Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Heels or no heels?

This will be another low-mileage drop-back week for me. Over the weekend I'm making a whirlwind trip out to Littleton, Colorado to attend the wedding of a dear old friend that I've known since my undergraduate college days about 30 - yes, THIRTY! years ago. Oh. My. God. The stories we could tell about each other!!!!

It's been nearly that long since I've worn high heels, and I'm debating whether to pack those or a pair of dressy flats. Seriously, I think I haven't worn heels more than 3 or 4 times in the last eight years, literally - one conference, a job interview, maybe a cruise or two, I think that's it.

I didn't even wear heels at my own wedding, just sandals. Those are my actual feet on my actual wedding day in 2001. Hey, it was in Maui, what do you expect? Even those sandals weren't very comfortable, so I left them in my hotel room after their one and only outing. Besides, I needed my feet at the top of their form to complete the Maui Marathon two days later, even very slowly.

I think my feet in heels would feel like they broke in half after ten or fifteen minutes. I wouldn't want it to interrupt my running, would I? And flats take up less suitcase room.

And then there are my nasty fingernails. They're all chopped off extra-short for minimal maintenance. If they're any longer, the bicycle grease just gets under them, you know? They wouldn't know what to do with polish on them.

And the hair. . . . I got it chopped shoulder-length a couple months ago so that I could avoid that long wet drippy ponytail after swimming. Now I just have it pulled back in a short ponytail most of the time. I just like it out of my face. I did re-color it yesterday, so at least I won't have light gray roots shining through from underneath.

And makeup? Sigh. The only "beauty product" that's gone on my face recently is Oil of Olay SPF 15 after every time I wash it, habitually, just to keep off the worst of the sun damage. I'm pretty sure that Bolder uses more beauty products than I do.

Then there's all the other stuff you have to pack for dressing up. All the special underwear that goes underneath a dress. Nylons. Gack, I haven't worn nylons any more than I've worn heels in the last several years. I'll need to pack some dressy jewelry, too, of which I own exceedingly little and also seldom wear. Most of the time it's my plastic Timex Ironman Flix watch and my plain gold wedding band, and maybe a pair of gold hoops in my ears for special occasions.

Not that I don't like going fancier places, mind you. I enjoy a luxury destination resort with the best of them! But I enjoy the places most that you can "come as you are" wearing a clean polo shirt and maybe a pair of flip-flops or Docksiders -- which includes nearly all the great restaurants in my small town. But if it's the type of place that's stuffy enough to require suit coats on the gents - usually I just go elsewhere.

I suppose I'll have to get some photos to post here later. There aren't many opportunities any more to see me in anything but Lycra shorts and jogbras and maybe an expensive wetsuit or fancy bike jersey now and then.

15 comments:

Iron Pol said...

I won't be happy until someone comes out with a line of business casual wear made entirely of dri-fit and other technical materials.

:) said...

And why haven't we seen a picture of the new short-haired Nancy???

Nancy Toby said...

You have! I just had a helmet on. :-) It's short in the photo from before the start at Steelhead, but you can't tell in the ponytail that I always have it in!!!

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

What do you mean by heels? I wore 2" heels for my high school reunion last year, and they were perfect-- enough heel to look dressy, but no so much I couldn't dance up a storm.

As for the hair, how about a pretty hairband? They're very "in" right now, I understand. Maybe get one with sparklies on it?

I'd skip the pantyhose. I don't know anyone who wears them anymore, except in winter.

As for nails, I took my short, uneven nails to the manicurist last summer before my reunion and she worked a miracle on them, without adding extensions or anything. So just go down to a reputable nail place and see what they can do for you.

Enjoy dolling yourself up! Once you get started on it, you'll remember how much fun it can be to get girly for an evening! :-)

Jonah Holland said...

LOVE the coment about Bolder. you are hilarious.
Just have fun at the wedding. don't bother with heels. You will look great thanks to those Iron workouts that have brought you strength and confidence you didn't know you had. But you get tons of compliments regardless of what you wear.

Nancy Toby said...

Heels means anything that's not totally flat, like running shoes!

I'm going to see if I can spot somewhere to get my nails done as a walk-in when I get there, if I have time.... they're horrible! Maybe my hair, too. We'll see what's available in the neighborhood.

Flo said...

I just discovered you don't show up on my feeds for Bloglines!! What's up with that????

I am so with you on the dressy stuff. When I quit working for a corporation, I swore I would never wear heels or nylons again. That was 11 years ago and I've stuck to that. I don't even own a pair of either. I do have some wedgie type sandals that are a little dressy, that's as far as I'll go. All my dresses are what we call "Aloha casual" acceptable anywhere in the state of Hawaii as dressy :)

Bolder said...

huh? WAT?

you're practically coming to da Republic, and you weren't even planning on a Celebrity Run?

(i need product... that's all i'm sayin'... after the Livestrong 7 hours of hell, i thought i was putting water in my hair, but it was PowerBar Endurance -- holds real well, might attract flies, i was too tired to notice)

Ellie Hamilton said...

You don't need heels. Heels were invented because of the lift they give to define the calf muscles, and yours are defined already.

Put on a long, swishy dress and some sandals and you'll look beautiful!

Mojo said...

I say wear them. Sounds like you never get dressed up like me. The few times I have lately, I feel beautiful. Don's all like, "Whoa, you have lipstick on!"

Some day, you should get pretty like a princess and take some pictures. Because you are working hard and want to remember this time.

the Dread Pirate Rackham said...

Gawd, Heels aren't even in my vocabulary anymore.

Holly said...

:) Posts Picture of the final ensemble and HAVE FUN AT THE WEDDING!!!!!

Dawn - Pink Chick Tris said...

I'm with Iron Pol. Heck I've actually worn my sports bra and tech shirt under my dress blazer with a nice skirt to work. Hiding underneath was my running shorts. That way I'm a quick change artist for my run later inthe day.

Ann Ewbank said...

be careful with those heels- you don't want to mess those feet up!

Spoken by a marathoner with 2 neuromas in one foot- wearing sensible shoes at her librarian job!

21st Century Mom said...

No one wears nylons any more. Don't even think about it. Heels?? Maybe if you have a pair you like - otherwise flats or sandals are fine. Just have fun. I'm sure you will look fabulous!