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Yes, I am aware—it's been a hot minute. But you'll be pleased to know that I am not, in fact, dead. I'm actually sitting at Heathrow Airport as I write this, which I imagine is a lot like being dead, only instead of a sudden understanding of the interconnectedness of all that is shape and matter, you get to dispassionately sip coffee while observing the great British pastime of pints at zero dark thirty. But I digress. From getting stranded abroad for nearly a month due to flight cancellations in the Middle East, to the breakdown of my nearly seventeen-year marriage for reasons (unrelated to the aforementioned being stranded abroad), these last few months have been a whirlwind of life's not-so-greatest hits. The good news is that I've still been chipping-away at book two in my Viking Age Historical romance series, and despite everything, hope to have it out in June. A bit later than intended, but this is simply the way of things. Side note: I am not after pity here, or adulation, or anything else other than your loyal and adoring readership, should you deign to give it. But I do want to talk about something fun for a minute—something light and fluffy and which has absolutely no serious lasting ramifications for any of us. But because it has been so long since I've posted, I think perhaps a bit of fanfare is in order. Since I have spent the better part of the last two years immersed in medieval book research, I have elected to announce my latest post with a ceremonial blast of Ye Olde Medieval Butt Trumpet... Phoot! Braaap! Ta-Daa! This brilliant piece of "butt trumpet art" is a medieval marginalia - an illumination that would appear in the margins of medieval texts - this particularly famous one appears in Froissart's Chronicles. Ye olde surprisingly good beauty products This post came about completely as a result of my very own one woman qualitative study of the efficacy of products that have been sitting in my cosmetic drawer for a while. These are products that have sort of quietly achieved go-to status while I was distracted by other things. They're not fancy, and won't get in your way while they do their good work. We could all use a little more of that type of quiet competence in our lives right now, amirite? Let's get into it. This surprisingly good beauty products post was born of the fact that I recently received complements about my skin (not my makeup, mind you, my skin) on two separate occasions. Both times I was wearing foundation (not an everyday thing for me), but each time it was a different foundation. I did realize, however, that there was one common denominator on those days I was wearing foundation—my primer. I don't wear primer often, but the few times that I have worn this primer, I was beset by complements. This Laura Geller Spackle primer in Bronze does contain silicone—dimethicone, to be exact, something I usually avoid in products because I don't like the feel, not because it's inherently unsafe (it's in pretty much in everything). However, this primer does not have that eel-like silicone slip of some of the drugstore brands out there, and is worth a look. It goes on light like a wash of watercolor, and feels hydrating on your face. The color it gives you is subtle, and while there is definitely a glow to it, it does not end up looking like a bunch of glitter sitting on top of your face—a common failing of products made for those of us of a certain age. I'm not saying that this product was the cause of those complements I got—only that I just so happened to be wearing it each time they occurred. This is, after all, science, where correlation ≠ causation. But it did happen twice, so. Experiment reproduced x 1. Just sayin'. The second product that has quietly earned my reluctant, begrudging respect is the NYX Lip IV Hydrating Gloss Stain. I really had no expectations when I purchased this, other than I was hoping for something with a bit more staying power than my usual favorite sheer lipsticks and glosses, but I was unwilling to resort to drying matte superstay type products that never seem to wear well on my lips and always leave me looking like I've been drinking red wine—all of the staining around the inside of the mouth with none of the fun. I admit, this product delivers. A little goes a long way, but it is easy to control how much you put on by just dabbing it on lightly with the applicator, so you can wear it as a soft stain, or add more to create a more opaque look. The color of this gloss stain also builds up over the day as you reapply the product. In fact, the first time I properly used this gloss I was on an airplane, so when I finally deplaned eight hours later (after a few mid flight re-applications), I was shocked at how much color was still on my lips. The texture of this product also feels more moisturizing than any lip stain I've ever known, and for me that is its true superpower. There are tons of good stains out there (the Wonderskin Lip Stain is pretty darn good too), but every other one I've tried, without exception, requires some lip prep beforehand, and a lot of balm while it is on to keep it from feeling and looking dry. Not so with the NYX. This one was one and done, and for me that is an immediate win. Lastly, I want to give a shout out to the Morphe Wakeup Artist Undereye Correcting Concealer (UK link here). Until this product came along, I had always wanted to like those pink-based undereye "wake-up" type concealers, but found them far too light for my coloring, or too sticky, too opaque, didn't do well with having foundation or other concealer over the top of them, or were just too sheer to the point of not having any effect at all. The Morphe product comes in something like four different shades, so you can get a better match to your actual skin tone—it's actually sort of shocking how few companies are putting out shades for this particular type of color correcting undereye concealer in this, the year 2026, but here we are. My shade is "peach" (pictured), perfect for medium and lighter olive complexions, and when I put this under my eyes, whatever circles I have are gone. I mean, sure, my undereyes aren't perfect...I'm 54 for goodness sake, but this stuff just cancels out the shadows so beautifully, I've taken to using it on other areas of my face that are shadowy as well. It is light, blends well, and is very buildable. It is also blendable enough you can put other makeup over the top of it, although I find that after I use it, I often forget to put on my actual concealer. That's how good this one works for me—and it's fairly inexpensive too. I absolutely love this product, so if you're looking for a color corrector concealer that actually works, give it a try. I promise you will be surprised by these. Surprised in a good way...not like these two. Oh my....now that is awkward. This bit of marginalia needs no explanation, apart from telling you that it is a scene from Roman de la Rose, a French allegorical poem by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, in which Vulcan discovers his wife Venus in bed with Mars. *clutches pearls

I've got a quick Outfit of the Day post for you today, and as the label says, it all happened by accident. Having picked up a night shift at the hospital, I arrived home on this morning determined to do something more productive than just sleep the day away. I decided to refresh and reshape a few of my felt hats that were respectively a little snug and had a few dents in them from lazy storage on my part. I also decided that I would film my efforts for a bit of "educational" social media content. True to form, I did this in the laziest possibly way, donning a pair of post-night shift sweatpants and the above sleeveless tee. Once I had finished, I decided to snap a few photos of one of the hats (yes, the one in the photos), since it was a fairly new addition to my online shop (when possible I prefer to use original photos instead of media packs for my inventory). I pulled on the first pair of jeans in my denim pile, threw on some accessories, and stepped into my dog walking boots. During the shoot, I realized that I actually really like the colorful Western-inspired look I sort of accidentally created with my laziness! It's colorful, has a fun boho-Western vibe, and is rugged enough to withstand Highland weather and the antics of a very active 6 month old puppy! Sometimes just throwing a look together without thinking is a perfect lesson in relying on your instincts and impulses to crowd out that little second-guessing voice in your head. The result will undoubtedly make you smile! The Desperado Western Fedora | thrifted Vans sleeveless tee, similar | Ariat belt (old), similar Grace in LA Jeans | Grace in LA shearling jacket (old), similar | concho earrings (old), similar Ariat Fatbaby boots (old), similar

Hey guys. It's been a minute. You'll have to forgive the long silence followed by this rather blurry, haphazard attempt at an outfit of the day, but this is the first time I've been able to bring myself to write about style since the disastrous US elections back in November. Plus, I was running out the door to go to a thing. Like it did for many of you, that absolute s**tshow of an election hit me hard. Just the idea that we were faced with a definitive off ramp—a way to finally turn the page on a really gross, ugly movement in our collective American history and didn't take it—that floored me. And not only did we not take the opportunity, many appear to have fully-embraced the ugly, declaring their love for it with their whole chests, topping it off with cheap, culty merch. And when I say "we", I suppose strictly by the numbers what I really mean is men, and of course in close second the (mostly white) women who support their patriarchal ideology, upholding a dying, outdated social structure that ultimately will only serve to harm them and their daughters. I will never get it, how people can look at such a damaged man leading such a damaged movement—a literal rapist, and say to themselves "Yes. This is who I want us to be. This is it." And no, it is not just a "difference of opinion" about politics. The MAGA movement has grown beyond that. Author Becky Selengut said it best on Threads back in November, when she said (I'm paraphrasing) that it's a big deal because if you support this movement, we can't trust you. We cannot trust you to see the humanity in us or those that we love if they somehow don't conform to whatever the current arbitrary standard should be. We cannot trust you not to look the other way when they come for us or those we love. For me, this was only made worse by the fact that deep down, it wasn't a surprise. Eternally hurtful, but not at all surprising, that so many who walk among us would rather allow a legion of under qualified bottom feeders to undermine our institutions, giving free rein to embarrassing AF bazillionaires who wouldn't stop to pee on them if they were on fire, who will literally take away the few social programs we actually have, those same programs on which they themselves depend, all because they think that eggs and gas are suddenly gonna be cheap again. They'd rather stick a knife in the ribs of our democracy than choose a qualified woman of color and her aw-shucks Midwestern Dad sidekick who they may or may not always see eye to eye with, but have probably never raped or committed large scale financial fraud or drafted an entire government blueprint firmly anchored in some 1930s fascism. If I sound angry, it's because I am. Anger is a justifiable reaction to injustice. I will never not be angry about the hijacking of the country that I once enlisted to serve. People are always telling us regular folk, especially the women, that if only we could just be a little bit nicer to our oppressors, a little less angry, that things might work out better for us. Sure, I'll get right on that. As long as we can all remember that master's favorite lap dog is still a lap dog. Of course the upside to all of this is that I have turned off the mainstream media news for good, and that has afforded me time to finish a novel (you'll get all that info in the next month or so when it's ready for promo, just completeing the draft and editing). Watching the mainstream media all bend the knee and sanewash all of this fascist-adjacent behavior in the biggest campaign of anticipatory obedience I've ever witnessed in my life was just a bridge too far for me. I tapped out. It's just all too stupid - all this making Canada a state and buying Greenland.....I just can't with any of it. Jersey dresses are easy in times of a trainwreck So how does one so thoroughly disgusted with the state of everything find joy in creating outfits again? For me, I have made it work mostly by cleaning my closet and rediscovering things that are already there. Like the dress in the above photo. That was actually featured on the blog way back at the beginning ( Maybe 2012? On one of the older platforms—sadly lost to the sands of time now). It's a jersey dress by now defunct brand Label Lab (UK). It fits beautifully, and has ruching and stretch in all the right places. It's comfy, packs well in a suitcase, and is one of my go-to dresses when I want to look nice but not overdone. So let's make that today's lesson in survival—get yourself a decent, well-made jersey dress that you can pull on in a pinch and take anywhere. It's the perfect thing to reach for when you're filled with rage but still need to look decent at whatever function you're attending. I've included a few options, both secondhand and new if you're in the market for something similar. In the meantime, stay fabulous everyone, and f**k the patriarchy.

As it likely did for many, if not most of you, Pantone's enthusiasm for unseasoned aesthetics has left me wrinkling my nose and side-eyeing them for a second year in a row. Last year it was a deep beige. Beige. This year—a forlorn, greyish sweatsock white. Sure, to them that would be a sophomoric mischaracterization of what they're selling. A color that with their whole chests, they've dubbed "cloud dancer." But that only makes it worse. Can we just pause a moment on the name? Cloud Dancer is as cringe as a culturally-appropriated drum circle populated by non-indigenous white folk wearing MLM pyramid scheme essential oils. It's a name you'd pull out as a writer when you're trying to capture the essence of a thirsty, try-hard wellness guru character who won't get vaccinated because she doesn't want anything toxic in her body but smokes a metric shit ton of weed. I'm not going to delve too deeply into the societal implications of a celebration of whiteness here. Okay, maybe a little bit, but in our current sociopolitical condition, you can find tons of more qualified people than myself that have already weighed-in online. But what I will say is that when the good folks at Pantone think this is a smart move in 2026, it signals less that we should all run out and buy clothing the color of a pair of dingy cotton underpants pulled from the dryer, and more that perhaps it's time for Pantone to fire its entire PR team and start from scratch. Why we're triggered by the Pantone color of the year According to the Guardian, Pantone's VP Laurie Presssman has said that the color is "a structural color, allowing all colors to shine." It's a statement that, fittingly, reads like the product of the AI prompt, "write me a statement that effectively summarizes the modern fallacy of a level playing field for all." The Guardian has paraphrased further statements by Pantone, calling Cloud Dancer a "sophisticated" color that is not "overstimulating", a claim that interestingly, sends me into the same sort of perimenopausal rage as a random misogynist telling me to "calm down." I decide what's overstimulating and what's not. Not you, me. This lesson here, for me anyway, is one that my adult self keeps learning over and over again—particularly since the pandemic, and I do think it accounts for why we're all reacting to Cloud Dancer (gag) in a similar manner. It's not just that the systems and organizations that we have set in place for ourselves as a society are wilfully blind and numb to the experiences and desires of normal people, it's that they want to control said experiences. This of course is not new—but I think what we're all feeling is that this doesn't seem so much like Pantone trying to represent the zeitgeist as it does them trying to dictate it; what we want, what we should be—right down to the color of our garments, which in the coming year I guess are supposed to effectively be an underpants-colored extension of our collective winter of discontent. It is a color that is in fact, the absence of color. A non-color to match our blank expressions as we all stare vacantly at our smartphones, desperate for stimulation while we wait for our underpants to come out of the dryer. If you're new here and you enjoy my brand of snark, sign up for blog updates here. If you're into historical fiction epic sagas and romance, check out my author page.

Hello my fine friends! Do you remember me? I am happy to announce that I am not, in fact, dead (at least as far as I can tell—some days it's a real concern), but rather my absence over the last six months can be explained by the image above. Yes, I have been pouring my energy into finishing this work of historical fiction, the first of a series! While I can hardly call it my first writing project, it is my first full work of novel-length fiction, and thusly I have been neglecting pretty much all other aspects of my life mightily! I will be back to discussing all manner of important style related things in the next week, so don't panic. I'm still here. We have much to talk about. And yes, while this book has been authored by Kendall Brooks , astute readers such as yourselves will notice that the author looks remarkably like yours truly. Funny, that. In the meantime, if you'd like, you can check it out on amazon , available for download now. Paperback will follow in a few weeks time. Edited: 5 October, 2025 There are now a limited number of free ebook copies available on Booksprout —in exchange the platform requests that you do an honest review of the novel before he 31st of December. These copies will be first come first serve. If you are interested in a copy, reach out and I can add your email to the list to get automatically approved as a reviewer. Edit: 8 Jan 2026 - this review campaign is now closed. If you wish to join future advanced reader campaigns, please sign up for the mailing list over at KendallBrooks.com See you soon!

A pleasant day to you, gentle readers! If you're a subscriber to this blog you'll have already seen that the slow burn process that is the launch of my first novel is underway as I am writing this. One of the things that is an essential element of any book launch is obtaining reviews. I have a separate website for the book (or rather, "Kendall Brooks" has a separate website * wink wink ), but I wanted to make sure that the readers among you were aware of an opportunity to read a bunch of e-books for free (and not just mine). And yes, incidentally if you're still reading a blog in 2025 I believe you are thusly considered a "reader." Booksprout (who are not paying me to talk them up, BTW) is a website that helps both indie and established authors obtain critical early reviews. Creating a reviewer profile on Booksprout does not cost a cent, and it's a great way to get access to all sorts of free downloadable eBooks from authors of all stripes—a perfect fit for readers of all appetites. The price of admission is simply a fair and honest review of the book once you've finished reading it. Once you've signed up, you can browse the site's vast collection of available manuscripts! If you do want to sign-up to review my historical Viking Age novel Heart of the Wild Gods , pop me a quick email at KendallBrooksAuthor@gmail.com , and I'll add whatever email you use for your Booksprouts account to my list of pre-approved reviewers so you can get stuck into the reading immediately! If you want more authorly updates, you can join the Kendall Brooks author mailing list by going to the author website . And that comes with a reassurance—that list will never get spammy; As with this blog, I will keep these posts brief and to the point. The purpose of the newsletter is to give all of you who are throwing your support behind my work first dibs and early access to things like free advanced reader copies and giveaways, audiobook and paperback launches, and anything else of interest that comes along! Happy reading!

**This post was been periodically updated to reflect the changes in available products on the market and provide some additional options** I freely admit that I never fully appreciated the whole eyebrows thing until I got older. I've always had plenty to work with in the eyebrows department (too much, actually), and only really started thinking about it when I had to. Now that I am quickly approaching my 45th year, I feel like my caterpillar-like natural brows are starting to show their age. I never thought it could be possible to have brows that look at simultaneously bushy and patchy, but as we all know, age can be a cruel mistress indeed; hair tends to thin out where you want it and migrate to places that you would have never dreamed would need hair. Eyebrows have therefore sort of become my new obsession. In lieu of a lot of other fancy makeup, which I feel looks kind of strange on me the older I get, brows are actually a really easy way to really enhance the look of your face without having to smear a lot of goop all over it. However, if you have grey, white, or salt and pepper hair like me, it can be a really frustrating thing trying to find eyebrow pencils that are not too warm in shade. Everything you try, even those with the universally-accepted labels of "ash", "taupe", or "charcoal" tend to have ruddy undertones, making them look strange when up against the cool tones of my salt and pepper hair. Sometimes, you don't even realise it, thinking you've found a good product, until you find yourself out and about and happen to catch your reflection in the bright sunlight. I've had several of those moments (I used to feel that way about my hair as well, which is why I stopped dyeing it). There's just something so off-putting to me about catching a glimpse of myself with mismatched, brownish-red brows; like I plucked a couple of wooly bear caterpillars off of the road and adhered them to my face. In my trials with every shade of eyebrow pencil on the planet, I've found a few that I like (so far). While everybody is different, even those of us with grey hair, these are a few that are worth a looksee if you are a salt and pepper brunette like me. Or perhaps for some of you, even if you're not. Lorac Pro Brow Pencil in Slate - $19 / £11 This is my hands-down favourite. The consistency is easy to work with and the line is nice and thin. Best of all, the color is a great greyish-taupe without overly reddish undertones. The little brush on the end is nice and firm as well, making it easy to blend.  The downside - it doesn't last nearly long enough. **UPDATE AUG 2024** This version of the Lorac Pencil is becoming very difficult to source. A great alternative is the Sephora Collection Retractable Brow Pencil , which has three different shades of a grey-brown variety. Those of you who are completely grey may also want to try the budget-friendly NYX Micro Brow Pencil in grey, which has a true grey option. Their Ash brown and blonde shades are also worth a look as well if you still have a bit of your natural color. NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil in Charcoal $12 / £10 This one is a bit smudgier and the brush is a bit softer, making it a bit more of a filling-in tool than something for making short little strokes with. The charcoal color is a true grey, and it works well for dark brunette hair, although I found the color to be almost a little cooler than I would have wanted. Perhaps in another five to seven years when I am more grey than I am now, this will be my go-to. I use brow gel to help set everything once you've got your brows the way you like them. **UPDATE OCT 2025** This product for a while was getting difficult to source. It has since returned, but a reliable alternative is the Benefit Gimme Brow Volumizing Fiber Brow Pencil, which has a cool grey option. Like the originally recommended NYX Auto Eyebrow, this product is great for filling-in and adding volume to sparse brows. I daresay, the Benefit actually does a better job of this, albeit at a higher price point. Elf Ultra-Precise Brow Pencil in Cool Brown $7 / £5 I'd also like to add in a reliable, low cost pencil that has been my go-tp for a while now. This will be of particular interest if you are a deep brunette like me looking for a reliable, cool toned brunette eye pencil that isn't taupey or too blue-grey. The Elf Ultra-Precise pencil is super thin, easy to use, never needs sharpened, and has a little bruh for blending. I find it looks really natural on really dark brows but blends really well with silver grey hair since it has a cool base. And it's £5!

Hello again faithful readers. I am officially back. And I have news. After over a decade of religiously adhering to my own no hair dye lifestyle choice, I have changed my tune, and added a bit of...you guessed it—hair dye. Going darker for definition with greyish hair I've spent a good deal of time growing out and talking very publicly about having natural silver hair, so it seemed almost like a betrayal to reach for the dye, as silly as that sounds. But ultimately, it's never a good idea to allow one's ego to dictate the terms of anything in life, so eventually I got over myself and made the appointment. I didn't want to completely lose my silver hair, but I had begun to feel like I really missed the contrast I had when I still had more of my dark hair in the front. It was beginning to lose some definition, something that I particularly began to notice in photographs. I always thought my silver hair really looked best when it was straightened—you could see the different shades within it reflected back with the smoother surface. But I don't straighten my hair any more—the heat and products required are time consuming, damaging, and they oxidize and turn the lightest strands yellow. The first thing I did was get some very fine dark lowlights put in. It did work to give some definition back, but by itself it still felt sort of bland, so I added some turquoise at the tips, just for fun. Loved it. The turquoise didn't last long, but when your hair is as light as my silver bits are, you can easily top it up yourself at home—no bleach required. I wore it like this for the better part of a year, but eventually still didn't have the definition and drama I was looking for. Then my hairdresser told me i was missing a trick by not taking full advantage of how light my natural silver was, and we decided to go full Cruella De Ville, embracing my inner villain with some bolder, chunkier, ultra dark lowlights. He used a demi permanent color that is a near exact match to the color I was born with. L oooove it. Now, do I have to do a bit of maintenance? Why yes—yes I do. But because I still have my natural silver showing through, particularly on the under layers and sides where it grows most prominently, the upkeep is easy and minimal. The color does fade out over time, although over silver white hair like mine, demi permanent never really goes away, it just means the grow out looks less stark. So that's it, really. The end of an era? Hardly. I'm still mostly grey. Well, greyish.

GenX, gird your loins! The tiny t-shirt is back in a big way! Like me, I know that most of you harbor some manner of trauma from the last time this trend was as big as it is right now—that time being the late 90s into the early 00s. I was always partial to the trend then, and I can not even begin to explain why. I never was, and am certainly not now the type of skinny manic pixie that we were all being shown in crop tops in the 90s. No, I'm a nearly 6 foot tall, built like a brick s**thouse Wisconsin girl, so I figure if I can wear a tiny t shirt for a day and not die, so can you. You'll notice I have not, nor will I, make any mention here of what we *should be wearing at whatever age, weight, or stage in life we are at. I leave that kind of rage-bait for outlets like the Daily Mail. I promise you I'm not being overly dramatic when I name and shame that outlet. Check out this simple internet search if you want to see a shining example of how women upwards of 40 are treated by the mainstream media simply by attempting to dress themselves. Last year alone the Daily Mail wrote at least seven articles about what women of a certain age should or should not wear. No. This is a safe little corner of the internet where you get to wear whatever the f**k you like, ladies. There are no podcast bros here that will hate post or body shame you. No Man With a Microphone™️ video will suddenly pop up on your screen, forcing you to listen yet again to "No man wants a woman who...( *insert your own perceived infraction here )." When they do turn up here, or on any of my socials, I chase them down like a shieldmaiden and take their heads as an offering to our chieftain, Cher . Now that we have all the housekeeping out of the way, a little trauma-dumping is in order. Allow me to walk us down memory lane into the 1995-1997(ish) era of tiny shirts. Ah yes—the satin trousers! The low waists! The strappy sandals! My feet start to hurt just thinking about the "going-out shoes" of the late 90s, and if you gaze upon this photo while allowing your eyes to unfocus a bit, you will conjure out of the ether the taste of Snackwells fat free vanilla cookies, the smell of Camel Lights, and you will hear Oasis playing somewhere off in the distance. Look at this toothy, fresh-faced queen below. She walked around the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul for an entire afternoon in this cropped velvet tiny t-shirt, brown kick flares, her backpack, and a pair of chunky slides from Payless Shoes—all this before sashaying casually back to the cruise ship on which she worked. She bought an authentic belly dancer costume that day, which saw her through nearly two decades of Halloween parties before it tragically went missing during a move across the country. But I digress. Oh, and the tiara was not hers. One of the merchants at the Bazaar handed it to her to try on—clearly he knew he was in the presence of royalty—for who else would deign to wear a velvet tiny t shirt to match their jet black hair if they were not of royal blood? Such elegance can only really be properly celebrated with an application of rhinestones, and that man clearly understood the assignment. So what does it feel like now, to wear a tiny tee crop top at an age where back in medieval times, you would have already been dead for at least a decade and a half? It feels exactly the same as it did back in the 90s—a bit odd, but not altogether unpleasant. Let me break it down. The Pros and Cons of the Crop Top Tiny T Shirt The Pros As a layering piece, the tiny tee is a no brainer. It pairs well with high waisted bellbottoms and mom jeans (not pictured here, my jeans, like their owner, are stuck in the low waisted 90s). It's comfortable ( *with exceptions ). It works really well for the gym and for just kicking about around the house. Pairs really well with flat-waisted yoga pants and wide leg sweats. Looks cool AF under a leather motorcycle jacket, ( *though if you actually do ride, it's the last thing on earth you want to be wearing, trust me. ) There are a variety of lengths to choose from. You don't have to go for a full-on, underboob-exposing cut, you can find one that just glances off of the waistband. The Cons You are being constantly reminded that you have a body part exposed every time you enter a grocery store or any other place where there is refrigeration or aggressive air conditioning. See above pro talking point on the variety of lengths. No two are created alike. finding one that hits at the right place is harder than you think, Especially if you're tall and long-waisted like me. (The one in the pic is actually quite a bit shorter than I'd envisioned but I went with it for the sake of the experiment.) Make sure you test so see what happens when you reach overhead. Especially if you're tall and/or long waisted. I neglected to do this critical step and nearly put on quite a show reaching for some bread on the top shelf at Tesco. You're going to feel a bit exposed and vulnerable at least some of the time. In the 90s we were desensitized to having our abdomens hanging out. No longer—especially if you live somewhere where the weather is miserable. The Verdict Will I keep these in the rotation? Absolutely, although for me they make much more sense in a warmer environment than the Highlands of Scotland tends to offer. But I do see myself using them as a layering piece, wearing them around the house or to the gym, and beach holidays and time spent in Florida working on the house are fair game as well. Whatever you want to do, ladies. This is just field research. I'm not here to tell you how to live your lives.

Hello Dear readers. It's been a minute. This is just a quickie post to inform you that I will be closing down one of my online shops, HF Mercantile, imminently. I hemmed and hawed about this, because I honestly really enjoy running that shop, but it all just boiled down to time. So don't worry. There's been no disaster, I am not clinging to financial ruin or dangling from a ledge (well, no more than I do in the course of a normal day), It really was just the need to free-up time to complete the projects that I have going. The largest of said projects is the completion of my first full-length novel, which will be the first in a series of at least two books. I am hoping this will be available by the end of the month! The link to the website and information below for those of you who enjoy historical fiction, romance, and a bit of intrigue. You'll also notice that author "Kendall Brooks" looks an awful lot like Kristin from Highland Fashionista. How very uncanny. But in all seriouslness, the reason for the nom de plume is that there is a lot of writing out there with my name on it; from nursing articles to freelance projects and even a few published short plays. I didn't want someone searching for a particular genre of book to plug in the author's name only to have the search engines spit back some article I co-wrote about how to travel with a urostomy bag or some such thing. The Highland Fashionista blog will remain right where it is, as will my vintage shop on Etsy. Like I said, I will miss curating HF Mercantile, but it was a time consuming venture, I am but one woman, and these books are not going to write themselves! Please feel free to reach out to me any time here on the blog, via my Etsy shop, or on the Kendall Brooks (wink wink) author website—link provided below! Check out KendallBrooks.com!

This post, which I am finally committing to typeset having had it rattling around in my brain for weeks, was originally going to be all about how I seem to have developed a late-stage predilection for kick flares. Then Hurricane Milton happened, and I got distracted. Almost exactly two years after Hurricane Ian landed in our laps , SW Florida property owners were staring down the barrel of yet another behemoth. I hasten to add here that just like with Hurricane Ian, we are fine. We got away with very little damage (a few shingles lost), zero flooding, and nobody in our neighborhood got hurt (as far as I know). I was in Scotland for this one so watched it coming in from afar on my NOAA app (nerd alert) and on CNN - we call this style of obsessively watching the path of an approaching storm "hurricane porn" in our house. So once again, we got incredibly lucky. And yes, we've got some cleanup to do, and that has left us scrambling a little bit to try and reconfigure what we thought this next few months into the festive season was going to look like. If there was ever a time you thought you might like to buy something from one of my shops...nows the time peeps...nows the time. Now, let's talk about something fun. I'm kind of digging kick flares right now I'm actually not even sure how this, my latest infatuation with kick flares came to be. I remember them being about in the 90s, but as someone who has always struggled to find long enough inseams on trousers, I was suspicious of them. I think my newfound interest is because this time of year, everything is wet in Scotland, always. My predilection for ultra-long flare leg bellbottom jeans becomes a soggy liability. I also am a prolific wearer of boots, and kick flares allow you to showcase your boots a bit more. I suppose I should qualify here that when I refer to something as a kick flare, I am talking about the ankle-grazing version. When you plug the term into the internet, you get a lot of different lengths popping-up. The pair in this photo is a simple pair of thrifted Levis flare leg jeans that were too short an inseam for me, so I sliced them just a teensy bit more to distress the hem and was very pleased with the result. So if you're in the mood to try doing this, it's a really great little style hack that's an affordable way to see if you like a kick flare. Side note: If you happen to like this partocular pair of jeans and are round about a US size 10-12 (about a size 31, UK 14), at the time of this writing I actually have a pair of Levis just like this in my UK eBay shop . They're a US juniors size 13, high-waisted and button-fly, so they have a slightly shorter than average, non-disressed inseam. If you're not a secondhand kind of person, The Shadow Split Seam Kick Flares that are in stock right now at HF Mercantile are also a pretty darn cute option. They have a 31.5 inch inseam, so if you have a long inseam like I do they will fit like a slightly longer kick flare, but even at a longer length these jeans are pretty cool. The split on the side seam is great for letting your cool boots peek out. Or whatever shoes you want. The strappy, square toe heels paired with the kick flares in the photo here are serving some serious 90s vibes! My 20-something self used to spend all night in shoes like that. Y'all GenXers, remember how much these hurt!? It was like putting your feet through an intricate web of wire cheese slicers. Figuring out what to pair with kick flares One of the things I really like about kick flares is that they actually work with just about everything. A fitted top, tee, or a tailored blouse tucked it in to highlight the waist works really well as a base layer, when just start trying things on to see what works. Kck flares also look good with blousier tops, chunky knitwear, and oversized blazers. Whatever you choose, the key element is balance if you do decide to layer. It was warm out when I took these photos, so I just went with a lightweight, loose-fitting blouse ( the Zoe blouse, also from HF Mercantile ). But I'm looking forward to wearing this look when it gets colder with some of my chunkier knitwear. I think that a kick flare looks particularly cool with a chunky turtleneck sweater and boots, so stay tuned for that!

By now we've all seen Yellowstone 's Beth Dutton in action. Played by the inimitable Kelly Reilly, who recently described Beth to The Wall Street Journal as "having no edit button", the character is at once passionate, vulnerable, and perhaps most importantly, angry as Hell. While perhaps we wouldn't trust her enough to borrow our truck, we would have all the time in the world for her if she said she wanted to help us throw a few outfits together. Even if you're not a fan of modern American Western fashion, you have to admit that Beth Dutton's wardrobe has some serious game. Of course, the credit here really goes to film and TV industry veteran Johnetta Boone , the costume designer behind the character. Boone has been working her magic in the biz for the better part of 30 years, and in her expression of Beth Dutton, has managed to give us just the right amount of Western flavor without over-seasoning it into heavily saccharine "buckle bunny" territory. Beth Dutton's style on Yellowstone is often traffic-stopping (remember that gold dress!?), but equally, like a lot of Western-inspired fashion, it's also upbeat, functional, translates well into most geographical environments, and can upgrade from casual to fancy pants with just a few adjustments. Best of all? It's accessible; you can throw a look with Western-inspired elements together on a budget. There are endless examples of what we enthusiasts would deem pitch-perfect Beth Dutton style, but today, I'm narrowing my focus to look at one particular, seasonally appropriate (if not downright necessary) piece - the faux fur jacket. This is a piece you can easily add to your rotation without taking out a second mortgage, and in a pop of color, it really sings! While most of the original branded items Kelly Reilly wears on Yellowstone tend to sell out with lightning speed, there are still plenty of options out there. Hover over the photos if you want more info on any of these pieces, all of which ship internationally! Beth Dutton's Faux Fur Wardrobe on a Budget