family matters

… because that’s how it is some days.

I had trouble naming the outfit of the week, because… well, because of the dirty laundry. The figurative kind. I thought of naming it  a generic “Conservative… but not too much” or a more honest “My ‘visiting estranged relatives’ oufit” but nothing sounded quite right. Even now, I don’t know how much I should share of the occasion the outfit was put together for.

The abridged and censored (as in”I’m not sure hubs would be ok with me sharing more”) version of the story is: I had to go visit someone I don’t hang out with, I am not close to, and I am not even positive I like very much. I normally don’t hang out with anyone I don’t really like, because I figure life is too short to spend time with people whose company doesn’t make you happy, especially if you feel you have to put on some kind of face that isn’t really you. I don’t like being in a situation where I feel I cannot be myself. But then again, I often feel that way here in Switzerland.

Gah. I degress.

Anyway, so the matter at hand: what to wear if you want to be elegant (but not over the top), somewhat conservative, but still, you know, you?

My outfit looked something like this:

I put a lot of thought into it, because I wanted to look like me, but a tad more conservative. But not like I was trying too hard, of course. And I wanted to look like a grownup. Yes, I know I am a grownup, but when I feel like someone is likely to start patronizing me any minute, I prefer not to give them extra ammunition by dressing “too young”. So I of course wore a fabulous pair of high-heeled suede boots that are murder on heels, but look very elegant.

I risked breaking my neck because when I got out of the car the ground was icy, but I made it to the door. And once I made it there, I was welcomed and handed a pair of slippers (yellow chenille!!) to put on, instead of my fabulous pair of boots, before I entered the house. Which made me think of the time in SATC when Carrie went to the baby shower and she was told to leave her Manolos at the entrance. She pointed to her clothes and said: “But… this is an outfit“. I hear ya, Carrie.

After 2 long, somewhat awkward hours I put on my boots again, handed the yellow slippers back, said goodbye and we made our way to the car, trying not to fall on the ice and trying to figure out how to make up for the two lost hours. Oh well, at least there was cake.

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