Tucked In and Other Misconceptions

I used to believe in the set of Fashion Rules that at some point, some magical fashion fairy bestowed upon all women of the world. ( No white after Labor Day, Never wear Black and Brown together, Don't wear Mom Jeans unless your a Mom, Don't tuck in your shirt, Avoid horizontal stripes at all cost!) I am not sure when it was exactly that this fairy came down and established these rules, or why it is that everyone who talks about these rules feels the need to explain them while doing their best impression of Joan Rivers. I have spent the last year or so discovering that most of these rules were meant to be broken, but there are two that I remained admittedly against, Mom Jeans, and the Tucking in of my Shirt.

My fear of Mom Jeans is simple, I just don't want a frontal wedgie. My fear of tucked in shirts was much more psychological however. I think as a child, most of our mothers are dictating to us little bits about our appearance through-out each day. ( Smile with your teeth, Don't comb your hair that way, Stand up straighter, Tuck your shirt in!) I think we can also all remember the day when we reached adulthood and suddenly realized that our Mother's no longer had control over our appearances. We could slouch if we wanted to, dye our hair all sorts of colors, and leave our shirts tucked half in and half out if we wanted to gosh darn it!

I don't think my fear of tucking in my shirt actually runs that deep, but I will say that tucking in your shirt gets a bad wrap. Little boys tuck in their shirts, and suddenly realize that all the cool kids don't do that. Only their little brothers and dorky dads. Suddenly they are waiting until their moms drop them off at school to slip the hem lines of their shirts free from behind their pants. I do think that the same thought process tends to stick with us into early adulthood, who wants to tuck their shirts in? When I wanted to start emphasizing my waistline I began adding a belt over my shirts. I still stand by my favorite belt accessories but I have now seen the light. Sometimes the best look for adding definition, bringing a look together and just keeping it all clean is tucking in a shirt. I stand corrected and after all these years of standing on a soapbox and shouting that I am my own person and can make my own decisions, I have decided that my Mom was right all along. I will tuck my shirt in, and I do like my hair combed the other way. The fashion fairy and I on the other hand still have some talking to do. ( I mean no white after Labor Day? Really, it is such a stupid rule)