I love clothes...always have. My Mom used to drop my friends and I off at Del Amo Mall and we would spend hours checking out Wet Seal, Foxmoor, The Limited...and, of course, the best store of all...Contempo Casuals! I lived and died by what Contempo Casuals said was "in."
Each outfit I purchased was accessorized perfectly from socks to earrings to pins. For my first day of high school, I had begged my mom to buy me this one particular skirt...it was $65.00. I will always remember that because in 1980-something that was a lot of money...OK it is a lot of money now. And, I am still unsure of how I convinced my mom to buy it for me...perhaps I batted my eyelashes at Daddy and told him how much I wanted it?
This skirt was like a prized possession {will you call me a hoarder if I tell you I still have it!} - beautiful shades of olive greens, plums and gold in a floral pattern {sigh}. I, well, the salesgirl at Contempo, had selected a perfect white blouse and plum sweater vest tunic with gold and pearl pin and earrings to match. I was going to rock high school in that outfit. Everyone would know I was a fashion force to be reckoned with.
As the first day of school approaches, my friends and I convince my mom to drive us all to school - we don't want to face it alone after all...it is always better in groups, right? That morning, I get up, fix my hair, and on this rare day, know exactly what I am going to wear without question {I was known to leave the house with a pile of clothes 3 feet high on my bed}. We jump in the car, pick up the first two girls - and possibly, maybe running a little late - frantically stop at the last house, jump back in the car and start to leave when my friend says..."Um, Holly, your shirt is inside out."
WHAT!? How can that be. "No, it is not!" Oh crap...yes it is to! I freak. We are already late. I am already a dorky freshman. Now my shirt is inside out. My mom {how she survived my drama I will never know!} calmly stops, reverses the car and I run back into my friends house to change.
Did you ever have a wardrobe malfunction?
LOL! Reminds me that I did that once and I was way past 14 years old. Woke up half-asleep and got dressed, not realising my top was inside out and went to work with it. Only realised after 3 hours that I had malfunctioned.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing! Seems like such an innocuous happening and yet you've carried it with you all these years. Really does make you wonder what our children internalize as difficult moments.
ReplyDeleteOh, Holly girl...bless your heart, I know, at the time, you thought the world was ending..:) How funny. What a sweet mom you had, calming you down and taking you back over to the house to change your shirt.
ReplyDeletexo bj
Oh, and I have an upcoming post soon about crates and I am using you making your own. You rock, girl.
Holly, where's a picture of the beloved skirt? If you still have it you need to show it off! I can't remember any major wardrobe malfunctions, but I can remember some of the crazy stuff we thought was cool; like rolling up our pants. And poofing our bangs out. Way out.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing job and I'm anxious to hear about the reunion now!
ahhh yes... we have a 14yr old in the house now... and know all about those dramas! lol Our daughter had her basketball shorts yanked at a game... to reveal her thong. OOPS!
ReplyDeleteAt least you caught it before you actually walked in the school.
Ahhh, I used to spend hours and hours walking around Contempo! I loved that store!
ReplyDeleteOne time, I wore one brown and one black boot to work. I was so embarrassed and I hid at my desk all day so no one would see. Another time, I sat on a chocolate chip while wearing cream linen pants. I had 4 coworkers scrubbing my butt with soap trying to lighten the stain!
At least you caught it before walking into school!
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any major wardrobe malfunction but I was the first girl to wear a mini skirt which of course I wore the first day of my freshman year.
And of course seeing I was the only one with balls to wear mine first, the next day a bunch of girls had on mini skirts.
Yes, I'd save nice save that you changed before entering school.
ReplyDeleteI a m looking forward to hearing about your reunion.
You are just too funny...I Love It!!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember putting my clothes on backwards, although it's probably happened once or twice :)
I do remember hanging shirts up inside out, tho. That's right.
My mom had given my the duty of taking the laundry out of the drier and hanging them up. Of which there were several of my Dad's shirts. Well I hung each one up inside out, and I guess backwards. It was not noticed til my Dad went to get his shirt.
My mom asked me how I managed to do that, not just once but several times. To this day I don't know why I didn't realize it.
Have a great day and thank you for dropping by my blog.
LOL!!! Yes, I had an 'almost' malfunction when I was oh, probably 8 months pregnant! I was still in the Navy!
ReplyDeleteI was wearing my white dress uniform that day for whatever reason. I put on my HUGE maternity shirt and my panty hose (a uniform requirement!! Imagine THAT at 8 months along, LOL) while I got ready for work.
Slipped into the only military shoes I had left that fit and walked outside. When I got to the car, something just felt 'wrong'. Then it hit me...I HAD FORGOTTEN TO PUT ON MY SKIRT!!!! I ran back in the house as fast a huge preggo girl could go!! LOL
That is too funny! Oh the things we did to look good! Good thing your mom was patient! :) I had a pair of favorite pants and the zipper always fell down, leading to a million people pointing at me and telling me that my fly was down! Not cool as an 8th grader. So I took a pin, because i loved these pants and pinned the darn zipper up. Kind of sucked when I had to go the the bathroom really bad but it worked! :)
ReplyDeleteHolly, you always make me smile! I know I've had my share of "malfunctions" in my life, though I can't think of a specific one right now. Oh, and I totally still have things from high school, so you're not alone :)
ReplyDeleteI answered the door a couple of years ago with my shirt unbuttoned. I was ironing (in my bra) getting ready for a Christmas party when someone knocked. I thought it was my husband with hands full of groceries knocking because the door was locked. I threw on the shirt I was ironing. It was my male neighbor bearing Christmas goodies. He never made eye contact with me again.
ReplyDeleteI had a pull on knit summer skirt from Old Navy on one day and one of the other daycare mom's told me it was inside out. I left it to see if anyone at work would notice.
ReplyDeleteThey did not.
:P
Towards the end of my first pregnancy I couldn't see my feet. Well, one day I went to work with my house shoes on. Luckily they were moccasins and they matched the color of my dress. I was very embarrassed. Plus no one said anything because they all thought my feet might have been hurting that day. Oh, and then a couple of years ago I had on a broom skirt and wore it inside out most of the day. No one noticed that either until I went to the bathroom and noticed a tag on the outside of my skirt...
ReplyDeleteSigh. Things that happen in high school always seem so much worse, don't they?!
ReplyDeleteThanks goodness your friend noticed . . . those are such rough years . . . everything seems like such a big deal then.
ReplyDeleteIf only I knew then what I know now. A week before my first day of high school, two girls threatened to beat me up if I showed my face on the first day of school. I remember walking down the long walkway to the front door almost in tears that first day. I thought the world was going to end. I sort of chuckle about all that drama now, but it wasn't fun to live through then.
I think we all wear the scars of those years . . .
I don't remember any specific wardrobe malfunctions. What I do remember is that I always bought cute sweaters and cool weather clothes when I went back to school shopping. It was always far too warm to wear them for the first month of school, but I'd do it anyway because I was anxious to wear them. I remember sitting in class feeling like I was going to explode because I was wearing a wool argyle sweater and cords on an 85 degree day. I guess girls still do that because I saw lots of them wearing suede boots on the first day of school this year. It was about 92 degrees!!
ReplyDeleteeveryday was a wardrobe malfunction for me in HS my dear! lol
ReplyDeleteyou took me way back in time with mentioning CONTEMPO!! omgosh i was rolling lol
Too funny! Of course, I would have probably just yanked it off right there and turned it inside out. Probably why I'm not allowed some places:)
ReplyDeleteI love the "batted my eyelashes at my dad." Isn't it funny, we all learn how to flirt from working the first (and best!) man in our lives
ReplyDeleteI sound just like you...only in the 70's! We had a store out of town that was huge and hung all the latest styles by color! They also had hundreds of shoes...by color! It was my place to go before school started and I loved it!
ReplyDeleteYour story is cute and I'm sure we have all had malfunctions...but at 14, they seem much worse.
I've shopped the Del Amo mall! Probably back when you did!!
ReplyDeleteI dread the days when my daughter is a teenager, love your mom though for going back so you could change!
cool kids shopped at contempo--those of us whose mothers were always second guessing the style of the day..shopped at casual corner ;) oh the memories! i once had a friend who lost her wrap around skirt during the virginia real at cotillion---that was a definite wardrobe malfunction.
ReplyDeleteyeah i'm generally clumsy, first date with my husband i wore boots with high heels. walking down an icy hill in seattle i slipped/skidded downwards coming millimeters from falling on my butt. we were holding hands and i'm so used to being clumsy i just kept talking the whole time like nothing was happening. he still married me!
ReplyDeleteOh dear! Thank goodness you were told before you got there! Hehehe I think yoh need to start wearing that skirt again by the way! Hehe
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story - it was fun to scroll through everyone's comments too.
ReplyDeleteMy school wardrobe malfunction was in 8th grade. I had made this top and skirt set - that I thought was the coolest thing ever. I was so proud to be wearing it - and about halfway through the day my period leaked through and stained my skirt. I was Mortified. Had to go to the nurse and them home. I think my parents had to pretty much force me to go back to school. haha.
I had a "Marilyn Moment" in high school. I was wearing a skirt my sister had made for me--she is a rock awesome seamstress--anyhoo...I was walking to my class nice as you please, when a huge gust of wind caught my skirt and blew it straight up. Good times. ;) Oh, what did I do? I quickly pushed it down and walked like nothing had ever happened! To this day I can't tell you if anyone noticed.
ReplyDeleteOh yes. Contempo Casuals. I'd be living in my dream home now if I hadn't have spent so much money there while employed at my first job out of college. ....well, and maybe second and third....
ReplyDelete18 years later, I STILL have some of their handled bags I use for carting misc. stuff once in awhile. Sad, I know.