Mother's Day Weekend Outing with My Mom

I've always felt my Mom was beautiful - inside and out. What's funny is, she's camera shy, so it's not easy capturing a photo of her. But at any rate, she always keeps up with the times and looks her very best. She loves beauty books, fashion magazines, and she and Emily are the Fashionistas in our family.


So when I heard that the Today show beauty expert, Charla Krupp, was coming to Kansas City to celebrate Mother's Day with her Mother-in-law and doing a public appearance through Rainy Day Books and Artichoke Gallery, I decided to take my Mom over to soak up some fashion and beauty tips as she featured her latest book called HOW TO NEVER LOOK FAT AGAIN. She has an ealier book also called, HOW NOT TO LOOK OLD.


We had a fantastic time. Let me say that Charla Krupp looks fabulous. I don't know how old she is, but she looks 10X better in person than on her book covers. She's short like me (in fact she's only 5'0" tall) - but she appears much taller because she knows how to dress to look longer and leaner with heels - in both boots and shoes. She mentioned that since writing the book, she's lost weight and does a fitness routine - so she's tiny. Whatever she's doing, it's working.

She's good at teaching women "of a certain age" how to dress to make the maximum impact and look their very best in spite of figure flaws. She brought along a rack of clothes she'd selected from a high-end boutique across the street, and she showed us what items she'd put together to counteract various body problems. Much of it is common sense stuff that we've all read in beauty and fashion magazines for years - stuff like, don't wear oversized, boxy clothes - wear dark solid colors on areas you want to minimize. Buy a good bra that holds you UP.

She's a big advocate for foundation garments - or "body shapers" I think she calls them. Spanx underwear and that kind of thing. For jeans, she suggests DARK jeans with no designs, logos or other attention-getting geegaws - she says these design features only make your butt and gut look LARGER. The pockets should be flat and plain - her favorite jeans are "Not Your Daughter's Jeans" which can be found at Dillards, Macy's, Nordstrom's.

She encourages women to wear one-piece dresses because that way, it's simplier and easier to coordinate rather than having to put together several separate pieces - especially if your problem area is your mid-section. With a dress, there is no break at all in the center to attract your eye, a dress will immediately give your shape a sleeker line through the middle. Best of all, you don't have to worry about what goes with it or what to tuck or not tuck.

If you are wearing separates, make it an a-line skirt or pant in a dark color. Wear heels for all boots and sandals. Have a pair of pretty flats to slip into in case your feet start hurting. Wear attractive jackets, but not huge, boxy ones or a matching suit.

For swimsuits - wear one piece suits that are flattering as possible - with support built into the suit. Apply self-tanning lotion and shave well so that your body looks smooth. Buy a really GREAT coverup and cute sandals, because you will be wearing the cover-up over it more than you will be swimming. Pretty accessories will boost your confidence.