Forever 51: What it’s all about

Image courtesy of renjith krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My teenage daughter favours buying clothes at Forever 21. I favour clothes from Talbots. A friend’s teenaged daughter dubbed Talbots, the Forever 51 store. Ouch. Funny, but not so much on further reflection.

What is she implying exactly? That women of a certain age, okay, in their 50s and gasp, 60s or 70s, are trying to stay forever young with the clothes they choose to wear? I like the clothes because they’re usually well-made, affordable, conservative but not too and there’s a good mix of business and casual styles. And it’s one-stop shopping. I’m in, I try on, sometimes I buy and I’m out. If I wanted to, I could order online but that just seems like more of a hassle than it’s worth at this point. That may change, but for now I’m a bricks-and-mortar clothing shopper.

Are there broader implications for my prickly reaction to the sarcastic renaming of a favourite store? And how are the musings about Forever 51 and the purpose of this post linked?

Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A sense of purpose
Part of this week’s assignment was to describe what my personal blog was about. We worked a bit on this in class and then we were off to the races. Initially I was flummoxed. What exactly was this blog about? I haven’t been having trouble coming up with topics to write about. This was a creative exercise that I relished. But the topics did seem to be all over the map in terms of subject matter.

Then it hit me. This blog is about reflecting back a world that I don’t encounter often enough in either traditional or digital media. Me. The middle-aged 50-something married working mother of two who has power of attorney for a parent with Alzheimer’s. A smart, curious mama bear who loves to go to the hockey arena or lacrosse field as much as she loves to go to dance competitions, the ballet, the art galleries and the theatre.

I love to discuss books, politics, media, films, and music (rock, country, opera and everything in between) for a start. Being a lifelong learner (hence this course) is as important as thinking about retirement and how, as a cancer survivor, I can give myself the best opportunity to make it there and thrive.

Photo courtesy of Anna Quindlen website

A complex voice
I thought about Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Anna Quindlen’s “Public and Private” columns from the 1990s in the New York Times when I thought about my blog. I want to replicate that type of social commentary. So, me, is a little complicated. Complex. Interested and engaged in communities, both near and far. And I know I’m not alone. There are legions of us out there, many awake at 3 a.m. (thank you menopause) trying to make sense of the day that was and the day that lies ahead.

The intent of this blog then is clear: to give a voice to the legions of intelligent, interesting Forever 51s, wherever they may be.

And how do I measure success? If readership and public conversation increases. With Forever 51s and 21s and everyone on either side or in between.