Forever Me

I have never considered myself a significantly fashion forward person. I do like to present myself as neat and clean, but in a way that is possible without having to buy a whole new wardrobe every year. For the past couple of years, I have found that it has taken me some time to adjust to the new styles as they come. It took me a year to accept flats, and another year to accept skinny jeans.

I have to admit that my wardrobe has seemed pretty sad ever since I've been out of maternity clothes. I've had to get rid of a bunch of stuff, solely because it was so worn down it seemed inappropriate to wear in public anymore. Then I noticed TWO pairs of my shoes have holes forming between the soles and the top of the shoe. I have never had that happen before! I have a third pair that is following swiftly behind in the holey-department.

A month or so ago, I broke down and had to buy some jeans. I wear jeans every day to work, so it is not exactly feasible to have less than five pairs of pants (one for each day of the week). After a month with just three pairs, I decided it was time to head to the store. I bought two pairs of jeans and one pair were skinny jeans! Can you believe it?! Nikki's moving up in the style world! I have tried them on before, but was never able to find a pair I thought I looked good in.

I got them home and quickly realized I didn't have much to wear with them. Since I have a fairly wide load, I want billowy shirts to help balance out the skinny lower third. Turns out I don't have much that fits the description. A couple weeks ago, Travis and I decided to head out for clothes again. My sorry wardrobe was in a much needed face lift.

I ran into Charlotte Russe while Aiden and Travis went into Lids. As it turns out, I do not understand the current trends. Most of the clothing in there seemed entirely too dressy to wear in a lab, and the few items that seemed casual enough were confusing. I couldn't figure out if the elastic hem of one shirt was supposed to go above or below my hips. Most of the shirts showed entirely too much skin for me. After the fact, I realize that many of those tops require a camisole underneath.

I gave up on Charlotte Russe and headed back to get Aiden and his stroller from Travis. I had agreed to trade turns with Aiden so Travis could focus on his purchase, then I headed over to Forever 21.

First of all, has anyone ever been to a Forever 21 aside from the one at Baybrook Mall? Are they all a complete MADHOUSE, or is it just this one?! Seriously, it is ridiculous. The racks are all packed so closely that only one person can pass between them at a time. There are at least 20 employees on shift at a time running around like chickens with their heads cut off and then there are 100 women skittering from rack to rack trying to find the best outfit in their size. Then there's the dressing room, where if you spend more that 2 minutes trying on clothes, the attendant sticks her arm in to see if anyone is still in there.

Gives me hives just thinking about it.

Add Aiden in a STROLLER to that and it's 10 times worse. I couldn't find anything. Mostly because I couldn't stand at a rack long enough to separate the hangers to see what the shirts looked like. Someone was always rushing by, which meant I was constantly shuffling Aiden's stroller around. From my view of the clothes from a distance, the one thing I noticed was the lack of color in this year's clothing lines. Everything was either a neutral black, grey or brown, or it was a muted color, like dirty pastel pink or vomit green.

FINALLY, Travis showed up to take Aiden. He even made a remark about how ridiculous that place is. It's like the women are trying to grab up everything before it goes out of style. And it almost spreads like wild fire, causing everyone else to do the same. I don't get it.

Amazingly, I found two shirts and a light jacket that I liked. I was even able to try them on without the attendant interrupting. I stood in line for 15 minutes, paid and fell out of the store to where my husband and son were patiently waiting. It was such a stark opposition to what I had just experienced.

No wonder I don't keep up with trends. If I have to do that every time, it will be years before I get back in there again. Probably whenever I have to throw out the rest of my holey clothes...