In the Dressing Room

Have you ever found yourself staring at your reflection in a dressing room mirror and wondering is this cute or ugly?* What about is this a shirt or dress? Or where does this strap go? Is this on backward? How am I going to get this over my head? Is this really a medium? Did they design it to look like this? I found myself asking these questions and more while trying on items I had pulled from the clearance racks at JC Penney today. (Yes, I realize there is something wrong with that statement) I probably tried on 15 things and came out with four. And the only reason why I bought them was because they were about $9 each and I just can't pass up deeply discounted clothes. I came away with a $44 tank top for $10 (score!) and the lifelong lesson that things are probably on the clearance rack for a reason.

*I asked this question about a gray striped sailor-type shirt similar to this one. It was really flattering and made me look FABULOUS (if I do say so myself), but it had these funky slits/cut outs running down the sleeves with silver disco ball mirror button things. I can't even describe it. It was totally bizarre. It was basically saying I'm nautical from the front and club wear from the side. I just stared at myself trying to decide if it was cute or ugly. I wondered if it would be possible to wear it and not let people see my arms. But that would mean I would have to wear a jacket or a sweater, which would also cover up the cute part. And, I was worried about thinking it was cute, buying it, then wearing it and realizing that it wasn't cute about halfway through the day and being stuck in it and totally embarrassed that people were looking at me and thinking why would that girl buy that ugly shirt? So, I didn't buy it.

I'm just going to stick with shopping at H&M where all the clothes are purposely designed to be so ugly that they're cute. At least I know that they're supposed to look that way. It makes it a little easier to decide if I like it or not.