I don’t make bold fashion choices. I like what I like, and I stick to it. Or at least I did — until I impulsively bought a pair of overalls a few years ago.
"I could be an overalls person." I told myself as I stared at the website which sold Dickies overalls and other workwear accessories. "And if I can’t pull them off, I’ll just return them!"
I took a deep breath, hit 'add to cart', and rushed through the checkout process until the deed was done. Phew! Now I just had to wait in agony until they arrived and I could check 'try overalls' off of my mental bucket list before immediately shipping them back to the seller.
When the package arrived, I dashed upstairs and shut the bedroom door. I needed to be alone with the overalls.
I carefully tore open the package and removed the overalls from the transparent plastic bag that they were enclosed in. I unfolded the new pair of bibs and put them on. While looking at myself in the mirror, I laughed at how silly the overalls made me look.
The straps had come adjusted as long as they could go and kept falling off of my shoulders. I held onto the left strap with one hand and used the opposite hand to move the adjustable slider at the end of the strap towards my body. The length of the strap started to get shorter and shorter, while the top of the bib rose higher and higher on my chest. I did the same with the right strap, so that both straps were now at the same length, and stayed put on top of my shoulders.
I looked at myself in the mirror again. "Wow!" I said to myself. I couldn’t believe how perfectly they fit. I couldn’t believe how comfortable they were. I couldn’t believe how instantly cool I felt. I had made the bold choice to buy the overalls. Now I had to make the bold choice to actually wear them.
When a word is typed into existence, you see it. It’s perfectly readable. But when it’s typed in bold, you can’t miss it. It wants to be seen. It shouts, "look at me!" This is how I feel now when I wear my overalls — confident, willing to be noticed. As someone who could easily get lost in a crowd, it feels fun to stand out for once. It’s fun to be someone who wears overalls.