#58: Stacey's Choice

Lazy ghostwriter alert: no outfits in Chapter Two. The below is as good as it gets.

"But Claud and I have the exact same taste in clothes and fashion [they do?], and very similar interests. We are both sophisticated and trendy. I know I sound like I'm bragging, but everyone says this about us. [Sigh.] We keep track of the new styles, and we wear tights and boots, baggy tops, and big jewelry. Claud likes hats, and often wears one, and we experiment with makeup and accessories. We experiment with our hair, too, especially Claudia."

Meh. Here's my outfit, which is perhaps even more boring than the above paragraph: an oversized heathered grey sweater, dark blue Hudson triangle pocket jeans, a bronze two-strand beaded necklace, and a vintage antique gold necklace with a hippie girl charm. I'm also wearing last night's eye makeup. This is FASHION, people.

Sorry I don't have an alligator barrette in my hair. I felt it would clash with the leftover eye makeup. I'll make it up to you with some cover analysis.

This scene occurs immediately after their shopping trip (don't get too excited, they don't get all the way to the Washington Mall). They sure seem happy, don't they? Do you think it's because Jessi and Mal weren't able to come?

Mary Anne looks adorable. I don't know why she felt she needed that haircut. Claudia is wearing cowboy boots, black leggings, and a necklace that she may have gotten at a Prince concert. Kristy felt like a sassy glimpse of calf would complete her ensemble, judging by the cuffed jeans. Stacey looks vaguely simian. Is she suffering from some sort of oversized head/shrunken leg disorder? Is this a side effect of all those insulin shots? Dawn looks like a ray of sweetness and light wrapped in cotton candy. I wonder if she knows that all the hairspray she used on those teased bangs is terrible for the ozone layer.

"We dragged ourselves away from the jewelry and finally (after stopping to look at hair accessories and knee socks) wound up in Junior Dresses.

'Here's a nice one,' said Mary Anne. She held out a plaid dress that maybe a grandmother would look okay in, but not me.

I shook my head.

Dawn pointed to a floral-print dress. [God, what is it with Dawn and floral prints?]

I shook my head. 'I need something wild.'

'Not too wild,' Mary Anne cautioned. 'Not for a dinner with your dad.'

'I'll find something,' I said confidently.

We wandered through Bellair's for nearly an hour. Claud bought a pair of black-and-white checked leggings [I'd prefer to think she bought these . . . or maybe these!]. Mary Anne bought a hair ribbon. Kristy made fun of a two-thousand dollar brooch."

Kristy would be so fun to shop with, guys! I bet it would be like shopping with my boyfriend, who asked me if the $114 jeans I was salivating over would do the dishes for me, too. (They don't, but they make my butt look great. Which is almost as good.) Then I reminded him how much money he just spent on his new car, and he shut up.

"In all honesty, I didn't expect find quite such a challenge at Zingy's. Putting together the perfect outfit there took a little longer than I'd planned. But I did it. (I think I drove the saleswoman crazy in the process, though.) By the time I left I was carrying a shopping bag in which were folded a hot pink (fake) silk jacket which fell to my knees, new black leggings, pink-and-black socks, and a black body suit [Won't the leggings give her some serious pantylines when paired with the body suit? Or is she planning on wearing it on top of the leggings? Don't bodysuits typically have snaps at the crotch? That seems inappropriate.]. I planned to wear the outfit with black flats, and to dress it up with some jewelry and maybe a couple of barrettes in my hair.

When Claud saw me in the final combination of clothes (standing next to a chair piled high with discarded jackets, pants, tops, and socks), she drew in her breath. 'You look fabulous. It is the perfect outfit,' she said."

Well, I suppose she would know. I'm still perplexed by the whole body suit/leggings combination.