A note on fashion...

Dressing fashionably is tough. Some days, it's hard enough just to put together a regular outfit, let alone trying to mix it up and try out something new. It takes courage to take a risk on something new. Sometimes it ends up being fabulous, and sometimes it just doesn't work out. You have to weigh the pros and cons of each situation. Living where we do, it's sometimes hard to find the latest trends that one might see in magazines or on TV. Also, we don't always have the money to buy new things. For example, rather than buying a flower headband, I pinned a flower pin that I had to a stretchy headband. BAM! New headband and I didn't pay anything for it.

Sometimes, however, you really just can't replace the actual thing. I was reminded of this during one of my classes today. A young man was wearing a suit coat with jeans and a casual button-up shirt. However, he was wearing a churchy suit coat, rather than a blazer, which is the usual article for such a combination. This being the case, he looked a bit awkwardly dressed, sort of like he wasn't sure where he was going today and just threw on a bunch of clothing. I pondered on why the choice in jacket should make such a difference and I decided that the blazer works better than the suit coat for two reasons: first, fabrication. Generally, the blazers you see in casual situations aren't smooth, silky fabrics. They're usually rougher fabrics with interesting texture. Second, fit. The jacket that the well-meaning boy in my class was wearing was relatively loose fitting. He may have gotten away with it had the jacket not looked so awkwardly large. I sort of wanted to pull him aside and say "Oh, dear....no". I do sort of feel for him, though. In my quest for originality of dress, I've certainly had my failures from time to time, which is why, despite the awkwardness of the faux pas, I congratulate this young fellow for his boldness in attempting a new trend. But, seriously, he shouldn't wear that again.