It had been a few years since we'd been to a wedding. Our babysitter, also named Coach - not really but he and my Coach have the same first name, got married in July several summers ago. In March '23 we were preparing to attend a winter-ish wedding, I was pondering what to wear.
In my mind, I had the perfect outfit. I tried it on for Mini right after she and Ed arrived home from their Ireland trip.
Mini: OK, um. Yeah. Well, ummm . . . . I HATE it. Dear God. What were you thinking?
Don't hold back, tell me what you REALLY think.
It did not receive high marks. The crazy thing is that in that glorious time warp, also known as my mind, I'd JUST worn this and it would be perfect. When I went before the firing squad, When Mini quizzed me about where this ditty came from, I was like I WORE IT TO THE AUCTION FOR THE SCHOOL FUNDRAISER WHEN CURLY . . . WAS . . . A . . . BABY. That's when my mind caught up to the current year and I awoke from my coma. Oops.
Backing up the bus: On Christmas I modeled an animal-print, open, flowy cardigan sweater thingy that my mom got me. After everyone had gone home and Ed's girlfriend 'GF' (who is not gluten free, but the abbreviation is the same) was over, I put it on and asked for opinions. Ed's GF spoke a sentence, with a little confident shrug, that is now legendary in these here parts:
I CAN STYLE THAT.
Bam.
Ed's GF is a stylish chick. I've tried things on before and requested that Ed send GF photos to be sure I'm approved to wear whatever it is in public. So, she was giving this Christmas gift item, that I didn't really care for or have a use for, a nod as something that she could style. And, back to the store it went, because truth be told - I am NOT GF and I do not have her special powers.
When I was wearing my retro iridescent brown jacket and long flowy 3D skirt that gives the impression that it is made of flowers, Ed said: I WILL NOT EVEN SEND A PIC OF THAT TO GF. I WON'T DO THAT TO YOU. TOO EMBARRASSING. (*I'm out of town and will share a photo of said outfit later this week. Sorry, I can't find the photo I had and I ran out of time to take a new photo. Get excited - this outfit doesn't disappoint).
I pulled out the black dress that I love - I wore it for Christmas and it is comfy and dressy and looks great with boots. Mini wasn't sure it was dressy enough for a wedding. I reminded her I was not the mother of the bride or the groom and by the way - WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME SHE WAS AT A WEDDING? Oh yeah. How about never?
My outfit was prefect, even if the wedding was not my favorite night out.
DRESSING MY MINI ME LIKE ME: Mini was recently invited to a networking event for Evans Scholars. The day before she stepped into my room where I outfitted her in my professional clothes. I do own some clothes that can be worn in a professional setting even though my day-time gig is a daycare.
So, eat it Marie Kondo or whatever her name is. I don't dress up often, but I do have some nice clothes - things I wore back when I worked outside the home briefly. It works quite well that Mini can wear most of my clothes. She also likes a lot of my clothes - so long as we steer away from the things that have been around for too long. I'm looking at you, iridescent jacket.
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She insisted on wearing close-toed shoes, but she had nothing appropriate. I pulled out a pair of silver shoes that I haven't worn in YEARS. I was so relieved that I still had them. They are versatile. She looked snazzy.
You can dress her up, but some of her habits? Well, I was prepping the kids to go to the ND Vision camp a few weeks ago. They needed twin XL sheets. My college kids have those, but our twin beds are not XL, even though my boys, who are all over 6 feet, would die for an XL mattress. So, I texted Mini to ask her where her sheets were.
Mini: In a bin somewhere in the basement. Curly can go find them if she wants to use them.
Me: UM, NO. THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS. I NEED THEM FOR HER AND YOU PUT THEM IN A BIN SO YOU CAN LOCATE THEM.
Mini: OK, but they are gonna have to be washed.
Me: WHAT? WHO PUTS DIRTY SHEETS IN A BIN?
Mini: This bitch.
Anyone else hang on to clothes for too long? Ever forget how old some item of clothing ACTUALLY is? I won't ask about storing dirty sheets. I think I know the answer.
28 comments:
If she doesn't wash her sheets when she gets home, she has no right to question your fashion choices. I bet you looked great and they were just trying to stifle your fun. That other outfit looks great - awesome shoes. How can they criticize if they steal your cloths?
Oh, "I can style that" are words I will never say! Some can and some can't, and I know which I am.
Mbmom11- You raise a good point. My more recent clothes are OK with them, because they approve most of my purchases for me . . . and then that ends up working for them in the long run. It was a cute outfit and she had a few options to choose from. I'm happy that she likes the work type clothing in my closet currently, because I don't need them very much and I can send her back to school with them for interviews and presentations. I'm all about saving a buck and this seems like it is gonna save us some coin.
ccr - Exactly. I know which I am, too. I'm the type that needs all the help I can get.
Anyone else hang on to clothes for too long? Ever forget how old some item of clothing ACTUALLY is?
I have no idea how old some of my clothes [winter coats in particular] are. If the item fits and doesn't look shabby I'll wear it forever. Same with shoes/boots/sandals. I hate shopping for clothes, so I suppose this makes sense.
Oooh I wish you included a photo of your black dress and boots, I love a black dress with boots!
Oh, I can relate! I have some clothing in my closet that seems like I wore it just yesterday... but if I really think about it, it has been a looooong time.
Love the profesh outfit! So cute and polished!
(Storing DIRTY SHEETS!!!!!)
Anna just threw out her college sheets every year. We care about the environment and want to save money, but it was for the best. TRUST ME.
I love that outfit! So adorable.
I hate events where I have to dress up. Fortunately, those occasions are rare for me. 😊
I kept my senior prom dress (Class of 1996!) and one of my daughters actually wore it this past prom. That was fun. That was also probably the oldest piece of clothing I've kept. My Mom had my wedding dress made into Christening gowns for her grandkids. I wear jeans and t-shirts to work, but can dress up when necessary. I have a plain black dress that works for many occasions, and I've had that one for 5ish years now.
I have a lot of older clothes and I wear most of them. I tend to buy solid color ‘classic’ pieces, nothing trendy. I do have a few unusual pieces from the 80’s that have been used for costumes by my kids. One is a big, yellow plaid jacket with shoulder pads (think David Byrne in Stop Making Sense) that I bought in Toronto on our honeymoon.
My girls have never worn any of my clothes, but I’ve nabbec workout wear they no longer wanted!
*This bitch*
I died!! I DIED!
I only have a few older things as I've changed sizes. Sadly.
I do have one blouse that I wore on our honeymoon and still have. I keep meaning to blog about that one day.
I love that mini can shop in your closet and that you have someone who can 'style' you....or not. Depending on how you feel. :)
If you hang onto clothing long enough the style always comes back around! :) My at-the-time teenage daughter came home one day so excited to show us the Puka Shell necklace she just bought! I made the mistake of pulling out the puka shell necklace I had in high school and she was mortified! I don't think she ever wore hers!
I've had the dress I wore to my son's college graduation in May for decades. I don't even remember when I got it but I wore it to my brother-in-law's wedding in 2000, so longer than that!
I still have all the dressy heels I wore for work. I have them on shelves in the back of two closets. It's like a Shoe Museum. I just cannot give them up. My professional shoe wardrobe was my hallmark.
Oh Mini. The stories never end. Putting away dirty sheets- just eww. My son once stuck a sandwich under his matter (so I wouldn’t know he hadn’t eaten his lunch at school). It was there all summer-thank goodness it was in a plastic bag. Mind you he was 6, not 19 haha.
Ally - This does make sense to me. I do love shopping for clothes, but I tend to buy classic type of clothes so they don't go out of style. Hanging on to things that I love makes it hard to figure out how old something might be.
Nicole - I will pose for a headless photo of me in the black dress and boots to share with the class. I'll do it when I dress up in the brown outfit. I'm sure Mini will enjoy taking photos of me dressed in my ancient finest - black dress doesn't count. It's a great staple that I intend to wear for years to come.
Suzanne - I do think she cleaned up nice . . . in my outfit. That top is so old. Probably like 10 years. I'm so glad I didn't toss those shoes. They were the bomb back in the day - they went with everything.
It's funny how time can slip away and our clothes don't seem to age until we realize that they are older than dirt. But not dirty like unwashed sheets in a bin.
What on earth? Was she raised in a barn?
Kari - Mini used my college comforter on her bed for a few years when she was really small. Then we dragged it to the beach. Throwing away sheets? OK, I trust you.
I love to dress up, but I think that is because in my line of work I dress down, like way down.
Kara - I reused my sister's prom dress that was like 6 years old and I thought that was pushing it. That is a story and a half. I got a prom date a few hours before prom, so an older dress that got dusted off was necessary.
I love that she reused your prom dress. The baptismal gowns made out of your wedding dress is so memorable.
I have a closet full of clothes, but this summer especially I've found that I gravitate towards the same things. I especially love my stretchy skorts.
Bijoux - I am the same - I buy all classic clothes. When there was that cold shoulder nonsense, I skipped it. No thank you. I love that my girls can wear my things, most of the time. I was a little ticked that she borrowed my new favorite cropped pants (is that what those are called?) when I specifically told her those were off limits. She took them when I was out of town and admitted later that she'd worn them. She is really lucky she didn't stain them.
Suz - I kinda thought you might enjoy that little Mini moment. That girl. What am I gonna do when she is back at school? Well, she has Fridays off and so do I . . . so I might be going to pre-game with her at college (that's what they call drinking before partying, which is obviously NOT what I would do on a Friday, but I might take her to lunch and go for a walk).
She did borrow my new fav pants recently and I was not happy because I'd told her those were off limits. She admitted it later. Not like she could've gotten away with it if she wanted to because they were on the floor of her room under her many layers.
A blouse from your honeymoon. So fun. I do want to hear that story. I have some clothes that I will either never fit in again or that are just too fun to toss. Memories. Good thing I got a walk in closet in this house.
Cindy - I do believe you are right. I remember several dresses that my mom saved for decades, believing they would come back in style. I don't think that particular long, fitted, sparkly, cheap fabric apparel ever took off again after the 70's but we enjoyed having it as costumes.
I'm laughing at the necklace story. So funny.
Stephlove - Well, that is a well loved and useful wardrobe piece. I think that if some of my maternity clothes hadn't been cut short because of a clear lack of use, I'd still have some of them too. I love it when some article of clothing survives and comes in handy forEVER.
Nance - I'm laughing at your shoe museum. I could never manage to wear heels daily for any length of time. That would've killed me. If you pulled that off, then it makes sense that you've saved them in your shoe exhibit.
Pat - The stories really do never end. What will I blog about when she is back at ND? Somehow I think I will hear bits and pieces of nonsense. I also have a few of her friends' cell numbers, so I can reach out for tidbits.
The sandwich of long ago - I agree, thank heavens for baggies. Lad did that once with lunchmeat left in a drawer. The room started smelling like dirty socks, but if someone's feet could create THAT kind of stink then I feared we were dealing with a foot fungus that would lead to amuputation. Always fun to hunt through a boy's room in search of THE smell.
"This bitch".
I am dead. Why do I feel like that needs to be your new catchphrase?!
(Just now catching up on all my blog reading! Sorry for the late comment.)
Beth - Somehow I think as the owner of a daycare I shouldn't use 'this bitch' as my catch phrase. ;)
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