Beauty and the Plaid

It was a holiday weekend night downtown Chicago and five Wisconsinite gals were dressed to the nines waiting to get into the first nightclub of the night.

All five of us were immediately admitted, all except the men in tow. One being my boyfriend. There was a dress code and jeans and a t-shirt just didn’t cut it for men’s attire.

Rather than scoffing at the dress code and feeling insulted, as I would have, he simply shrugged his shoulders and walked across the street to a sports bar and told us to have a good time.

My boyfriend and I have been dating for almost nine years and his style has never changed. Plain dark colored t-shirts, bootcut jeans, and steel toe working boots.

In the honeymoon stage of our relationship I tried to incorporate new items of clothes into his wardrobe by disguising them as gifts; I mean isn’t that what girlfriends do?

I slipped a trendy dark wash jean here and a button up shirt there, but after one wear, they just collected dust in the closet. After year four I chalked it up as a good effort on my part and gave up.

The truth is I know I am not the only gal struggling with her man’s style. A lot girls have trouble getting their boyfriends/husbands out of their casual wear. Sometimes weddings do not even warrant a reason to get all gussied up.

Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of excuses as to why he hates dressing up:

“The clothes are uncomfortable”

“I’ll look stupid”

And my personal favorite: “I don’t want to outshine you.”

It was a battle I couldn’t win and for the longest time I was bitter about that. It was just clothes, how bad could it really be? All other types of men can do it, why couldn’t he a few times a year?

It wasn’t until he shamelessly went over to the sports bar that I began to appreciate his style and admire his sense of self. He was unapologetic about his choice of clothes and stood by his decision. If he’s not allowed in as he is, so be it, the sports bar would welcome him with open arms and a cold beer.

The simple jeans and t-shirt style represents a man who exudes self-confidence and stays true to himself no matter what. Above all else, he’s kind, loyal, and looks beyond appearances. All solid qualities in my book.

In the end, he may never wear formal attire willingly, but on the bright side, at least when we go out, he lets me shine.

Ring in the New Year! (Glitz & Glam, Optional)

It had all the makings of a typical New Year’s Celebration at your average local bar. There was a band on stage, dance floor filled with people shouting the countdown from the number ten, most wearing those cheap terrible hats and tiaras commemorating the upcoming year, 2014. If you didn’t get lucky enough to grab a plastic cup of champagne, your bottled beer was in hand ready for the big toast. It was all there, all except the sparkle.

Speaking strictly for the ladies here, when I think of a typical New Year’s Eve outfit, I envision sparkly, glittery, shiny, tops, dresses, shoes, hair, or whatever. Here, at the end of 2013, there was none of that. Nothing. Well nothing, except me, Ms. Golden Sparkle Mini-Dress with black leggings and black ankle boots.

I felt like I was reenacting a scene from Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas:

“New Year’s Eve came. It came without glitter. It came without bling. It came without sequins, glam and shiny rings!”

For me personally this year, I spent more time putting together my sparkly outfit than I did making any resolutions. Let’s face it, after two weeks, most people either forget or don’t follow through with their resolutions anyway, but the sparkly outfit, that will last much longer in my closet. Time well invested on my part.

While the New Year’s Eve celebration holds many traditions: the sparkly outfit, the party atmosphere, the resolutions, the midnight kiss; you don’t have to fulfill all traditions, just the ones that are important to you at the particular time. Hell there were some New Year’s Eves where I happily stayed at home in my sweats and watched movies. It all depends on where you’re at on December 31st.

For me, in 2014, I wanted to have a good time with new and old friends in a fabulous sparkly outfit. No resolutions, no midnight kiss. All turned out well.

Happy Belated 2014!