Endless Beauty

 Eyeshadow, rouge, mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, lip gloss, foundation. powder, hair color, highlights, haircuts, girdles, spandex, lycra, padded bras, blouses, dresses, jeans, slacks, cami's, scarves, shawls, shrugs, jackets, coats, sweaters, shoes, stilettos, boots, heels, flats, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, anklets, rings, waxing, liposuction, face lifts, face cream, wrinkle cream, anti-aging cream, manicures, pedicures, thin, overweight, average, endless.

Doesn't it seem that there isn't enough we can do to truly feel beautiful? Who are we trying to impress? From what I have heard and read on the matter, there seem to be a lot of opinions as to what motivates women to adorn themselves.

Vanity, intimidation, insecurity, peer pressure, lack of self-esteem, comparisons, movie stars, television stars, models, magazines, keeping up with the Joneses ( or maybe, keeping up with the Joan's), wanting to impress your friends, wanting to impress men, wanting to feel better about yourself, wanting to express yourself, endless.


Whatever our reason may be for wanting to beautify ourselves we should always remember that when all of the exterior things are taken away...

Strength, kindness, class, intelligence, confidence, maturity, helpfulness, encouragement, friendship, dependability, creativity, humor, perseverance, honor, love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness... these make beauty endless. So, go be your beautiful self! Thanks for reading.



Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.

The Avengers...an interesting sentiment

Recently I sat down with my children after a full day's work and watched “The Avengers”.  A couple of days later I overheard a couple of the older boys talking in the office. They were commenting on how many times the word “sentiment” was used in the movie. They found it a bit strange since 'sentiment' isn't a word typically used in everyday conversation.

It got me thinking, 'perhaps this is how faddish words and phrases get started. I remember my Grandma Pope used to use the word swell all the time. Richie Cunningham used to say 'swell' quite a bit as well, so I figure it came from the 50's. I mustn't forget 'Sit on it!' or 'Kiss my grits'. I recall “The Mod Squad” and “The Brady Bunch” using the term 'groovy' quite often (I may have used it as well, but I'll never tell). Who starts these faddish sayings anyway? (this is not a rhetorical question- I really have no idea.)

Think about it. People have had cool cars, a rad time, a groovy sound, a neato toy, a killer burrito... However today, to say groovy would not be "groovy". In fact, to say most of these words would be old-fashioned, dated, laughable.

It seems in some way these idioms serve to help define a generation. Generations like the baby boomers or the hippies all had their own idioms. But that makes one think, What is a generation anyway? I would think I am a part of today's generation simply by virtue of the fact that I'm alive and because I no longer say groovy.

 According to Dictionary.com I'm not far off the mark.

gen·er·a·tion [jen-uh-rey-shuhn]

noun

1. The entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time.( This one makes my above premise possible) 

2. The term of years, roughly 30 among human beings,accepted as the average period between the birth of parents and the birth of their offspring. 

3. A group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, attitudes,etc. 

4. A group of individuals belonging to a specific category at the same time: Chaplin belonged to the generation of silent-screenstars. 

5. A single step in natural descent, as of human beings,animals, or plants.

I suppose that all of this is an odd sentiment, but from what I can tell from “The Avengers”, having a sentiment is a very stylish thing and since I am evidently from this generation I might as well join the fad. I'll bet a lot of you remember some interesting words and phrases that identified a generation/era. Share them with us and remind us what generation they came from. I only ask that you keep them clean. Thanks for reading!


Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.

Wrestling with Rainy Day Restlessness

What do you do on a rainy day? I am rarely at a loss for what to do. That is what books and recliners are made for.

So why is it so difficult for a seven year old to see the value in my wise advice to “ Go read a book, or take a nap?” No, instead, I hear the words, “There is nothing to do,” nestled in between his claims of being hungry.

Well, things went a bit better the last rainy day we had thanks to my daughter. She decided to take my advice and read, but what she ended up reading were some of my old cookbooks. Somehow, she came across a recipe for peanut butter playdough and I knew I had been handed the proverbial stone that was about to kill two birds at once. My restless 7 year old, as well as my daughter were able to design and create and when they were all done, EAT. It was just the diversion I was looking for, since I had a whole rack of clothes that needed measuring before we could put them up for sale in our eBay store, The Casual Woman.

For all of you who have young children who occasionally can't think of anything to do but eat, I decided to share the recipe with you.

Peanut Butter Playdough
½ Cup peanut butter   ½ Cup powdered milk   1 Tbsp Honey

 








A menagerie of creative extras like raisins, chocolate chips, toothpicks, etc to add arms legs eyes and so on.

You'll see everything from flowers to snowmen, from dogs to space aliens. But more importantly you'll see smiles.

Do you have any favorite ways to engage bored and restless little ones? Share your ideas with us so we can build up our arsenal of rainy day activities. And if you have any pictures, post them to our Facebook page so we can enjoy them too. Thanks for reading.

Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.

Jeans. American Made.

This morning I got up and readied myself for the day. I did what I often do; I grabbed a pair of jeans, a comfortable shirt and headed downstairs. 

Since my son had asked me to write something style oriented, I decided to educate myself on the history of jeans. In doing so I came to realize how symbolic of America “jeans” are.

Jeans, as we know them today, actually got their start in 1872 in Reno, Nevada when a tailor named Jacob Davis developed a type of riveted pant called 'waist overalls'. These were made for the miners in the area. Needing a partner, he contacted Levi Strauss, who had a business in San Francisco. Together they patented Davis’ riveted styling idea. They made two styles of pants; one out of blue denim and the other out of brown duck cloth. Levi Strauss died in 1902, leaving the company to his nephews who discontinued the line of brown duck pants in 1911. People had discovered that the blue denim was not only hardy, but became more comfortable with each wash. By the 1920's, Levi's waist overalls had emerged as the leading work pants west of the Mississippi.

Then something wonderful happened... MOVIES!  In the 1930's movies that romanticized the western lifestyle gave the pants a new boost in popularity. Stars like John Wayne and Gary Cooper had made jeans such a sought after piece of clothing that when American soldiers took their denim overseas (to wear while “on leave”), Europeans would offer them items like high quality leather jackets in exchange for the American made jeans. However, the pants didn't officially adopt the term 'jeans' until sometime in the 1950's. From the 1950's through the early 70's jeans were seen as a symbol of rebellion. This was depicted in movies like “Rebel Without a Cause” and “American Graffiti”.  Remember “The Fonz” on “Happy Days”? Many of the more conventional dressers of the day looked down on those who wore jeans.

Later, however, according to an article by Lynn Downey written for Levi Strauss Co., jeans became a canvas for personal expression. I personally remember watching my sister embroider some denim with bright colorful floss. It sort of makes me want to get out one of my old pair of jeans and decorate them to express myself. I believe this was a turning point for jeans being more than just a comfortable pair of pants. It was the beginning of jeans becoming a fashion statement. The clothing industry recognized this too and followed up with “designer jeans” in the 1980's. In Lynn Downey's paper (mentioned above), she quotes an undisclosed writer in 1969 from American Fabrics as saying, “What has happened to denim in the past decade is really a capsule of what happened to America. It has climbed the ladder of taste.”

Jeans have been worn from coal mines to offices. From cowboys to movie stars. They are worn by farmers in the fields and by corporate moguls in skyscrapers. They are an item of clothing that touches every demographic within this country. They are a great equalizer.

In honor of jean’s rich but young history, please share with me what style of jeans are your favorite? I personally enjoy wearing “boot cut” jeans. And if you are looking for a fresh pair of jeans check out our store to see if any strike your fancy. Thanks for reading!

Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.

Better with Time (International Day of Older Persons)

According to a calender I was looking at recently, today is the “International Day of Older Persons”. It made me wonder, how old is an older person? 

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my Granny would fall under this category, she is 101 years old. Granny could have been one of the “Golden Girls”, but with more class. I am pretty sure my mother would fall under this category as well because... well, because she's my mother, which makes her older (I won't state her age because I'm pretty sure she reads my blog). But then to my horror I realized that I may fall under this category. Quite a few people would consider me “older”. My Sunday school class would. My children and all of there friends would. In fact, it would be a reasonable deduction to assume that anyone younger than me just might look at me as an older person. Since I am considered a “Baby Boomer” ( just barely) that leaves a lot of people thinking I'm older.


But isn't it interesting that many of us “older” people sort of mentally associate ourselves with a younger age. How many times do we hear someone say, “ I still think of myself as '30'”, in spite of the fact that they are actually 63. I'm not 63...yet, but, in spite of my actual age I would say I still think of myself as, oh about 27 ½. Then I realized, that to stay 27 ½ I dress like a 27 ½ year-old. The question is, do I dress like I did when I was 27 ½ (which would be an entirely different decade... or two, also meaning entirely different fashion statements) or do I dress like a 27 ½ year old would dress today?

All of this contemplation made me take a nostalgic walk through my closet. I needed to know if I had become a fashion hoarder.  I found things in my wardrobe that were hand me downs from my grandmother; which made me wonder if I was dressing like my grandmother did when she was 27 ½. I ruled that one out. I had this odd feeling that when I went to sleep I would have unsettling dreams of Clint and Stacy from WHAT NOT TO WEAR going through my wardrobe, saying things like, “Get rid of this, my mother wore one of these when she was 27 ½.”

I decided my wisest recourse to the situation was to change the age I associate myself with to a more realistic number like... 35.  I am pretty sure I have enough styles in my closet to pull off a 2012 35 year old look. Now, all I need to do is dye my hair back to its natural color and maybe I can almost look my new age.

So, what age are you stuck in mentally and why is it that age? Give me some tips on how to age gracefully both inside and out. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks for reading.

Robin Liner is a wife, mother of six, and the female mind behind the plus size women's brand, TheCasualWoman.com. Her busy lifestyle makes her a champion for quality casual clothing that can stand the test of time.