Fashion For Dummies

I have not been blessed with an eye for style the way my sister Suzi has, but somehow I have at least managed to stay current. You may never see me with a bag and shoes to match every outfit, but you will also never see me in a pair of leggings sporting a perm and five-inch bangs. With meager credentials at best, Cory still counts on me to keep him up to date on his wardrobe. In his world, there are basically two clothing categories: work and church. Work requires nothing more than Dockers and a button-down shirt, and church is easy: a suit and tie. It’s the “less than business casual” and “impress me on a Friday night” categories where we seem to feel the most challenged. Most of the time, I just buy things for Cory and bring them home. But recently after one of our dates, we had an unprecedented opportunity to try and accomplish this task together. I have heard before that success is what happens when opportunity meets preparation. I guess I was unprepared.

C: “I need Skechers? What are Skechers? Am I out of touch if I haven’t heard what Skechers are?”
K: “Yes.”
C: “Who pays for jeans with holes in them? I don’t get it.”
K: “Stop it. You sound like a grandpa.”
C: “Hey, how ‘bout these?” (holding up a pair of light colored jeans that were only one step away from 80’s acid wash)
K: “No, you need to go darker.”
C: “These aren’t dark?”
K: “No.”
C: “I’m not wearing anything that looks dirty already."

I finally picked out two pair of great jeans and handed them over for him to try on. He gave me an incredulous look and said, “Seriously?” Seriously.

Then I handed him a shirt that was long sleeved underneath and short sleeved over it. He put it on and came out - I laughed, then he looked at me with an expression of betrayal so I went on to explain that it seemed like he was trying too hard. He took my criticism personally and proceeded with a ten-minute discourse relaying that, “I invented this look when I was in Junior High and I wore it ALL THE TIME and everybody made fun of me. Well where are they now? I’m GETTING this shirt – I invented this shirt….”

We got the jeans AND the shirt and yes, a pair of Skechers. Can’t wait for our next date...especially if he wears those jeans.