Is it possible to live elegantly after a breast cancer battle? The older I get, the more fashion-conscious I am becoming. The last thing I want to do is dress frumpy. Nothing screams old more than frumpy! (Isn’t that a great word?)

I also do not want to be the woman who dresses inappropriately (too young). Is there a balance? I intend to find it so I can transform my life.

As a cancer survivor, I have had to reinvent myself. Yes, it stinks that I lost my job, my hair, and my identity. But, now I have the chance to start over and finally decide what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be elegant.

Elegant? Certainly not an adjective that comes to mind when you think of me, right? Well, I say, why not? What comes to mind when you think of the word elegant?

Is it a room with a massive, elegant chandelier? Is it a piece of elegant jewelry? Is it a sprawling lawn with pops of elegant landscaping? Is it a beautifully elegant ball gown? Could it be your nose? “She has an elegant nose, doesn’t she?” How about Jackie O (Kennedy) or Princess Diana?

Anything or anyone can be elegant. You can live an elegant lifestyle. You can drive an elegant car, eat at elegant restaurants, and attend elegant parties. But none of that makes you elegant.

I believe what makes you elegant is you, not your lifestyle. Being classy and polite, being kind to people is elegant. Meeting new people and making them feel as if they are the most valued person in the room is being elegant. Standing tall, looking people in the eye, and always being respectful; that’s being elegant. I want to embody elegance. You think I am crazy, right?

Who decides to become elegant? I don’t believe I ever knew that being elegant could be a choice. I always thought you inherited elegance, that you were born with it, or you were taught it starting at birth. If you are born wealthy, you automatically get the “leg up” on being elegant. However, not all rich people are elegant.

Do you know anyone who is elegant? Who or what do you think of when you hear the word elegant?

I think of Denise, a very dear friend of mine. She treats our friendship elegantly; she dresses elegantly; she is kind, generous, and respectful of others. She is logical and seems always to be “put together,” even when I know she is struggling.

My Aunt Jo was the epitome of elegance. She was my mother’s sister, and she lived in the top half of our two-family home when I was growing up. I have always thought of her as my second Mom. She died two days shy of her 93rd birthday. She had been living in a fancy, dare I say elegant, assisted living home on Long Island.

She curled her hair and put on lipstick and blush every day. She frequently spoke about upgrades she wanted to do to her room. I’ll never forget when she told me she wanted to redo the bathroom. Can you imagine?

When we were going through her belongings after she passed, we found Crest teeth whitening strips in her night table! She hadn’t left her room in months, yet she continued with these daily rituals. That is true elegance to me!

When I lost all of my hair during chemo, I participated in a “Look Good, Feel Better” class. It was offered by the American Cancer Society at a local hospital. It was one of the first times during my cancer journey that I realized I had a choice. I could walk around in my pajamas all day and feel lousy, or I could get dressed, put on some makeup, and feel better. It really was simple.

And, it worked. I did feel better on the days I took the time to put on some makeup and get dressed. Imagine that! It was a turning point for me. In those days, lipstick and eyebrows had become a necessity.

Believe it or not, three years post-cancer, I am still drawing on my eyebrows! Unfortunately, my eyebrows never grew back the same. Thank goodness for eyebrow pencils. They allow me to have elegant eyebrows every day!

I have been researching the word elegant and have determined it is going to be a tall task to embody elegance. However, I will not stop trying! Below is the definition of elegant, according to dictionary.com.

elegant

• tastefully fine or luxurious in dress, style, design, etc.: elegant furnishings.
• gracefully refined and dignified, as in tastes, habits, or literary style: an elegant young gentleman; an elegant prosodist.
• Graceful in form or movement: an elegant wave of the hand.
• Appropriate to refined taste: a man devoted to elegant pursuits.
• excellent, fine; superior: an absolutely elegant wine.
• (of scientific, technical, or mathematical theories, solutions, etc.) gracefully concise and simple; admirably succinct.

If you Google synonyms for elegant, the list is ginormous (way too many words to slip in here)! I have decided to add chic, dignified, and exquisite to my goal list. Wouldn’t it be fabulous if these words defined you? Why wouldn’t we all want to be elegant?

I have begun my quest this week. Today, I am going through my closet and drawers and doing some purging. I also intend to do my grocery shopping. I am wearing makeup, a nice blouse, and my Michael Kors sneakers. Possibly, I am a tad overdressed for my pending tasks. But, you never know who might ring the doorbell, right?

And guess what? I feel good – which is precisely what I am trying to accomplish. Is anyone else interested in joining me in my elegant transformation?

Leave a comment below. Who knows, as crazy as 2020 has been so far, we may start a movement. C’mon, are you with me?