The Clash

No, this posting is not about a punk band from the 70's. It's about a fashion rule...a rule that challenges this particular generation x'er who strives very hard not to be frumpy or out-dated. (I know my daughter finds this hard to believe with my love for turtlenecks which has everything to do with my quest for warmth.)

As many of you know, I'm an avid watcher of What Not to Wear. So, I've learned that it's okay to wear brown shoes with a black shirt, or red shoes with a purple dress, or beige pants with a white shirt. I know this, yes. Yes, I know this.

Then why do my mornings go like this?

Underwear...solid or stripe? color or neutral? Now which bra goes best?(Seriously, who do I think I am? A stripper? Who's gonna see me?) Anyway, back to my daily task...Shoes? Basically I teeter between black and brown, eventhough I do actually own some red and silver footwear. Now, pants or skirt? Generally, I'm still in neutral territory once my bottom half is covered. But when I turn to my upper-half, the color war begins and my mind is thrown into a nonstop whirl of panic. What shirt to wear with what jacket or sweater? Blue and green? Purple and red? Pink and orange? How about this navy jacket? But I'm wearing black pants! Oh, the torture. Shouldn't this be easy now that we have no limitations in the color wheel of fashion? First, it's white after Labor Day. Now it's whatever, whenever!

Perhaps I should begin watching my daughter more closely after all those years of pointing out her inability to "match up her outfit". Here she is, in purple suede boots, a red Coke t-shirt and a white sateen peasant top. Who'd a thunk? Apparently, she's got it. (Even when she's playing dress-up, like the photo above indicates...)

But she'd do good to add turtleneck to her wardrobe...