Ready or not, here I come... in a sequin hat.Fashion challenges are perfect Hey Eleanor fodder. A) They're reasonably easy to accomplish. B) They can't kill you.However, despite their safety, wearing something that's not you can be debilitating, horribly embarrassing and day ruining. Sure, maybe you're just wearing high waisted jeans for the first time since 1979, but if you don't feel comfortable, you lose your mojo.It's stupid and dumb, but when you spend the entire day thinking that everyone is looking at you in a bad way, it sucks.Precisely why I tried these three trends for myself.
1. The flashy sequined hat.
Ready or not, here I come in my woo girl hat!
My dad knows how much I love baseball.
He does, too. In fact, when the All Star Game exploded all over Minneapolis this summer, he hit up fan fest to meet players, mingle with fellow baseball nerds and shell out the big bucks for ASG merch. He saw this blue sequin ASG cap and knew his daughter had to have it.When I think about my dad buying this hat for me, my heart almost explodes with happiness. It's so, so nice and so, so sweet.
The problem is that I so, so would never wear something like this.
I tend to stick to neutrals. Denim. Plain tees. If I'm wearing jewelry, it's something delicate and kind of boring, but pretty. Sequins are so not me. I associate hats like this with, I dunno, Real Housewives wannabes who pretend to like sports, but are actually just interested in getting drunk on chardonnay and woo-ing from the third inning on.
I attended three All Star events & vowed to wear this hat to every single one.
The first day, I couldn't have felt more awkward, especially because I ran into so many people that I knew! However, I promised myself that I wouldn't say a damn thing. There would be no, "I'm wearing this as a Hey Eleanor challenge," or "Do I look ridiculous?"I owned it.
Apparently, people love sequined hats.
I love him even though he's a Brewers fan.I had no less than 10 women ask OMG where'd you get that hat?! and tons of men commented on it, too. Even the 70-year-old man taking my ticket made a point to tell me how great my hat was. My favorite moment occurred in a Target Field ladies' room, where a completely hammered blonde named Mandy (she introduced herself), bedecked in rhinestone covered jeans, stumbled up to me and said, "I've beeeeeen lohking at yer hat all night and Ieeee luuuuuhhhhhv it. Wurrred you-ah git it?"
Woooooooooo! Nailed it!
By the end of the ASG weekend, I actually had grown pretty fond of my hat. Aside for the fact that the sequins cut into the tops of my ears (ouch!), I mostly forgot I was wearing the darn thing.
Trend summary: Recommended if you like to par-tay!
2. The Hot Pink Jumpsuit.
Are you even ready for this stylish broad, Sun Country Airlines?!Last summer, I scored this hot pink jumpsuit from Forever21 (more accurately, my friend Margie bought it online and it didn't fit her, so she gave it to me because their return policy sucks).
This jumpsuit is fun, but so not me.
I decided to wear it to my friend Rebecca's rehearsal dinner in Chicago.
There was one minor hitch: the dinner started at approximately the same time my flight landed, so my best bet was to head directly to the party from the airport. Therefore, I wore the jumpsuit on the plane.At first glance, this seemed perfect. Jumpsuit = basically pajamas, but in a very put together way, right?
Au contraire.
The first issue: said jumpsuit was too long. I remedied this by cuffing the pant legs. My friend Liz is a legit stylist and gave the look her blessing.The problem arose when I realized the jumpsuit's [probably highly flammable] material did not want to stay cuffed. There I was, running through the airport (because of course, I was late), with one pant leg slightly rolled and the other pooling around my foot. A nice look.Problem number two? The tiny snap designed to keep my cleavage under wraps quit. My bra was basically hanging out for all to see, most notably the baby-faced college freshman sitting next to me. I re-snapped my top a few times, but mostly spent the entire flight with my arms crossed.
This was not going well.
Adding insult to injury, I spilled half of my drink on my crotch.
I swear it's not pee.By the time I landed in Chicago, I'd HAD IT with this outfit. And even if the jumpsuit had cooperated, I should've known better.
Any outfit feels disgusting after you've worn it on an airplane.
Especially one that's fighting you and covered in kalimotxo (the best airplane drink, btw!).I made it to the dinner, wore the jumpsuit all night and got a few compliments. However, I didn't feel like a million bucks; more like the measly $19.80 this jumpsuit cost in the first place.
Trend summary: Not recommended for airline travel; Wear one that fits/doesn't have a faulty design.
3. The Ugly Floral Sweatshirt.
Ready or not, here I come... in an ugly floral sweatshirt. Even I look skeptical.You know how you aren't supposed to grocery shop when hungry? That rule applies to clothes shopping when you're freezing cold. Precisely what made me purchase this over-sized sweatshirt that looks like I killed your grandma's davenport, skinned it and made a shirt.While in the dressing room, I was like LOVE IT! Warm, cozy and not my regular boring neutrals. When I got home, my husband was like, WTF is that?!
Errrr.... a big, billowy sweatshirt covered in flowers.
Total man repellant. Oopsies.It was a complete impulse buy, but I was determined to wear it. Last Friday, I did. The first three people I saw (all women, btw), enthusiastically told me, Great shirt! I'll take it!
Trend summary: Ladies love the floral sweatshirt! Do it.
* * *Have a fashion dare for me? Comment below & I'll give it a whirl!P.S. Two other fashion things: this 80s throwback, plus the lengths we'll go to score overpriced yoga clothes.
