Embracing the chaos, conquering fears, and dealing with the "romper" situation
I have never been able to pull off a romper.
I have contended with the cute and casual jumpsuits for years, but all my attempts at finding one that doesn't look heinous usually end with my mom and I cracking up in a Forever 21 dressing room at how a single item could be so unflattering.
But in a crazy twist of events, I decided to give it one more shot during a shopping trip this weekend. I tried on a few rompers at good ol' F21 and finally found one (a short-sleeved striped one with an elastic waist and keyhole back, see photo below) that I was willing to allow into my life.
But this post isn't about the romper. It's about the chaos the romper symbolizes.
How on earth, you ask, could a $12.90 knit romper from the mall play a role in some sort of statement about life?
Well, tonight I decided to throw on the romper in question for a meeting. I knew I would wait weeks to pull this piece off its hanger and actually wear it, given that it was such new and uncharted territory for yours truly. So I decided to bite the bullet and JUST WEAR IT.
It helped that I had allowed myself approximately five minutes to get dressed (as always), so I didn't have time to question it. But something seemed off, and I didn't know what to do.
I tried a cardigan. Nope. I threw on my denim jacket... okay, this could work. I threw on my new gold-plated necklace (also Forever 21) and the Alex and Ani charm bracelet I wear every day. Add in my broken black flip flops, unbrushed hair and teeth, and I was good to go.
Basically, I felt like a wreck. I laughed with my roommate about my hastily thrown together look and was off. It was pretty fitting for the weird day I had. Without going into the details about the major struggle bus I've been riding the past few weeks, let's just say spring semester always kicks my ass.
So feeling totally un-put together isn't all that new for me lately, a development that would make past Libby cringe, considering I literally used to match my eyeshadow to my headbands.
Being "together" isn't just about looks or style. The other day, I got to thinking about the role "should" plays in our lives. Well-meaning sentiments constantly remind us of the gaps between our ideal self and our self in reality, from teachers telling students they should have started studying already, to the expectations we put on ourselves about how we should work out more or how we should start doing yoga or how we should blog more.
We're told that we should have it all together. We should know how to do adult stuff we've literally never done before. We should know exactly what job we want to have in five, ten, fifteen years.
Well, imagine the dissonance all these ideas have caused in the frantic, on-the-go, eating-in-five-minutes mess that has been Libby the past few weeks! All this chaos came to a head when I went to a meeting today in my questionably civilized outfit and my tote bag I had stuffed with odds and ends.
Sitting in the meeting chomping on my leftover microwave popcorn from last night, slurping from my loud plastic water bottle like a nursing baby goat, and pulling out my laptop so I could hastily get some work done, I realized what a mess I was.
But then, my mind shifted. It wasn't all bad. I was wearing a ROMPER! I had minimal time to question it, on account of my poor time management skills, but I was wearing a ROMPER. In PUBLIC. I was bold! I was cute and casual! I looked like Kourtney Kardashian!
Togetherness is an illusion. Even if someone seems flawlessly professional and on-point all the time, they probably have moments where they lay in their bed with Chinese takeout on their chest (or at least they wish they did!).
I may not have checked everything off my to-do list today. I may have spent a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out the FAFSA. I may have eaten half a leftover Five Guys burger for dinner instead of a kale salad. But I was wearing a romper, bitch.
If I can embrace my biggest fashion fear, you can too. Embrace the chaos. And don't pay any attention to the feelings of inadequacy or the "shoulds."
I have contended with the cute and casual jumpsuits for years, but all my attempts at finding one that doesn't look heinous usually end with my mom and I cracking up in a Forever 21 dressing room at how a single item could be so unflattering.
But in a crazy twist of events, I decided to give it one more shot during a shopping trip this weekend. I tried on a few rompers at good ol' F21 and finally found one (a short-sleeved striped one with an elastic waist and keyhole back, see photo below) that I was willing to allow into my life.
But this post isn't about the romper. It's about the chaos the romper symbolizes.
How on earth, you ask, could a $12.90 knit romper from the mall play a role in some sort of statement about life?
Well, tonight I decided to throw on the romper in question for a meeting. I knew I would wait weeks to pull this piece off its hanger and actually wear it, given that it was such new and uncharted territory for yours truly. So I decided to bite the bullet and JUST WEAR IT.
 |
| That's not me but it is my romper! She totally copied my outfit. // Photo from Forever 21 Striped Keyhole Romper, $12.90 // |
I tried a cardigan. Nope. I threw on my denim jacket... okay, this could work. I threw on my new gold-plated necklace (also Forever 21) and the Alex and Ani charm bracelet I wear every day. Add in my broken black flip flops, unbrushed hair and teeth, and I was good to go.
Basically, I felt like a wreck. I laughed with my roommate about my hastily thrown together look and was off. It was pretty fitting for the weird day I had. Without going into the details about the major struggle bus I've been riding the past few weeks, let's just say spring semester always kicks my ass.
So feeling totally un-put together isn't all that new for me lately, a development that would make past Libby cringe, considering I literally used to match my eyeshadow to my headbands.
Being "together" isn't just about looks or style. The other day, I got to thinking about the role "should" plays in our lives. Well-meaning sentiments constantly remind us of the gaps between our ideal self and our self in reality, from teachers telling students they should have started studying already, to the expectations we put on ourselves about how we should work out more or how we should start doing yoga or how we should blog more.
We're told that we should have it all together. We should know how to do adult stuff we've literally never done before. We should know exactly what job we want to have in five, ten, fifteen years.
Well, imagine the dissonance all these ideas have caused in the frantic, on-the-go, eating-in-five-minutes mess that has been Libby the past few weeks! All this chaos came to a head when I went to a meeting today in my questionably civilized outfit and my tote bag I had stuffed with odds and ends.
Sitting in the meeting chomping on my leftover microwave popcorn from last night, slurping from my loud plastic water bottle like a nursing baby goat, and pulling out my laptop so I could hastily get some work done, I realized what a mess I was.
But then, my mind shifted. It wasn't all bad. I was wearing a ROMPER! I had minimal time to question it, on account of my poor time management skills, but I was wearing a ROMPER. In PUBLIC. I was bold! I was cute and casual! I looked like Kourtney Kardashian!
Togetherness is an illusion. Even if someone seems flawlessly professional and on-point all the time, they probably have moments where they lay in their bed with Chinese takeout on their chest (or at least they wish they did!).
I may not have checked everything off my to-do list today. I may have spent a disproportionate amount of time trying to figure out the FAFSA. I may have eaten half a leftover Five Guys burger for dinner instead of a kale salad. But I was wearing a romper, bitch.
If I can embrace my biggest fashion fear, you can too. Embrace the chaos. And don't pay any attention to the feelings of inadequacy or the "shoulds."
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