I pulled over to the side of the road as my phone rang. I knew the number...the big, big boss was calling. Now in my world, you pull over quickly when those kinds of calls come in because when he calls there is a definite reason why. You hope it is something to do with continued employment and not handing in your office door key.
He asked me to be at an important meeting the following morning (phew) that would have far reaching impact for our company and we needed to make the best impression possible.
I was nodding my head and murmuring hmmms and uh hum's in all the right spots but my mind was racing!
WHAT TO WEAR? Notice I wasn't in the least bit concerned with the presentation or what questions we would be fielding...no. Plain and simple. Cut and dried. Black and white.
Most of my clothes had been given away to charity when we moved and my closet was still looking pretty bare. I hadn't had time to go shopping yet and I wasn't in a hurry either. I had put on a few pounds with our recent move and kept thinking I would wait until I felt better about myself.
Are you judging me? How many of you have made deals with yourself not to buy more clothes until you've lost weight? Hands in the air ladies! So with no time to shake 5-10 by the next day I had to bite the bullet and go shopping.
I stepped into a cute little shop and looked around...immediately feeling out of place. Two beautiful people were working in the store, one younger, one my age and both very well dressed and put together.
I had arrived after being out on farm calls all day having had peoples dogs sniffing me up, cats lodging themselves against my legs and grain dust on my face like some sort of facial mask. Pretty, right? I was sure excited to see what the fluorescent lighting would do for me!
The younger gal started pulling items from the racks and telling me to try things on that were definitely not my style. The longer I walked around the sicker I felt.
My aversion to offending people was making an exit strategy hard to find. How fast could I bolt without being rude? She was being so kind and trying to be so helpful but I didn't want to look like stuffed sausage casing underneath a party tent.
I somehow found myself in the fitting room with an armload of clothes that I didn't like and only shreds of my confidence intact. I singled out 2 items that I though might have possibility, a loose, lacy shirt to wear over a camisole and a long sweater with a button enclosure.
I put them both on together, pulling and twisting the shirt to flatten the unsightly lumps it was causing under the sweater. As I came out of the dressing room the older lady gasped. Not a good gasp. More like a horrified sucking in of air so that nothing would come out of her lips.
That looks terrible she finally said. I was close to tears. I wanted to run out of there and never go back but I had this weight on my shoulders called "an important meeting". What to do?
I swallowed my pride and fear and asked her if they had anything that would suit me better. She was off in a flurry, she had a mission and she was determined to help me find something. Now the funny thing is that I am very competent at my job, I have raised a family and have lived a lot of life already...how come I can't dress myself?
Scenes from "What not to Wear" were flashing through my mind and I realized I had been stuck in a clothing-time warp and it was time to unwarp myself. By the time I left the little shop on Main street I was feeling pretty darn good about myself and had some items in-hand that I loved and knew would get worn.
I unloaded my new purchases at home only to spy a business suit in my closet that hadn't had any air time for awhile. THAT would actually be the perfect outfit for the big meeting. I tried it on, praying that I'd be able to do the pants up.
My lessons for the day...
1. It is a woman's prerogative to go shopping for clothes when she has already has perfectly acceptable items in her closet
2. It is ok to shop before you are in some alternate universe where you are a perfect size 4
3. It is ok to have a sales person tell you something looks horrid on you, at least you won't be wasting your money on things that will find a dark corner in your closet and never see the light of day
And the meeting? Smashing success, business suit and all.
He asked me to be at an important meeting the following morning (phew) that would have far reaching impact for our company and we needed to make the best impression possible.
I was nodding my head and murmuring hmmms and uh hum's in all the right spots but my mind was racing!
WHAT TO WEAR? Notice I wasn't in the least bit concerned with the presentation or what questions we would be fielding...no. Plain and simple. Cut and dried. Black and white.
Most of my clothes had been given away to charity when we moved and my closet was still looking pretty bare. I hadn't had time to go shopping yet and I wasn't in a hurry either. I had put on a few pounds with our recent move and kept thinking I would wait until I felt better about myself.
Are you judging me? How many of you have made deals with yourself not to buy more clothes until you've lost weight? Hands in the air ladies! So with no time to shake 5-10 by the next day I had to bite the bullet and go shopping.
I stepped into a cute little shop and looked around...immediately feeling out of place. Two beautiful people were working in the store, one younger, one my age and both very well dressed and put together.
I had arrived after being out on farm calls all day having had peoples dogs sniffing me up, cats lodging themselves against my legs and grain dust on my face like some sort of facial mask. Pretty, right? I was sure excited to see what the fluorescent lighting would do for me!
The younger gal started pulling items from the racks and telling me to try things on that were definitely not my style. The longer I walked around the sicker I felt.
My aversion to offending people was making an exit strategy hard to find. How fast could I bolt without being rude? She was being so kind and trying to be so helpful but I didn't want to look like stuffed sausage casing underneath a party tent.
I somehow found myself in the fitting room with an armload of clothes that I didn't like and only shreds of my confidence intact. I singled out 2 items that I though might have possibility, a loose, lacy shirt to wear over a camisole and a long sweater with a button enclosure.
I put them both on together, pulling and twisting the shirt to flatten the unsightly lumps it was causing under the sweater. As I came out of the dressing room the older lady gasped. Not a good gasp. More like a horrified sucking in of air so that nothing would come out of her lips.
That looks terrible she finally said. I was close to tears. I wanted to run out of there and never go back but I had this weight on my shoulders called "an important meeting". What to do?
I swallowed my pride and fear and asked her if they had anything that would suit me better. She was off in a flurry, she had a mission and she was determined to help me find something. Now the funny thing is that I am very competent at my job, I have raised a family and have lived a lot of life already...how come I can't dress myself?
Scenes from "What not to Wear" were flashing through my mind and I realized I had been stuck in a clothing-time warp and it was time to unwarp myself. By the time I left the little shop on Main street I was feeling pretty darn good about myself and had some items in-hand that I loved and knew would get worn.
I unloaded my new purchases at home only to spy a business suit in my closet that hadn't had any air time for awhile. THAT would actually be the perfect outfit for the big meeting. I tried it on, praying that I'd be able to do the pants up.
My lessons for the day...
1. It is a woman's prerogative to go shopping for clothes when she has already has perfectly acceptable items in her closet
2. It is ok to shop before you are in some alternate universe where you are a perfect size 4
3. It is ok to have a sales person tell you something looks horrid on you, at least you won't be wasting your money on things that will find a dark corner in your closet and never see the light of day
And the meeting? Smashing success, business suit and all.
1 comment:
I love reading your stories, Rhonda!!! You make me laugh! :)
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