Comments on: Bi-Annual P.A.C.

By: bsgirl

bsgirl — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:11:31 +0000

Laughing over the phrase “high maintenance personal grooming cult.” Boy, do I know some members of that cult! I’ve never gotten it mostly, I think, because I’m lazy but also because I’ve never had the money (and still don’t) to support an obessive interest in my personal appearance.

When you buy 90% of your clothes at Marshalls … well, you get the picture.

By: New Kid on the Hallway

New Kid on the Hallway — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:42:46 +0000

I would love to have a fabulous, though eccentric wardrobe. I think clothes are harder when you don’t have a distinctive personal vision or aren’t comfortable with eccentricity. I’m such a sheep; I want to fit in with what’s currently fashionable, always look appropriate, and not stand out. And yet at the same time, I want to look better than everyone else. Yeah, that doesn’t work very well, somehow! (Especially when you can’t decide what your model group is!)

I actually love the hair and cosmetics elements of appearance, partly because they’re things that don’t depend on my clothes fitting well. (My own PAC about weight is about its constant gradual creep upwards, so clothes that fit one year may not fit so well the next, sigh…) Makeup isn’t dependent on weight. (This is why I also love jewelry.) And for me, the primping is a kind of daily ritual that allows me to face the day – it really is like putting on my “public” face, so I find it very soothing. (I should add that I don’t actually wear a lot of makeup – eyeliner, mascara, face powder, lipstick. I need to learn how to use eyebrow powder, actually, as the brows go gray! And I admire people who put together crazy, creative colored eyeshadows, but will probably never be one of them.) It’s kind of like, once I get the hair and face right, I can relax for the rest of the day. (I also prefer a low-maintenance haircut, but I’ll pay a lot for a GOOD one, because they really are easier to maintain.)

I think glasses must be really hard to choose and adjust to. As a non-glasses wearer, I know it does take me a little while to notice changes in someone’s frames (I know I’ve asked people “are those new glasses???” when they’ve been wearing them 6 months!). I think I’d try to make my glasses simultaneous sexy, glamorous, formal, elegant, professional, intimidating, and welcoming, which… yeah. Again, not practical!

By: Notorious Ph.D.

Notorious Ph.D. — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:05:38 +0000

I’m glad you blogged about this: I’ve got an impending p.a.c. myself, due to the fact that I’ve spent an entire fellowship year living in jeans in a city with long winters that enforce inactivity and high-carb diets. As a result, none of my professional clothes fit. NONE. And yet, the semester starts in a month.

By: squadratomagico

squadratomagico — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:13:09 +0000

I will confess that I’ve always enjoyed clothes and have what I consider to be a fabulous, though eccentric, wardrobe. But I have PACs that center around weight (those extra pounds that just won’t leave the roost), cosmetics (the only thing I actually know how to apply correctly is eyebrow powder and false eyelashes — & the latter are of little help for street looks), and, usually, hair (though I recently found someone who actually makes my hair look good with minimal maintenance — priceless!).

See, interest in clothes I understand: you have to put something on, so it may as well be fun, look good, and hide those extra pounds. But I don’t get the high maintenance personal grooming cult at all. You spend all that time primping, and then you just have to do it all over again the next day. What’s the point?

By: k8

k8 — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:21:15 +0000

How old do we need to be before we can be considered “aging” nerd girls?

I get the same way about my glasses. Nothing else matters that much but I must like my glasses. Sometimes people don’t notice right away when the frames change, though. I think sometimes people think that something is different, but they aren’t sure what it is.

By: New Kid on the Hallway

New Kid on the Hallway — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:42:04 +0000

Can I say, the PAC is even worse for me this year, since I’m going to a totally new school where I know no one yet? They have no impressions of me already in place – I might be able to fool them into thinking I have a fashion clue!

By: cliobluestocking

cliobluestocking — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 01:10:57 +0000

Aging Nerd Girs Unite!

Ah yes, I know the PAC very well! And the glasses thing, too. Sometimes, they wear me.