Friday Fancy

I meant to post a link to this earlier this week, but well, you know. I feel like I'm saying that a lot lately, on here, but mostly in real life. There is a certain je ne sais quoi about life with three kids. Sometimes it is manageable, easy even, but then sometimes...holy shit. It is like standing at the bottom of a mountain with a huge snowball coming toward you and not moving, just thinking, "Ah hell, that thing is going to hit me." And it does and you're left laying in the snow, thinking, "Well, you know...."

ANYWAY, here is a link to a post on Gigi's Gone Shopping that really, really struck home with me. As we all know, I love clothes. Love them. I've loved them as long as I can remember--I remember events by what I was wearing, and my closet is probably one of my favorite places in my house. More importantly, I love dressing up and looking my best. I feel that I'm two completely different people--one when I'm dressed in a way that I like, and one when I'm not. You can imagine the one that you want to be friends with. Gigi hits the nail on the head talking about the pressure not to be "fancy" and how we all need to just rise up away from that and dress however we damn well please. It is ok to geek out over fashion.

I really have to struggle to remember this. I know I complain about the area where I live a lot, but really, unless you have been here, it is really hard to explain. It is rural. And backwards. "Dressing up" here means putting on the jeans with the fewest holes in them and a sweatshirt from American Eagle. I am not kidding. Dresses are reserved for Sunday church, and then we are not talking sheaths or shirtdresses. We are talking calf-length florals made of polyester. Yup. Yes, there are a few people who go a bit differently, but it is definitely not the norm. The biggest retailer (and only in a lot of people's minds) is Wal-Mart. If you can't buy it at Wal-Mart, these people don't have it. You can imagine the funny looks I get sometimes, just wearing what I would consider to be rather casual. I get compliments from teenagers and younger kids, but never other parents or adults. Well, I take that back. Once a co-worker complimented a ruffled t-shirt I was wearing from Loft. I told her that I had ordered it from there, and she goes, "Ordered it online? I could never do that." Dude, we're not talking about meth, we're talking about purchasing goods on the computer. Yeah. Told you it was a little different.

I have a dress that I ordered from Shabby Apple ages ago. I was cleaning out my closet yesterday and found that it still had the tags on it. I have pulled it out a bunch of times and then thought, "No, I should wear jeans today," or "Trousers would be more appropriate." A couple of times, I have come close to wearing it and then used the fact that I don't have the kind of shoes that I desire to wear with it as some sort of out. I mean, I have some shoes, just not THE shoes. But I don't ever go out to find THE shoes. I like the dress, it fits me nicely, my husband says it looks like something Emily Deschanel would wear (and that is the highest compliment coming from him--he is a huge fan of her and of Drew Barrymore). But it hangs in the closet. That makes me mad at myself. Reading Gigi's post reminds me to go get that dress and just put it on one day. Yes, I will come home and wonder if people think I am having an affair. But oh well. Let them think that.

Interestingly enough, I am in the final stages of the interview process for a new job. I kind of came into it accidentally--someone put my name in the running and then they called me and asked me to apply, so I thought about it and hemmed and hawed and then sent in my resume. Then I got a call back and went to the interview and it turned out really well. You know how you have an interview or something and you can see almost immediately that you are among friends? Yeah, it was like that. For those curious, I wore Gap Modern Boot trousers, a Martin + Osa gray wool blazer (from TJ Maxx), the J. Crew Alice tank in pearl (which Matt said make me look like a pirate--ARRR!! Give me a job or ye walk the plank!) and BR black pointy toe slingbacks. Then they call me and say that I have "blown them away" (pats self on back) and they're having me back on Monday. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about all this. I wasn't really looking for a new job, and I do some good work at my current one (although I get paid poverty-style wages). But this one is good and it is in a new town that is toward civilization. A bit more foreward looking, let's say. Plus, I could and in fact, would be encouraged, to dress up everyday. Is it such a problem that I like that aspect possibly the most? Matt says it is insane that anyone would want that in a job. To him, the best job you could do in a t-shirt (something pop-culture related) and jeans. We had a gentle argument about this in the car the other day and Gabby was like, "I think you're both wrong. And stupid to even talk about it." Yeah, thanks Gab. A reminder to all with children: bury yours at age 10 and then dig them up when it is time for college. But here I am, all geeked out over clothes. And feeling slightly guilty and superficial about it all.

But you know what? I've made a lot of decisions in my life that don't jive with what everyone else is doing. I have a cloth diapered, breastfeeding til 2, co-sleeping, AP style baby, for chrissakes. Who cares what kind of clothes I wear...judge me for that! I need to get over the clothes guilt. It is not going to change anything. I need to be happy with the ones I have and wear the hell out of them. Even the dresses.

So, long story short, let's all get over trying to fit in in this slobberific world. Yes, there will be people at the grocery store wearing their Snoopy pajamas. Yes, it will make you want to throw up in your mouth. But stride by them in your heels and pencil skirt. Let's all get dressed.