Friday, October 30, 2009

Surprises




When picking out my outfit the night before, I knew I wanted to wear my new jacket. I found this jacket earlier in the week while shopping for my Halloween Costume, and knew it would be a great 'work appropriate' addition. I decided that my black A-line skirt would be the next best piece to add to the outfit, and the rest I would figure out in the morning.


Laying in bed, I decided that I didn't want to wear a black shirt, even though it would highlight the jacket so well. I decided that I would stand in my closet and pick out the one color that I don't wear much of, to spice up the look. I pondered over the Forest Green shirt for awhile, before finally decided that my Orange tee hasn't seen much wear lately. It wasn't until about an hour later when I was in the car that I looked down and realized, I have dressed for the holiday, except I didn't mean to. I spent the whole day looking like every 5 year olds favorite Librarian. In the words of a good friend, ' at least it isn't April'. Surprise to myself #1- pairing orange, black and white the week before Halloween makes you look hoakie.


These boots haven't been worn in about a year. When I worked clothing retail, all of us girls had gone out and purchased a pair of black pointy boots. I wore my pair to the ground. They were the perfect work shoe, comfortable enough to wear all day, they looked stylish under a pair of jeans and they were sturdy. When my first pair finally kicked the bucket, I headed out to buy myself a new pair. My new pair however isn't as great as my first pair was. These shoes are extra pointy and they make me feel like a witch, which happened to be fitting because well I was dressed for the holiday. Because I haven't worn these shoes in so long, I had forgotten what they looked like on, and while they were comfortable for the long day, they added to the hoakie-ness of my outfit. Surprise to myself #2- The one time you don't really look at yourself, including your shoes before you walk out the door, you will regret the decision. Pointy shoes make you look like a witch.

All things aside, I was still excited about this jacket. My costume calls for a white denim jacket, so while I searched through the racks looking for said item, I was surprised when I stumbled upon this. It wasn't what I needed for my costume, but I knew it would be a great blazer choice for work. Adding this to a t-shirt and jeans would instantly make the whole look feel more professional. I checked the tags as I always do, and didn't recognize the name, but I did recognize the reasonable price tag and the options it would allow my closet and I added it to my pile as I headed to the register.

When I got home and was taking the tags off everything, I got a better look at the jacket. All of the tags are in Chinese! No wonder I didn't recognize the name in the store! I'm not opposed to well made fashion from anywhere in the world, but now that nice sheen that I thought made the jacket look dressy, now makes me think that this jacket looks a little more China Town/ Canal Street, and a little less, shiny for work. After closer inspection I'm sad to report that this isn't a gem shipped from over seas, but instead a knock off purchased which seems to have been purchased in the back of a van, out of someone's trench coat or on a table on the side of the road in the city.

I still love the jacket and it's little bow, but if I had really stopped to think about the whole story before I bought it, maybe it wouldn't have seemed like such a good deal at the time. Surprise to myself #3- Read you idiot! Just because something is shiny, doesn't mean that it's a great purchase. You'll still wear the jacket a lot but now you'll always be self-conscious that the whole world thinks you bought it on a subway stop.

White Blazer/ Jacket: ( which I will still wear with pride and love) Goodwill $10
Orange Tee: Target $5
Necklace: Claire's $1
Skirt: Salvation Army $3
Tights: Kohl's $4
Boots: old


2 comments:

Good Girl Gone Blog said...

Love the tights! I just bought 4 pairs of tights online from goals with a gift certificate I won. Can't wait til they come in the mail!

Great find :)

Anonymous said...

this is GORGEOUS
simple, chic
love it!
thanks for the sweet comments, ive linked you!

-cma
check out my blog @
cosmicaroline.blogspot.com