Blame it on the Tilley. (Yes I am letting her pretend to be in a tropical jungle, she’s earned the daydream.)
A longer exegesis. I wear that hat when I walk. I try to walk as often as I can, even to do errands, briskly. It’s very sunny in California, much of the time. I live at least a mile from any shopping. I don’t like sunscreen and in any case I can’t put it on my scalp. So, walking.
My father died of congestive heart failure, my mother of Alzheimer’s, both conditions suggest that walking is good. I am not trying not to die, because I am reasonably sensible, but I would like to feel when the time comes I have done the best job possible to support my wild gift of consciousness. How did this particular windowpane of awareness come to inhabit these eyes, this bone structure, this flesh? A miracle. I walk.
Now, here’s the thing. I dare anyone to look even remotely stylish under that hat, unless you’re making a movie about African safaris. Impossible, at least for my type of slightly subversive but WASPy preferences. Could I wear a different topper? It wouldn’t help. Because these are my walking shoes. For weight training, walking to dinner, and “barefoot shoes” for walking everywhere else. You already know why.
Add a jaunty straw fedora, glamorous broad-brimmed number, or even a cute bucket, ridiculous.
Therefore, if you happen to see an older person pitter-patting down a suburban street, looking like a total dork, feel no sorrow. Feel no compassion, do not say “Aw.” They quite likely know they look absurd. It’s not because they can’t tell Dries from Dior or can’t pull a Liberty shirt from their close; they are seizing life like a velociraptor.
And do not worry. When we drive somewhere, especially at night when the sun is down, out come mules and organza dresses, lug-soled loafers with floral scarves. Dressing like a dork isn’t surrender, it’s a savage love of existence. We are so joyful about the sky.
Embrace your intentional dork, if that’s your inclination. Fiercely.
Finally, as part of the I Hate Sunscreen project, I recommend these as overshirts. I have one in muted mauve, one in muddy taupe, one in white. They run small, and I choose which to wear with which color pants or yoga tights. Mauve with ochre pants, particularly adventurous. No need to throw aesthetics out with the bathwater, altogether. In fact, I could persuaded to up level a tad with these or the like.
Have a wonderful weekend.
27 Responses
I hate sunscreen to pieces too and think the I Hate Sunscreen Project should be a whole thing. Am looking forward to the new ones we should begin seeing soon with bemotrizinol, but am not foolish enough to get my hopes up. Lots of love for hats, sleeves and comfy shoes — and even more for “a savage love of existence.” ❤️
My grandfather, my hero, always said that he walked every day so he could keep walking. And he did, right until his last day — through the woods around his house, along the little country road, with his dog(s) or without, with me when I visited. So many things I want to ask him now, tell him now, thank him for, hug him for. I walk whenever I can, too, and think of him. Maybe one day I’ll be as disciplined as he.
Have a comfy, joyful weekend! We are all miracles in so many ways.
Your grandfather sounds like a very worthy hero. SPF clothing is The Way. And yes, lovely, we are all miracles in so many ways.
The triumph of function over form, I love it! My husband likes the term “so ugly it’s cute.”
Thank you! And ha, yes, exactly. I will say I can look sort of cool when I wear Ray-Bans with it;).
Trust me, I looked everywhere [twice] for something – anything – that looked remotely dorky to me. I found nothing dorky, even after taking a break to look up velociraptor, then came back to the same conclusion. The closest I could come to was the name you once used to describe your style – “polished tomboy.” And that’s it. Walk on, you!
Aren’t you so kind! More Tomboy here, infinitely less polish, but so be it!
Hahaha! I have that very hat and it IS stubbornly dorky. In addition to your points, it has an awkward chin strap loop that is necessary in wind, but not an effective design. It hangs on our hall pegs next to a related form of hat my husband bought in Australia. That one that is jaunty and earns compliments. I usually exchange the Tilley for a ball cap when we walk together, otherwise we just look like “such a sweet old couple.” Plus the Tilley would be jealous of the “Cool Hat!” comments the Aussie hat gets.
As always I enjoy your writing and this week I’m saving two phrases: the I Hate Sunscreen project, and the “savage love of existence” that motivates a lot of my healthy actions as a 75-year-old. Perfect labels – thank you!
Tilly twins! Here in the SF Bay Area Peninsula, my middle sister and I joke about the Tilley brigade. We are everywhere. As are the sweet old couples;). I am also happy to share motivations for healthy actions. Even sweet old couples are secretly velociraptors, sometimes.
Also, the strap is dumb LOL.
Oh my gosh, I am SO feeling this point of life!
For years I have maligned and avoided the “dork” — at-all-costs-or-comfort-or sense.
For years, I vowed to “never let myself go.”
But, alas, I have arrived here. I am Full Dork, and hate it. But I want to keep active, keep moving, keep on. And, too often, function and fashion do not meet.
— sigh —
Thanks for the encouragement, Lisa.
Keep dorkin’
Keep on dorking on! We can dress up when we want to, but if we want to prioritize the other aspects of life-ing, we can.
Oh dear. My olive skinned husband and his father had skin cancer. Please try a sun screen stick. So much less evasive and runny. On the back of your hands while driving especially.
I do put sunscreen on my hands, most of the time. And sometimes on my cheeks. I am so sorry your husband and his father have both been through this. I hope both are well now.
My favorite is “wild gift of consciousness”. Back in the dark ages when I was a child the people in our neighborhood (including me) thought my grandfather was odd because he made sure to take a walk every day. He lived to be 93, and for most of that time was quite healthy. So walk on!
I will admit that I wear a baseball cap rather than a Tilley, and I use sunscreen. But I cheer on any of us who are out there, whatever we wear.
Those of us who are out there! Including your grandfather. There’s a couple in my neighborhood, he is late 90s, she early 90s, and they walk for an hour in the morning and another hour in the afternoon. I hope your baseball cap has a place of honor:)
You should give Korean sunscreens a chance, such as Tocobo and Beauty of Joseon. It’s a completely different experience.
Really? Where does one find them?
Re: Beauty of Joseon, quick search yields, natch, Amazon. And Sephora. Or direct.
I mostly avoid this dilemma by walking my five miles before 9:00 am, when the sun is not yet strong enough to worry about SPF. Maybe not for everyone, but I am an early riser.
I’m still not good at sunscreen. Reapply every two hours? Am I supposed to set a timer? What if I’m mostly indoors during that period? Is the sunscreen still effective, or am I supposed to reapply?
Also, I bought a hat from Costco that purports to be SPF 50, mostly for gardening although for some reason it was only available in off-white! I cut off the dorky chin strap. :) I will no doubt get dirty fingerprints around the brim.
Five miles before 9am sounds kind of ecstatic, TBH. I use that time to collect my thoughts back into my brain from wherever the night has taken them, but I can imagine that early morning walk is a wonderful way to begin a day. Can you imagine a sunscreen timer?
I LOVE sunscreen. Have worn it on my face, neck etc. every day since I was in my late 20s and on my hands and arms since I moved from an island in the North Atlantic [also known as: Britain] to the Midwest at the age of 39. My head is large (as is yours, I note!) and I wear glasses, so I can’t always find a hat I am willing to wear… and I have quite a few pairs of walking shoes (none of which are elegant). But still, I am increasingly dorky. It comes with wisdom, I think.
The Wisdom of the Dork:). You love sunscreen? That’s amazing. What an excellent character trait.
I have an old (30 years) straw Eddie Bauer hat…with feathers tucked into the band…it is ragged but I love it.
I use Eminence Sunscreen…they have a mineral powder version or a lightweight SPF liquid which i use now. It’s quick to use and is not thick or heavy feels like a moisturizer.
But I digress…Dorky is a perk of being older…it actually feels freeing :-))
I had allergy testing last summer which showed I am allergic to ingredients found in nearly all sunscreens. My dermatologist has me taking Heliocare. The packaging says it is not a sunscreen substitute, but apparently he has patients who golf and say they don’t get sunburns as often when taking it.
Hey… Who you calling a dork? I dress this way all the time and have for decades.
(Even have a Tilley wardrobe :))
Ex Officio used to make my favorite shirts, but no longer, sadly.
Royal Robbins has a nice one too.
Rock on Adventure Girl!
I am the sunscreen queen. When I was in my 40’s, a dermatologist told me to wear sunscreen on my face, at least SPF 40, every day year round. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years now, I never skip it. I’ve tried many, many brands. My criteria are that (1) it can’t sting my eyes, because I put it around my eyes up to the lash line and (2) it can’t be greasy or sticky. I don’t wear foundation so I am left with whatever the sunscreen does.
I echo the recommendation for Beauty of Joseon, but I never get it from US sources, because they use different formulations here. The FDA restricts ingredients. I buy Asian sunscreens from Stylevana. But I’ve recently found one that is even more perfect. It sinks right in and you can’t even tell that you have it on. It’s from Geek and Gorgeous, which sells the stuff as Zero Feel SPF 50 in Europe, and Zero Feel day cream in the US. Exact same stuff, they just don’t make the SPF claim in the US, which somehow gets them around the FDA restrictions.
I also have a large head, and I don’t like hats. I’m hoping to move to CA in a year or so, though, so I will have to come to terms with them. Big change from working full-time on the East Coast and being retired in sunny CA!
I wear a dorky hat to keep the sun off me partly because it’s effective but mostly with my XL head I can’t find anything else that fits me. When going to the pool or beach I take dorkiness to a whole other level because instead of a swimsuit I wear a long sleeved rashgard and long shorts, both with SPF. I hate sunscreen with a passion!
Lisa, I look like even more of a dork with my carbon hiking sticks like I’m skiing through Florida. Trust me, you cannot surpass that dorkiness level.