i went shopping with my mom, our bi-annual tradition, and as we patrolled the racks in target and tj maxx she kept admonishing me to "expand my color palette! try some colors!"
truth is, i trust myself wearing black and gray. it feels right. most of the time, i just look for more options with those two colors, and then throw some striped socks on for good measure. i'm proud of my beat-up, black doc martens. i like all of my jeans. i'm a creature of habit.
it makes me think of my grammie, who hated that i wore black. she told me for many years that it wasn't appropriate (although i think she said it with much different words). her ideal color on me would be coral pink or baby blue.
both of those are colors i appreciate, but can't really live with for a long time.
still, i hear her voice in my head, telling me that black and gray "do nothing" for me. the funny thing is, she couldn't have known that wearing black and gray gave me permission to embrace a side of me that is fearless and forward. the side that has enormous self-confidence and pride; the side that feels most beautiful.
black and gray do a lot for me.
still, i allowed my mom to buy me a sweater today; lots of pastels and a shiny silver thread running through the whole thing. it made her so happy to see me wearing it, alongside my teal corduroys. such color combinations! i practically look happy!
i've retained the right to take the sweater back. i'm still not sure if it can live at my house. actually, it can live there, but i'm not sure if it will just end up lonely and balled-up in the back of a drawer somewhere. i don't want to inflict that on the poor sweater. some bright and bubbly girl might just be waiting for it.
who am i to let it live a life of silence and obscurity?
I have found over time colors that people treat as colors but work with the "black and grey" lifestyle
ReplyDeletesuch as maroon, plum and various shades of purple and red. Also striped socks and orange things totally count as color even if people think it's Halloweeny