Let me tell you about a skirt that I’d gotten at Acorn Apparel, a Louisville vintage shop. Being a cheapskate, I’d purchased it off the $5 rack. Without trying it on.
I know I should have, but ever since the kids, I’ve kind of refused to try stuff on. It’s so annoying: all the taking stuff off, and trying stuff on, and taking it off, and then putting more stuff back on… In a cramped and often dirty room. While small people whine for you to hurry up.
And I can usually tell if something will fit by looking at it. Which, I thought was the case with this particular skirt. It seemed straight-forward on the rack. But it wasn’t at all. When I got home and put it on, it looked like and ugly balloon sack that hit at the most unflattering point of my knee. There was a reason it had been $5.
I showed it to Chris, who generally tries to be nice and open-minded about what I wear. But even he had to admit it was ugly as sin.
I wasn’t done in yet. I operate on a strict, “No clothing left behind” policy. I’d paid $5 for that thing and, by Chanel, it was going to look good!
I decided to try sewing up the sides into little pleat-type bunches. That’s totally not correct terminology, but I don’t know how else to describe it. So just look at the pictures (Unfortunately, there is no before pic. You’ll have to trust me on it’s previous ugliness):
I was still kind of unsure if it was actually wearable in public, so I again showed it to Chris and asked him if it was cute. He said, “I don’t know if I’d say cute…” But he agreed that it looked way better than before. So I left the house in it.
And all the girls pronounced it cute and adorable and all that kind of stuff. So I feel like it’s a fashion win. I triumphed over ugliness AND got my 5 dollars worth.
