day fourteen: wearing something I never (thought that I) could pull off #leatherpants
The other day, as I was sorting through samples and picking an outfit to send to a major fashion magazine, I was struck with a thought: I am working in retail.
I have worked for this company for over a year now. I have sold clothing in the store, helped sell and do visual merchandising in the showroom, and now doing PR and communications for the same organization. I always regarded it as "athletic lifestyle brand", but standing knee deep in samples and fulfilling media requests, I realized that I am indeed in the business of fashion.
I don't know how a girl who prefers tube socks, lacrosse jerseys and fuzzy fleeces wound up working in a sample closet, but somehow I did. I'm surrounded everyday by fashionistas; my coworkers are constantly ahead of the curve and straight mavens when it comes to trends.
These are the girls who not only Pinterest, but are pinterest-ed.
Maybe it is because of my spending more time looking at pictures of food on Pinterest than fashion, or maybe it is my growing up in 80's hand-me-downs as a child of the 90's, but I've never been "trendy". I've certainly copy-catted trends, but never set them.
I've always played it safe in my outfits. With one exception of wearing white calf-high socks in Vancouver when the style does NOT exist here, I've always just worn what ever is easiest and quickest. I've never been able to justify spending over 100$ for a blouse, usually just taking a mental snapshot and heading over to forever 21 in search of something similar.
Many of nights in college, my roommates and I would take a glass of wine to the closet as we got ready for a night out- insecurities thawed a bit after a drink. The amount of times my roommate Ally would have to convince me to actually wear an outfit I put on out are countless, and it was not rare when it took the whole household to convince me to go out in something I wasn't completely comfortable in.
When I bought my tickets to the incredible event submiT Vancouver, a pop-up art show and party that benefits Imagine 1 Day, I was extremely excited. My best friend from last summer's internship would be in town, everyone in the office was going, and, most importantly, I was excited that I finally, FINALLY knew of an event in Vancouver before I saw everyone's pictures on Instagram.
The rumblings around the office about the event were consistent the days leading up. Because my office is comprised of around 70% women, the majority of the conversations were around what people would be wearing. I knew then and there that my college wardrobe would not cut it; this was my first legit post-college event and I needed to show up in a big way, and it would be scary.
My heart took residence in my throat once again as I shopped with my self-proclaimed yet totally validated "fabulous" friend Mollie. As I slipped on the outfit she picked out for me, I felt sick to my stomach. All the negative thoughts that could easily be avoided by wearing stretchy pants ran through my head like a robber through a bank. If you're a girl, you know exactly the thoughts that creep in anytime you're under the unforgiving, harsh light and the wide mirrors of the dressing room.
If you're a boy, ask your nearest girl- they'll tell you, it sucks.
Finally after some coaxing turned coaching turned stern demanding by Mollie, I stepped out of the dressing room. She squealed in delight and clapped her hands together, looking at me with the same adoration as you would a piece of pottery you'd sculpted and and just taken out of the kiln. This was beyond me, and there was no going back.
As we got ready, I was filled with that same nervous anticipation I've had a love-hate relationship with the last two weeks. Was I seriously wearing leather pants? Had I not watched this episode of friends many many times? FYI- the majority of my moral standards can be attributed to what I learned by watching Friends.
"SOMEONE comment on the pants!"
But, there I was, walking out of my new apartment in leather pants.
The event was as incredible as I anticipated, and I received many compliments on the pants. We had a great time, and I was increasingly confident as the party went by (and the wine was drank). I forgot that I was even wearing anything out of the ordinary.
The biggest learning of this challenge can be summed up in one of my favourite quotes:
We're all just throwing shit up at the wall and seeing what sticks.
Strangely enough, google is coming up short in delivering who actually said this quote. Most likely because most of the best quotes I hear are from regular ol' joes like you and me.
However, there is a lot of validation in this quote. No one really, truly knows exactly what they're doing; we're all just faking it until we make it. Which is an interesting truth, when you think about this: isn't half the reason we get so nervous about trying new things is because we are worried others will judge us?
I'd even venture to say that Anna Wintour has outfit doubts at times. The trick is to just rock what you've got, no matter how uncomfortable you are.
I'll let you know what that's like once I start taking my own advice.
