. Communicating with a 7-hour time change was difficult, but manageable. And then came the online dating scam. He called one day, and he was stressed. Radford had ordered materials from Turkey and they arrived, but he couldn’t access his bank account to get money to clear the goods! He wanted me to lend him the money. I said HELL NO! And I hung up.

Anytime someone asks you for money say HELL NO! There is NO REASON IN THE WORLD to give someone that you DON’T KNOW any money.

He kept texting for another day, showing me his bank account, and I must tell you that his documents looked good. But the bank account was from a little bank in Florida. No one who lives in Toronto and is Swedish has a bank account in Jacksonville or Orlando, Florida. 

So now I have an online dating scam to share with you. If you see his photo (probably with another name and another story) and his Toronto phone number 437-563-5663, report him to the company. I couldn’t report him because he took his profile down.

Online dating helps me meet and break up with someone without leaving the house.

Someecards

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Call Your MPP

Why are the people who are the most undeserving and lazy, seem to think they’re the best?

Unknown

I finally called my lawyer. I knew that I had no chance to bring a suit against the Ministry of Transportation, but I thought maybe he had an idea. The first thing he said was, “Go see your MPP”. As desperate as I was, the next morning at 10am, I walked into Jill Andrew’s office. A young man, Phillip Morgan, greeted me. And lucky as I was, he’s the person in the office who works the cases. I brought all of the paperwork with me and Phillip made photocopies.

Phillip said that he would call their liaison at the Ministry of Transportation that day and get back to me tomorrow. He called me later that day and said that I would have my license back in 14 days. After four months of waiting for my license, I really didn’t have faith that this would work, but I waited 14 days. Phillip called on the 14^th day to say that I HAD MY LICENSE BACK AND THAT I COULD DRIVE TODAY. I started to cry… I’d waited four months and Phillip did in 14 days what my doctor couldn’t do in four months.

I’ve now engaged in trying to get the Deputy Registrar of Motor Vehicles fired! For four months he ignored my doctor (who treats stroke patients), but when someone higher up at the Ministry of Transportation saw my files, he had no choice but to give me my license back. I’ve filed complaints with the Ontario Ombudsman and with the Ministry of Transportation. We’ll see.

Thank you to the Jill Andrew’s MPP’s office!!! Phillip Morgan got my license back for me. If you have any trouble with the Ministry of Transportation, call your MPP.

Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

Mark Twain

Make someone smile today!

Geri

The Ministry of Transportation and The Appeals Tribunal Are Incompetent

This is a timeline of my attempts to have my driving license reinstated:

Ministry of Transportation

September 12, 2018

I had a stroke and was taken to St. Mike’s Hospital. This led to my driving license being suspended by the Ministry of Transport. As I recovered, I was transferred to Bridgepoint Healthcare.

January 24, 2019

After a lot of hard work, my doctor Heather MacNeill (at Bridgepoint Healthcare) filled out the papers to get my license reinstated. She’s done tons of these before as her patients are stroke survivors.

February 7 to April 2, 2019

On February 7, 2019 I received a letter from the Ministry of Transport asking three questions that were already answered in my application. My doctor answered the questions on March 6, 2019. On March 26, 2019 the Ministry of Transport sent a letter saying that my license was still under suspension with no reason why and asking for my significant improvement on my condition. On April 2, 2019 my doctor wrote a medical report saying that I was back to normal, she has no concerns about my returns to driving and that she “would advocate for a reinstatement of my license without the need for an on road driver’s test”.

April 29 to May 1, 2019

On April 29, 2019 I called the Ministry of Transport to find out why my license was still under suspension. I was talking to a woman named Rosalie who asked to put me on hold while she read my file. After five minutes she came back on the line and said, “I can’t believe you don’t have your license. I’ll talk to my supervisor and get back to you within 48 hours”. I NEVER heard back.

May 9 to May 10, 2019

On May 9, 2019 I called the Ministry of Transport because I hadn’t heard from them within 30 days. Valerie told me that they hadn’t received my doctor’s medical report. She asked me to email it in. I did. On May 9, 2019 I received an email saying that they received it and that it would now take between 10-15 days (or maybe longer) to review.

On May 10, 2019 I called the Ministry of Transport to find out why my case couldn’t be reviewed sooner. Valerie checked my file and told me that my doctor’s medical report wasn’t there. She asked for my email address and found my email and was now going to ask someone to file it. I asked if my file could be reviewed sooner and she said that she had no authority to order it.

Appeals Tribunal

On April 6, 2019 I filled out a file for the Appeals Tribunal because I was treated unfairly. My doctor said that I should have had my license back. Rosalie at the Ministry of Transport said that I should have my license back. I sent the file Express Post that requires a signature. They signed on April 9, 2019. I called the Appeals Tribunal on May 10, 2019 and they said that they never received the file – which they signed for. I’ve given them the date that they signed for it and now I’m waiting.

I have never seen two government bodies so incompetent.

Make someone smile today!

Geri