Slippery Slope

My mommy and me, 1962

Forty plus years ago my mother said that “a lady” did not leave the house without a full face of makeup, especially lipstick, and her hair curled and styled, whether she was going to work, to religious services, or to any kind of social event.

Back then, my mom loved very feminine pretty dresses, under which she wore an industrial-strength pointy bra, a girdle, stockings, and a half or full slip, depending on the dress.

The slip served two related purposes: first, it prevented the outer garment from being clingy or see-through; and second, it provided a layer of modesty while sipping tea on Grandma’s sofa or standing over a subway grate in NYC. 

Nowadays, some women prefer their skirts to be see-through, and they may wear a bra by itself as a top with no blouse over it or a full slip as a dress.

One thing never changes throughout history, which is women being constantly subjected to criticism for their physical appearance ~ too fat, too thin, dowdy, slutty, mousy, matronly, trashy, not dressing “her age,” wrong color lipstick, overdressed, underdressed, on and on and on.

The saddest thing of all (imo) is that it’s almost always other women doing the judging and making the hurtful comments.

~*~

Written for Denise’s Six Sentence Story (slip).