There's a brand new dance...

One of the earliest memories I have, is that of my mother and I at her parents house. My grandparents, as it were. I was young, 3ish perhaps, maybe a little bit older and she was attempting to dress me, or at least have some influence over what I was going to wear. Her insistence was that I wear a 'tummy shirt' or whatever you might call them. you see them today, but only on females and very 'secure' males. They come to just above the navel showing a stripe around the midsection. Today the 'stripe' has grown to epic proportions with the help of the low-rise jean, love it or hate it, they tend to be somewhat sexy. Well, unless your thong is hanging out, or your ass-crack, which, I don't care who you are, is just a tad skeezy. Anyway, these 'tummy shirts,' as I will call them, had a brief popularity in the 80s, but luckily were driven away only to rise again in the near future. The late 90s. Well, to get to the point. I wouldn't wear the shirt. I threw a fit. Try as she might to convince me that it was warm outside and this would keep me cool, seriously, that was her argument, I ran away and cried no. I didn't want to wear it and that day, I got what I wanted. I take this as an early example of fashion sense. I knew that I was going to look stupid, despite the fact that I was three, it didn't matter. It was just going to look like my shirt was too small. Besides, it was the middle of summer, I was a three-year old, why not just slap me with some sunscreen and throw me outside without a shirt? That I could have gone along with. Of course, that was one of the only showings of fashion sense I held. I had in no way, any opportunity to adopt one as my family was poor and you wore what we had. That is, except for ill fitted shirts with horizontal stripes. (loatheing...) As I ventured into college I realized that the times of high school and it's $3 courdory glory as well as the purple shoelace belt, was truely, a thing of the past. I needed to move on, adopt something new that spoke to who I was. Not some disheveled pile of crudeness that wore Bush t-shirts and pants with much to big a hole in the crotch for society to forgive, but instead someone with an idea. It was of course, to be frumpy in highschool. I mean, come on. Puberty anyone? Why not match the confused meanderings of the mind with your coutoure. I dressed how I felt, confused, misunderstood, hapless and uncaring. Though I still hold one or two of those personality traits, I tried my best to overcome the worst, and it produced a change. A new approach. One day you realize that you want to dress like David Bowie, because if anyone has it all together, it's him. One thing I can say for high school, was that my idea of wearing sport coats with casual wear was ahead of it's time. Way to go me. Now of course as I move around the country my mother has invaded my closet and gotten ride of many things that I had that she decided I didn't need anymore. Like an expensive hand me down suit from my Uncle, which, sadly, I probably now fit into once again. All of my sportcoats are long gone as is the shirt that Tom gave me from Saks 5th Ave., which didn't fit him and was the most expensive piece of clothing I had at the time. It actually was quite the ugly shirt though. So, from the past to my beginnings at the Gap in college, trust me, my big sister was freaked out by that for a while, I have come to what I believe is a full circle, innate sense of wanting to look good, feel confident and something else truely insightful here. I must however instill in all of you to dress as you feel. Don't follow the trend, that merely brings pain. Trucker hats, well, they're dumb.