Taking A Chance On Fashion

I am wearing a funky belt today.

It's way funkier than I would ever have chosen for myself; I hardly ever wear belts to begin with. In fact, it might be too funky for the outfit I'm wearing, but I thought, what the heck, I'd give it a try.

This is my first time wearing the practically-new belt, which I brought home on Sunday from a clothing swap at a friend's house. Four of us got together, brought our used-but-still-nice clothing and traded it for each other's used-but-still-nice clothing.

I wouldn't say I'm a totally hopeless case when it comes to fashion (the "What Not To Wear" people haven't knocked on my door yet, but who knows, it could happen), but I am a pretty boring dresser. I go for basics. My closet is full of khakis, sweaters and solid color cotton shirts. I don't often take a chance on patterns, and I cannot accessorize to save my life.

The one thing I can do is color-coordinate. My nail polish always coordinates (notice I didn't say "matches," I'm not that weird about it) with my outfit, and I always make sure that my tops, bottoms and shoes go together. Of course, that's not that hard to do, but at least no one will ever say, "what was Erika thinking wearing that shade of green with that shade of brown."

My color coordinating abilities aside, when I went to the clothing swap, I was determined to bring home some fun new items. The gals who went all seem to have more variety in their wardrobes than I have in mine, and they can accessorize, so I thought the swap would be a good opportunity for me to take a chance on trying something new. Perhaps this would be the dawning of a new day for my closet.

Of course, even with my blah wardrobe, I had some things to offer. I mean, everybody wears khakis sometimes, right? I had several pairs of pants and a skirt or two that just don't look right on me anymore, and a few items I've replaced with things I like better. I think about half of my stuff is now hanging in someone else's closet. (Everything not claimed at the swap was taken en masse to a Goodwill box down the street from the hostess' house).

I ended up with some nice things too. I brought home two skirts, three or four sweaters and a handful of jewelry, as well as the aforementioned funky belt. The belt was actually a last-minute decision. As I said before, I don't wear belts too often, and this was not normally something I would choose for myself, but the girl who brought the belt was talking it up so much that I had to take it.

It's a really nice belt, she told us. She just didn't like that it didn't lie flat. The other two tried it and didn't like it, so I took it. What the heck, I thought, I wanted to try something new, and knowing my inability to accessorize, I knew I'd never trust myself to choose and buy a belt at a store.

It was about then that I grabbed the jewelry, most of which is also way too funky for me, but it was just going to go to the Goodwill box anyway; if it doesn't work for me, I'll take it there later.

We all left satisfied with our bags of loot and happy that our previously loved things had found new homes. We agreed to plan a swap like this twice a year, so we could help revamp our wardrobes every season.

For the past three days I've worn clothing swap merchandise to work. Earrings, a sweater, and now the too-funky-for-me belt, which I've probably made out to be a lot more funky than it actually is. The belt is just black leather; it's the buckle that's different. And that's just two loops that the belt goes through, then you need to turn the end of the belt back to put through one of the loops to make it stay in place.

I think that really brings it home what a boring dresser I am. When I showed the belt to my fiance this morning, he crinkled his eyebrows at me and said "that is pretty funky," in a way that I could tell he really meant, "what happened to your khakis and solid color cotton shirts?" I guess I can understand the confusion. I'm also wearing a sweater with stripes of several different colors, so he probably thinks I've gone completely crazy.

OK, so a striped sweater and a belt probably isn't going to make people take notice; it's not exactly a bold and daring new look. But one small step in fashion is a giant leap for me. Today a belt, tomorrow, who knows? A print instead of solids or stripes? A hat or scarf that was not designed for winter use?

Whatever it is, you can bet it will be funky.