party attire

Heading into the holiday season two years ago I faced a fashion dilemma. I had owned two Christmas sweaters in adulthood, and one of them, perhaps my favorite for more than ten years, became an unfortunate casualty of the wash. I was down to one, and that simply wouldn’t do. A girl needs options, after all, even if she doesn’t get invited to holiday parties because the people she knows just don’t throw parties!

Anyway, I decided to rectify the Holiday Sweater Problem and added a new one to the wardrobe. It was quite adorable, if I say so myself, but wouldn’t you know it, the first time I wore it I managed to splatter small bits of barbecue sauce onto the front. It was a “wash by hand” sweater, and we all know what that means—it would be months before it would be wearable again!

So last year I indulged myself and bought two more sweaters, ready for whatever action might come my way. I’d resorted, frankly, to wearing them at home even if I never stepped one foot outside the door, so they would get some use! This year, we actually got invited to a holiday party over the weekend. Time to pull out the seasonal attire and dress up in full holiday regalia (which simply meant donning the sweater). But imagine my surprise when, at least among the first dozen women to show up at this party, none of the women were adorned with holiday fashion or even holiday color. In fact, half of them were wearing skirts! I gasped inwardly—I was out of fashion touch, and now I had a closet full of sweaters that would languish!

Eventually I was joined in my state of fashion staleness by two other women (one older than me, which makes me think this is a generational thing), so my pulse relaxed a tad, but it make me wonder. Is seasonal attire generational? Socio-economic? Dictated by Paris Hilton and her cronies? I’m at a loss. But I have decided this much—I will wear my fashion without apology and enjoy the festive look. Who cares, anyway?