Oh god, did I actually wear that ??

Have you ever looked through old photo's and thought did I actually wear that? I was thinking this evening about how I've finally started dressing a bit more like a grown up and then upon reflection I realized that perhaps short skirts and low cut tops are not the most embarrassing things to have featured in my wardrobe. In my defense I was born in the early eighties so there was no hope for me really and for those of you that remember the nineties wasn't much better. It was not a classy era to grow up in.

 When I was 11 I had a shell suit. It was black with a big thick white stripe down the front and the white part had a pattern on it and when you're done laughing at my expense I shall tell you it was awesome. I rocked that shell suit like no other. If you dare to contradict me on this then it is probably because you are very jealous you did not have a shell suit as awesome as mine.  I would add a photo to this blog post to prove my case but sadly all photographic evidence of this has been destroyed in the great incident in my late teens called I am horribly self conscious and must destroy all embarrassing photos. 

 Actually I think 11 might have been a bit of a fashion moment for me because I also had a bit of a thing for patterned leggings and I remember the time my Granny bought myself and my sister matching floral ones. I couldn't wait for us both to wear them but sadly, my sister at 13, was far too cool to be caught dead in a matching outfit. I'm sure she probably still kicks herself now for the missed opportunity.

 I do also have a set of photos floating about somewhere from the year I turned 17 and a friend and I decided it would be really cool and sophisticated to try on loads of different outfits and take photos of each other posing (cringe). Now before I go to the trouble of describing some of the lovely clothing can I just take a minute to remind you we were young and to be fair if that was all I was getting up to at seventeen (bar some underage drinking) then really I did well. Also this 'photo shoot' predated facebook so we can really say the photos were for ourselves and for fun and there wasn't a duck face to be seen.
Anyway in one of the pictures I'm wearing this black top that's almost completely see through but it has this sparkly spiderweb pattern on the front but if I remember correctly this did little to hide the fact that you could see right through it. I wore this out in public, at night in bars and I am assuming (because I'm old now and I don't quite remember) that I had a good jacket going out because I can't imagine my mother being okay with that as part of any ensemble.
In another one of these pictures I'm wearing this lurid red dress I purchased in this terrible clothes shop that is no more ( probably for the best) but it was skin tight and bright red and made from some horrible stretchy fabric that smelled like cheap but sure I thought I was only gorgeous in it so I bought it anyway. The shop it came from has been replaced with about five more just like it where you getting an overwhelming odor of cheap fabric and regrettable purchases.

 It reminds me of when I thought japan was a good place to shop. If you don't remember Japan, it was the go to spot for badly made, cheap clothing and I used to think it was the bomb ( back when that was a phrase people actually used) it's safe to say that with some retrospect I can see I wasn't quite the fashionista I had imagined myself to be and funny now that I really think about it the clothes I wore in my twenties probably weren't the worst of it after all.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The darker side of romance

Image
  For some reason I felt compelled to write about a corner of my past that hasn't been part of my blog before. a heads up to anyone who might be upset by this topic I will be delving into emotional abuse so feel free to stop reading now if you don't feel able to carry on. When I was in my late 20's I met a guy on a night out. He was a few years younger than me and honestly looking back threw up a couple of red flags early but I didn't trust my own intuition plus I was only a few months away from finishing college and planned to move to Edinburgh in a few months so it wasn't like it was going to be anything more than a brief fling. However as time went on I became more infatuated with him, there was an intensity there and he seemed sweet but damaged. Like a perfect modern fairytale I thought I would be the one to fix him. somehow plans changed and he was going to follow me over to Edinburgh, get a job there and we were going to live happily ever after. at this point
Read more

Help, I think I'm autistic

Image
 So I, at the age of 41, have come to the realization that I am autistic.  Growing up I always had a feeling something about me was a little bit off. I never quite fit in and I wasn't sure why. It was like everyone had been given a book of rules of how to exist in society but no one had thought to hand me a copy. Looking back with hindsight the signs were there. I was a super sensitive kid, a sensitivity I have not lost in adulthood, I cried very easily and felt every emotion very deeply. I was a picky eater and very particular about the textures of different food. I was very sensitive to light and noise and the feel of different fabrics. I was never a hugger. all of these things are as true about me now as they were when I was younger. I am socially awkward, I don't make friends that easily and will joke I am an acquired taste. Eye contact is something I have to actively work on and small talk feels like torture.  I thrive on alone time, I am incredibly sensitive to the moods
Read more

Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out ..

Image
I have been told on more than one occasion that I'm sarcastic. Often that I'm too sarcastic (as though there could be such a thing) and I have retort up my sleeve for such occasions which is if you think I'm sarcastic you should meet my mother. No, really you should because my sarcasm is but a pale imitation of hers. Every so often though I come out without something that makes my friends or other family members pause because sometimes when I open my mouth, my mother comes out.  It's funny how people always take the words you are turning into your mother as such an insult because the reality of the matter is it's a both a good and bad thing. Obviously there are certain qualities I am perfectly happy to emulate and others not so much and on the whole I am not entirely sure how much control I have over it. It's not quite a pick and mix counter here. I think there are some habits you are not even aware you have picked up until someone else kindly points it out.
Read more