Looking Presentable Always – An Anecdote

I have to admit, I am finding ‘looking presentable always’ a bit of a challenge now that I have a 10 month old baby. As my precious baby grows, so do her needs and I have less time in the morning to get ready. But never one to give up, I have simply modified what ‘looking presentable always’ means for me.

As I have mentioned before, looking presentable does not mean, looking perfect, nor does it mean looking ‘high maintenance’. It simply means looking the best you can in your given circumstances. Good grooming, great wardrobe choices, and a positive smile will get you very far in a day.

I am writing this at night and earlier in the day I had an experience that reminded me exactly why I advocate looking presentable always.

This morning was particularly busy. I spent a long time making baby food, cleaning the kitchen, feeding my daughter, taking the dog out, working on my book and finally putting the baby down for her first nap. By the time this was all over It was nearly noon and I hadn’t gotten ready yet for the day. I showered and dressed quickly. I picked an outfit out of my capsule wardrobe- black skinny jeans paired with a lavender sweater and ballet flats. I put my hair back in a quick ponytail. The only makeup I had time for was under eye concealer, tinted moisturizer and lip balm. This is what I mean by looking the best you can in your given circumstances. That was about all I could muster today.

After the baby woke up and we had lunch I took her and Gatsby on a long walk. We walked down to the independent cinema to see what movies were showing (not that we were going to go in, I just like to see what’s playing for future reference). On the way back we passed by a preschool that I had heard a lot of great things about around town. Even though my baby is only 10 months old, in Santa Monica the preschools are quite competitive and parents submit applications when their children are still young babies. I lingered outside of the school and looked around. As I did so a woman was getting out of her car and asked if she could help me. I explained I’d heard so much about this preschool and was planning on submitting an application for my daughter. The woman was so kind, she offered to give me an impromptu tour of the school right then and there! So Gatsby, the baby and I went in and had a tour.

I thanked the woman for her kindness in showing me around and then we were all on our way again. Walking home I was so grateful that I had put an effort into my appearance that day. I could easily have kitted up in sweats and flip flops and decided to take the day off from looking presentable. I bet if I had been shoddily dressed the woman wouldn’t have offered me a tour.

There was one funny note, however. Before stopping by the preschool I had been sampling several perfumes for the search for my new signature scent. So at one point when the lady and I were standing in one of the classrooms I became painfully aware that I smelled like the perfume counter at Bloomingdales! She didn’t seem to notice though (and if she did, she didn’t let on!)

The kind woman and I have since remained in contact and I plan on submitting an application for my daughter very soon. What a great reminder for looking presentable always- you never know where your day will take you!

I would love to know… what is your status on looking presentable always?

Be sure to check out this week’s video on Le No Makeup Look, where I show you one of my basic everyday makeup applications. To find out what brands, shades and brushes I use, be sure to read the information bar under the video. You can see the video by clicking here , looking in the sidebar of this post or by visiting www.youtube.com/TheDailyConnoisseur

Jewelry and ornaments from Ancient Greece and Rome are pictured above. They can be found at the Getty Villa in Malibu, California.