I’m going shopping with Jessica this evening. She wants a few things and I’m in desperate need of a wardrobe revamp. Just ask my friendgirls…they’ll tell you.

I know the packaging isn’t the most important part of a product. At the same time however, it does tell you about it. I’ve always insisted that if you can’t devote a little effort to your spelling, I can’t devote the time it would take to read your message. This is the same. If I can’t be bothered to look decent, what message am I sending to people I meet?

The shopping goes further, however. I’ve got an appointment with Lori to go shopping later in the month. My friends are snappy dressers, so why shouldn’t I take advantage of different tastes? Perhaps I can find my own in amongst the variety I’m exposed to.

I will not become a different person overnight. My friends will not try and make me someone I am not. I think of these soon to be purchased items as ‘going out’ clothes but I hope to find them appealing enough to change what I wear over time. The process may end up deceptively easy. It seems to have started already.

Last Friday, I wore a collared shirt and nice shoes. Don came to my desk to talk to me and noticed my shirt right away. “You’re wearing a collar…” and I turned my chair, revealing that I wasn’t wearing sneakers, “…and shoes!” He said it with such surprise that you might think I typically don’t wear any shoes. We laughed.

This morning, a coworker stopped in front of me and pointed at my shoes with an outstretched arm. She said, “You’re not wearing runners.” She was correct as I wore a pair of black Doc Martens today. She continued to stare at my shoes and made no eye contact for a good five seconds. I assured her that I was, in fact, not wearing runners. “But I’ve never seen you in anything but runners.” I suggested that she was reacting as if my choice of footwear were a dead chicken on each foot. She laughed and said the shoes look good on me. As she turned and walked away, I smiled.