Being a Mess

As I was about to pull into a parking spot today, I saw a woman whose appearance immediately threw me. Her hairstyle and color said punk. Her jacket said Grandma. Her purse said professional, and her shoes said Korean manicurist. I didn’t analyze all of this in one fell swoop, but rather got a closer look at her when we happened to enter the same restaurant for lunch.

I’m so glad to have seen her, and noticed the many aspects of her appearance, because I know I have done the same thing a million times, and now I know better. In all seriousness, I was not judging her. I could imagine that she had just been at the doctor’s office, so had thrown on the weird little sandals to be comfortable, along with the sweatpants and somewhat frumpy/punky ponytail. All of her stuff was in the big brown leather bag she uses for work, so she picked that up on the way out the door. She forgot a jacket, so she borrowed her mom’s when she caught a chill at the doctor’s office. It happens.

But it was amazing. I couldn’t tell how old she was. I couldn’t figure anything out about her, and it was all because her appearance was so inconsistent. I bet there are some cool fashion freaks who can make that concept look good, but we ordinary folks tend to fall apart under it.

So what did I learn? Consistency! From head to toe! If I am going to wear dress pants, I must not wear sneakers, unless they are nice fashionable sneakers, and I’m wearing something casual on top that makes the whole thing work! If I am going to wear a dress and stockings and nice shoes, I damned well better do something with my hair. If I am going to look like a slob, I better work the slob thing from head to toe (but why work that hard to look bad when I could look good?). None of this pulling things together and squinting in the mirror to imagine that it looks good. No more putting on a pair of earrings that I hope will draw attention away from my wrinkled pants. Being put together is so important, and I got an in-your-face example of why today.

Speaking of being a mess, I was thrilled to learn yesterday that one of my favorite TV personalities, Stacy London of TLC’s What Not To Wear, is now hosting her own show called Fashionably Late. I’m of course fashionably late in realizing this, since apparently it premiered last week, but I’m all set up to record it. It’s on Fridays at 10/9c on TLC. Sweet! I have Stacy (and her WNTW co-host Clinton) to thank, in large part, for my realization that I sort of have been a mess as far as fashion goes.