Sunday Snippet

The Red Boots and Style Edition

I’ve been working on becoming more confident and seeing myself in a new way. Clothes are part of this very slow transformation--wearing them, buying them, choosing them... knowing what best suits me. In the daybook Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach talks about finding clothes that fit your lifestyle.

That assumes I have a lifestyle, which I’m not entirely sure I really do. I’m a writer and editor. I pretty much live in comfort clothes--yoga pants, T-shirts with a sweater tugged over the top of them or a sweatshirt if it’s really cold outside. Slippers or socks and I’m good to go for the day. There are even days, I confess, where I’ll add a bra to whatever pjs I woke up in, toss a sweater on, and I’m at my desk... so... finding my style feels almost laughable.

I grew up in the blue jeans era--we wore jeans everywhere, all the time. Pair them with a sweatshirt or a T-shirt and you’ve got that casual look. Put them with strappy sandals and a pretty top or a white T-shirt and a blazer and you are good to go anywhere for a night out. Dresses? What’s a dress? And frankly, from what I’ve seen online in the way of dresses for 2026, I’m not seeing me. I’m not even seeing anyone I know in the styles on the runway.

So... my style? I wear a lot of black, but I look good in black--the whole blonde hair thing. However, this year, I’m going to try for more color. I just need to figure out how. My main motivation when I shop for clothes is covering up round old Nan, but I’ve lost weight this winter and even though I’m still round, I’m not as round, so maybe I’ll try some more colorful fitted tops.

Since I’ve been writing cowboy romance, I’ve tried to fit some of my clothes to being a western romance writer. Last month, I bought new jeans and wonderful sweater with a cowboy theme that will pair well with a crisp white blouse. I got a cowboy hat and I have fun wearing it for bookish events.

I also bought red cowboy boots. Not the one in last week’s Snippet--those were boots I saw in Montana that I thought were way cool, but they were also way expensive. No, I got my red cowboy boots online and I almost had second thoughts when I tried them. Ummm ... could round old Nan pull this off? I hadn’t worn cowboy boots in over 20 years and never red ones! Yesterday, I put them on and wore them around the house all day. (Yes, tacky with yoga pants, but it was a fashion experiment, so no judgment!) Wow--I’d forgotten how comfortable well-fitting cowboy boots are. The heels made me stand up straighter and I felt tall and ... well, strong. I can’t wait to add them to the jeans and sweater for my upcoming book signing on Tuesday. Best part? My neighbor Renee sent me a text last night to tell me that she has red cowboy boots, too, and she’s coming to the book signing and wearing them! How cool is that?

I realized as I was writing this that I don’t write much about clothes in my stories. Oh there are scenes where clothes are the topic, but they’re rare. In my River’s Edge book, The Baby Contract, the girlfriends all go to a bridal shop to pick up their bridesmaids’ dresses for Holly’s wedding and Tierney, the heroine, worries that her dress will make her look like a fire plug in chiffon. It was one of the few scenes I’ve written where fashion was the topic and believe it or not, it took about forty minutes worth of looking at bride websites to figure out how I should dress the women. I’m not very creative when it comes to fashion. One might almost say I am fashion-challenged.

Tierney couldn’t help chuckling as she, Fran, Megan, and Sam stood together in front of the long wall of mirrors, all of them in chiffon gowns of the palest lilac, although Karyn said the color was called wisteria. Each dress was a different style, suited to each woman’s shape—Fran’s empire-waist with the wide crisscross straps in the back showed off the tan she’d gotten in Florida a week earlier. Sam’s one-shoulder sheath design with pleating at the bodice and waist emphasized her willowy height, while Megan’s A-line with flirty cap sleeves flattered her generous curves.

As for her own dress… well, at five feet four inches of solid muscle, she’d been worried the design would make her look like a squat little fireplug. She was floored and delighted at how the strapless sweetheart neckline accentuated her strong shoulders and arms while the slit A-line skirt made her seem almost… sexy.

See what research will do for you? It almost sounds as though I know what I’m talking about. So ... clothes ... talk to me. Are you a fashionista? Do you dress trendy? Classic? Comfortable? And writers, talk to me about writing fashion in your stories. Do you do it? How much are trendy clothes a part of your characters’ personas?

Gratitude for This Week: Seeing my neighbor’s party lights from my kitchen window reminds me spring will come; Son came by to help us with a job that required younger stronger arms and oh, how thankful we were; Grandboy is enjoying play rehearsal at school--can’t wait to see him in Mary Poppins! I’m nearing the finish line on the first draft book 3 in the Juniper Falls Ranch series; candlelit breakfast with Husband.

Stay well, speak out when you are able--it’s how we’ll save our democracy, most of all, mes amies, stay grateful!