Huh??

I'm sad to say I've always been kind of a fad girl when it comes to clothes ....

It started in sixth grade.... that impressionable time when your self confidence is struggling to grow as fast as the other parts of your body.  I remember the big thing was shrink-to-fit 501 jeans and polo shirts and shoes that had little zippered pockets.    Remember how on rainy days if your jeans got wet your legs would be dyed blue???  And I LOVED my kangaroo shoes. They were purple.  I rocked.  I had a pink Michael Jackson shirt that said "BEAT IT" on the front.

When I was in junior high I so wanted the flash dance style outfit which consisted of a tank top under a shirt with a large neckline which strategically fell off the shoulder.  There was a girl named Tiffany in my 7th grade glass and she was the "IT" girl.  She had BIG hair and wore such an outfit with a wide red belt and stirrup pants.  TOO COOL.  Obviously my parents weren't going to let me wear anything so scandalous so I resorted to making paperdolls and dressing them in the leggings under mini-skirts with pristine white Keds look.

My high school years were the GUESS and GIRBAUD years.  I remember buying my first pair of Girbaud jeans with one of my first paychecks from waitressing. I'm sure my memory isn't correct as I remember paying like $75 for them... which is a lot for jeans even in today's world.   But I also remember how stinking cool I felt wearing them.  I liked how they fit and wore them for years... basically until I was married and too poor to afford them anymore. Like many fashions, they faded into obscurity.

Clothes have always cheered me up. I love the smell and feel of something new. I'm at my most confident when I really like what I'm wearing.   It really has been a sad thing for me that now that I finally have a little more money to spend on clothes, I don't like how they fit.  I've purchased a lot more shoes and bags in recent years because they aren't going to let me down size wise.   Shopping for me is no longer fun.  It is a lot more fun to dress my girls.  I think I've always been a fad girl because I'm really not good at putting together awesome outfits (like my friend Tami. She is a genius with cut and color).  So instead I just "follow the crowd".

The most recent fad to cross my path is Tom's Shoes (www.toms.com).   I first saw them while we were on our anniversary trip back in September and had to get me a pair.  Now I see them everywhere.    They are basically overpriced Keds.  And like other past overpriced fads, they have a distinctive label.  GUESS had it's triangle patch on the behind, Girbaud had the white strip label on the zipper flap.  Keds had the blue plastic tag on the heel and Levi's had the red tag on the back pocket.  Tom's have a blue and white label worn on the back of each shoe so everyone can see if you have the "real" thing or the lame-o imitations like the Sketcher version (called "Bob's".  Bob's?  I mean seriously???? Talk about a blatant knock-off.)  I currently own two pair of Tom's (Navy and Red)  and just ordered another pair (grey).   E1 has already about worn out her first pair and all three girls have picked out pairs for their birthdays.  You can only buy them from the website or from Nordstroms.  Darren thinks they are ugly and look like something that would be worn by someone leading an alpaca.  And it really is true.  But they honestly are sooooo comfortable.  I love them.  I usually don't wear shoes unless I'm in public but I wear these shoes ALL.THE.TIME.  They have a nice arch and are super lightweight.  I'm sure these will fade away into the annals of fashion history at some point, but for now I'm just going to enjoy them.