The always-clever and candid Damselfly, mom to the adorable Flybaby, and creator of one of the cutest blog designs I've seen runs a weekly feature called Wardrobe Wednesdays. Each Wednesday, she posts photos of clothes she likes and would wear if she had unlimited funds. Girlfriend has great taste. Especially cute are the tie-back dresses she picked out this week. Go check out her post here (which also contains a good message for all the moms out there).
Damselfly's Wardrobe Wednesdays gave me an idea of my own, but it approaches the world of fashion from what I would consider the total opposite end of the spectrum.
My name is Kristi. And I am extremely style-challenged.
Ever since I can remember, clothes really haven't been all that important to me. I think I can trace it back to the fact that for 13 years, I attended Catholic school, where I was either in uniform or adhering to a pretty strict dress code. Once I got to college, I came to the realization that hey, I can dress however I want now, chopped off my hair, dyed it every color of the rainbow, and pledged allegiance to Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson every morning. Good times.
Upon graduation, I clothed myself in a professional wardrobe for work that interestingly enough bore a scary resemblance to the aforementioned Catholic school dress code. If it fit, I wore it, and I didn't really pay attention to styles or trends, or what particular pieces looked good on my body.
Until the summer of 2005. I went to Seattle to visit my sister, who is the goddess of all things fashion. She owns more cute shoes and skirts than Isabella has items of pink clothing. Karrie used to work in the fashion industry, and she always looks so put-together and stylish. She took pity on her poor couture-challenged sister and took her shopping. That's when I bought my first pair of designer jeans. And I came home with some really nice (and stylish!) pieces. Then I done got myself knocked up, and of course, none of those nice clothes fit for the next 12 months or so.
Unfortunately, in my new mommy role, I've resorted to some pretty bad fashion choices. Sure, I still have my clothes from my Seattle shopping spree, but I have no place to wear them now since I'm at home with the babe all day, and my trips into the office for work are few and far between. And as I've mentioned before, the shirts, well, they don't quite fit as nicely as they did pre-breastfeeding.
So in the interest of full disclosure (not that full, people. Remember, this is a post written by a former Catholic school girl), each Friday, I'm going to dig into the recesses of my closet to show you just how challenged I am. Because seriously, if you can't poke fun at yourself, you're taking life way too seriously.
For the inaugural edition of Fashion Fright Fridays, we're going to travel back in time to 1997. You remember 1997, right? You went to see Titanic three times in the movie theatre. You watched South Park every night, and you were probably just learning about the internet.
I was six months from graduating from college, and I was taking a three-week class in London. You can read all about it here. I went to a store, which for me, at that point in my life, was very much like a journey to Mecca. I went to the Dr. Marten department store.
Now, I had two pairs of Docs at home already, so I wasn't new to the shoe. But this store, located in the heart of London, was five stories of pure yellow-stitched heaven, with every conceivable shoe and boot available in the free world.
I saw a pair of silver hologrammed boots, and a love like no other was born. I bought them. I took them home. And I wore them everywhere.
Damselfly's Wardrobe Wednesdays gave me an idea of my own, but it approaches the world of fashion from what I would consider the total opposite end of the spectrum.
My name is Kristi. And I am extremely style-challenged.
Ever since I can remember, clothes really haven't been all that important to me. I think I can trace it back to the fact that for 13 years, I attended Catholic school, where I was either in uniform or adhering to a pretty strict dress code. Once I got to college, I came to the realization that hey, I can dress however I want now, chopped off my hair, dyed it every color of the rainbow, and pledged allegiance to Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson every morning. Good times.
Upon graduation, I clothed myself in a professional wardrobe for work that interestingly enough bore a scary resemblance to the aforementioned Catholic school dress code. If it fit, I wore it, and I didn't really pay attention to styles or trends, or what particular pieces looked good on my body.
Until the summer of 2005. I went to Seattle to visit my sister, who is the goddess of all things fashion. She owns more cute shoes and skirts than Isabella has items of pink clothing. Karrie used to work in the fashion industry, and she always looks so put-together and stylish. She took pity on her poor couture-challenged sister and took her shopping. That's when I bought my first pair of designer jeans. And I came home with some really nice (and stylish!) pieces. Then I done got myself knocked up, and of course, none of those nice clothes fit for the next 12 months or so.
Unfortunately, in my new mommy role, I've resorted to some pretty bad fashion choices. Sure, I still have my clothes from my Seattle shopping spree, but I have no place to wear them now since I'm at home with the babe all day, and my trips into the office for work are few and far between. And as I've mentioned before, the shirts, well, they don't quite fit as nicely as they did pre-breastfeeding.
So in the interest of full disclosure (not that full, people. Remember, this is a post written by a former Catholic school girl), each Friday, I'm going to dig into the recesses of my closet to show you just how challenged I am. Because seriously, if you can't poke fun at yourself, you're taking life way too seriously.
For the inaugural edition of Fashion Fright Fridays, we're going to travel back in time to 1997. You remember 1997, right? You went to see Titanic three times in the movie theatre. You watched South Park every night, and you were probably just learning about the internet.
I was six months from graduating from college, and I was taking a three-week class in London. You can read all about it here. I went to a store, which for me, at that point in my life, was very much like a journey to Mecca. I went to the Dr. Marten department store.
Now, I had two pairs of Docs at home already, so I wasn't new to the shoe. But this store, located in the heart of London, was five stories of pure yellow-stitched heaven, with every conceivable shoe and boot available in the free world.
I saw a pair of silver hologrammed boots, and a love like no other was born. I bought them. I took them home. And I wore them everywhere.
I wore them out clubbing. I wore them to class. I even wore them under my graduation gown. Don't believe me? Here's me and the hubs (who was just my boyfriend then) in May 1997.
And I desperately wanted to wear them under my wedding dress, but the hubs threatened to call the whole thing off if I did.
Truth be told, I still love these boots, even though I know they (like me) are past their prime. I have dreams of passing them down to Isabella someday so she can love them as I did, although she'd probably laugh her mother into the next century upon first glimpse.
Perhaps instead I'll put them in a shadow box and mount them on my living room wall. They deserve a final resting place worthy of all that silver shininess, don't they?
WOW! Those are groovy. I don't think I've ever seen them in person.
Brave woman you are, opening up your closet this way. I did it once on my blog -- showing my (former) vest collection. Oy the chastisement! ;-)
I do remember that you looked different when I first met you. You've always been a sweetheart though!
Maybe in 15 years 90s retro will be all the rage and Isabella can rock your shoes on adventure of her own. (But not too adventurous, she'll only be 16ish you know.)
It will also be a sad day when my nieces start rocking my grunge favorites. Similar to the day that I saw "Full House" on Nick at Nite "classic" television. *weep*
WOWZERS. Those are quite the boots. I can't say I really relate. I have worn some scary things in the past, but I am all about clothes. In fact, the #1 compliment I get from people- that I dress well.
I totally pride myself in my clothes. I am typically more dressed up than I need to be-- even on casual Fridays when most people are in jeans, tennis shoes, and a sweatshirt/t-shirt-- I am in my fashionable boot cut jeans from Ann Taylor, high heels, and some stylish shirt/blouse. :)
I can't help it. I love clothes
LOL! I've BEEN to that Doc Martin store! Unfortunately, my controlling bf at the time would not permit me to purchase the fushia pink ones I had my eye on.
I say, start wearing the boots again!
I'm with you, Kristi. I have no sense of style whatsoever. My clothes are plain plain plain. I can't afford cute clothes, for one thing! Also, due to my feet being so messed up, I can only wear the staidest & flatest-heeled of shoes. I generally feel a bit frumpy around your sis, who I may one of these days hire as my fashion coordinator!
Whatever you do, don't bronze them! They're definitely the coolest boots I've ever seen.
I almost got married in a red pair of Converse hi-tops. I put them on under my tux just before the photo shoot (we took pictures before the ceremony) and my soon-to-be wife gave me a stern look before she told the photographer to grab a few candids with me in them.
They remain my favorite images of the day.
Love this idea for a feature. I look forward to next Friday!!
I could talk about leg warmers, rolling up the hems of your jeans, ribbon barrettes in your hair, jelly bracelets, BFF necklaces, flannel shirts, etc. etc. etc.
AGH! I had these too!!! OMG. I swear. We must be soul mates.
Ah the silver docs. I was a bit jealous, I gotta say, until I dove headlong into the 20-eye speed-lace platforms. Ahem. "I pledge allegiance, to the eyeliner, and the vinyl pants of Vertex..."
They served you well, and I'll be shocked, SHOCKED if they don't continue to do so as long as they remain in your posession. They're like mom's 45-year old wind up watch. Only you can't use them as an excuse for being late.
Looking forward to future posts, Shish. And Shannon! You. Me. Shopping. When?! :-)
You are so funny. I have been a true shoe freak since junior high school, but I NEVER had anything like those! I was forced to wear high-top shoes as a young child, because my ankles were weak, so I never wanted to wear anything that could even vaguely be taken for those ugly brown shoes. But if they had been silver iridescent - maybe I'd still be wearing them....LOL
What are you talking about, fashion fright? Those are some rockin' boots. I bet that, given the right event/situation, you could wear them again. I love the shadow box idea, and the idea of passing them on. I can't wait to see what you're going to blog about this week....
I didn't realize your blog went back so far. Cool.
Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments!
Hey there - you're in luck! I was at the mall yesterday afternoon and the Nine West store window featured all silver shoes. In all different styles! (no joke). I thought of you immediately. Your favorites are back in fashion color-wise, not to mention that everything is fashionable now so go ahead, wear them and enjoy!
I remember the vests! And if you ask nicely, I will gladly show you the boots the next time you're at my house.
Christine- Growing Pains is on Nick at Nite "classic" now too. Sigh. We're old.
Michelle-You have far more style than I do, my friend!
Ramona-That store rocks, doesn't it? And I think you need to take Greg there and buy those boots you wanted so long ago. You deserve them!
Shannon-I think around Karrie, it's only natural to feel frumpy. I sure do!
Carmi-That's a great story about your Converse, and very cool that you have the pictures to look back on. And thanks for stopping by my blog.
Hopeful Mother-LOL. That's a great list, and sadly, I participated in all those "trends."
Sasha-WOW! I've never known anyone else to have those boots. We must be super-twins.
Karrie-Ah, Vertex and the vinyl boots. Good times. Can you please fly out here to dress me again?
Kenju-awww... you're welcome to my boots if you promise to give them a loving home. ;)
Damselfly-I'm desperately trying to come up with an occasion to wear them again. I'm thinking storytime at the library with Isabella on Thursday. ;)
Editorgirl-Oh, how I wish I could rock the boots once again and maintain my dignity at the same time. :)