Taking Risks with an Asymmetrical, Deconstructed Cold Shoulder!

I have been a fan of the cold shoulder for 18 months, ever since I bought a lovely grey sweater which I have worn almost to death.

I fancied myself as quite daring; I certainly hadn’t seen anyone over 50 of my acquaintance sporting one. And it got the seal of approval from the stylist daughter, so all was good. You see, it is easy to wear, you expose the shoulders and you can still wear a normal bra (by normal, I mean one with straps). I have lovely shoulders, according to GG, and combined with the long sleeves as in the photo below, it is not too flirty for a woman of a certain age!

GG voiced his approval too, declaring undying love for this glimpse of skin, so this year I purchased another cold-shoulder in a lovely navy from Hobbs. Still staying within the realms of decency, there is only a small section on show.

But last week, in what some people might call a rush of blood to the head, I went the whole hog and bought into the asymmetrical trend and exposed an entire shoulder blade, clavicle and breastbone, in a red and white striped shirt from Topshop, of all places. I hadn’t been into Topshop in about 12 years (since the stylist daughter worked there while she was in college) and I hadn’t bought anything from there in twenty years.

I just wandered in for a little browse and, lo and behold, I saw this vision of a bold, reddish (not sure of the exact colour), striped shirt which looked a little like a normal shirt, but deconstructed. In other words, it looked like the bad fairy or a child had taken it apart and put it back together, but had not got it exactly right. I tried it on and even though I or it looked a bit lop-sided, I decided that I could make it work. So reader, I bought it, a bargain at  €40.

The first problem was the bra.  A strapless bra was resurrected from the bottom of my underwear drawer and eventually I was poured into it. Now I remembered why I have avoided them; God they are uncomfortable. Seemingly, it needs to be tight so it does not slip down. Going bra-less is not an option for a double-D woman of a certain age! Alternative suggestions will be truly welcome.

So here it is (above) with jeans heading out to dinner with friends and also tucked in with black jeans (below).

Having decided to be a little more playful and experimental with my clothes and not get stuck in a rut, I will now and again go outside my comfort zone and take risks. I imagine not everyone will like it, but my Instagram photo (put up earlier today) suggests that many did.

So, if you feel like taking a few risks with your fashion, the asymmetrical, deconstructed (in other words off-kilter) shirt trend is an option. Go on, take a risk. Next blog post is about stripes so back to playing safe!