Day 13: Take a fashion risk

Day 13: I live with a wildly fashionable woman. She is tall and thin and looks good in whatever she puts on. Top that with her remarkable accessories and I always feel like I pale in comparison. She’s the trendy type who walked straight off the glossy magazine page into my living room with leather leggings, Sam Edelman pumps and a Michael Kohrs boyfriend watch. All of which scream, “I’m too sexy to be casual.” None of which do I feel I can pull off.

Some people are hipsters, with skinny jeans, a flannel, some sort of ironic hat and plain off-brand sneakers similar to one my mother put me in before I could choose for myself. Others are Bettie Page chic, complete with ruby red lips and rockabilly hips, plaid patterned shirts, high waisted sailor pants and statement hair that you don’t know if you can pull of until you do and if you can’t then it’s too late. You’ve got urban homages to rap videos with high top Jordan’s and plain white tees. My personal favorite is the Winona throwbacks, who think they actually invented the look of floral prints and lace trims with combat boots (watch Reality Bites, ladies, you didn’t!) No matter what the genre, everybody’s making a statement somehow. I, personally, have found that I don’t have one pigeonhole that I fit in. It could be a good or bad thing, but whatever it is, it allows me to shop and dress however I feel.

I read an article in Glamour magazine recently that said everyone should dress up once in a while, just to remind yourself that you can – especially in the day of casual office attire. While I don’t work in an office, I do work in a restaurant and my work clothes are androgynously unflattering, so I took this advice to heart. I live in a small city – hardly a metropolis. One can dress up or down on any day of the week and it would be appropriate. When all is said and done, most people will dress down before up. I have tons of clothes and a lot of cute pieces that can be done any which way, but, as is the attitude in my small city, I generally dress them down. I decided for Day 13 to break from monotony and do it big.

Last year, I went to Italy and bought the cutest little high waist navy blue shorts. They have flat lines and zippers over the pockets, so they hug my hips and let people know I’m a real woman! I’ve worn them for numerous occasions; paired with orange for football games, paired with an oversized sweater for those days when the weather doesn’t know what it wants to do, paired with a plain t-shirt and wedges for those days when I don’t know what I want to do. They’re my adorably versatile, trendy shorts!

My roommate, the fashionista, and I share closets. She wears my stuff and I wear hers. She has a camel colored knit crop sweater. It’s BCBG. She wears it with longer button down shirts under it sometimes. It’s actually somewhat reminiscent of Cher Horowitz’ outfit for her driving test in the movie Clueless. Since my shorts are high waist, though, I decided to wear the sweater solo.

For my feet, I put on tall green, camel and orange argyle socks, in the fashion of a Catholic school girl. And to finish the look, I threw on my favorite shoe designer, Steve Madden’s Annnie wedges. Suade taupe wrapped wedges with a thin lace. Like a solid color saddle shoe.

It was a total Blair Waldorf, adorable, but are you really wearing that in real life look. I could have been insecure. Sometimes, I was. I could have scrapped the whole thing before leaving the house. Instead, I owned it!

I got lots of compliments and felt great about myself. I had no reason to be dressed up, but it felt good to be creative and do something fun and that’s the point behind the list. 

Day 13: take a fashion risk

Day 14: catch up with a friend

Day 15: random act of kindness

Day 16: go rock climbing

Day 17: play in the snow

Day 18: stay up all night

Day 19: take a writing workshop

Day 20: organize my closet

Day 21: go for a walk (not a run)

Day 22: Girls' Night Out!