If you can’t beat them, join them, is the somewhat defeatist attitude I took up this weekend when I went shopping to Lammles’ Western Wear. I am a Calgary girl, I’ve lived here my whole life, and yet I just can’t get behind the concept of western wear. This is an attitude I felt needed adjusting, since I always have a few Stampede events to attend every year, events that become more and more important to attend as my children get older and embrace the Stampede spirit. One such event is the school’s annual Stampede Breakfast, which is coming up in less than two weeks and at which I am going to be flipping pancakes. I have two items of clothing that regularly come out at Stampede: a straw cowboy hat, and a denim shirt dating from 1997. I felt that my Stampede “look”, such as it is, needed an update and that is how I found myself in Lammles’.
Now, I’m no Tom and Lorenzo, but I did feel a little part of me die a little as I looked through the racks of ladies’ wear. Everything was either a) too colourful, b) too plaid, c) too see-through, and/or d) too covered in rhinestones to suit my taste. If I am going to pay $60 for a shirt, I would like it to be one that I wear more than a couple of times a year and that doesn’t make me look like I’m competing in the barrel racing competition, given that I am not actually a barrel racer. I found what appeared to be a plain black button-up shirt, but on actually taking it off the rack I discovered that it was covered with rhinestone lassos.
I was feeling rather disconsolate about the whole experience, and then I saw an item that had my name all over it:
It literally has my name on it! So how could I refuse? It’s a denim skirt, by the way, not in the style of Mama Duggar but this:
Cute, I think. Plus, it’s called a NICOLE. I figure I will get some actual wear out of it, unlike a rhinestone-lasso-encrusted shirt.
I got home and realized that my closet runneth over, but fortunately I had also lost track of what day it was, and that I had a clothing donation pickup scheduled this week. This, accompanied by the realization that the clothing pickup was for TODAY, gave me great motivation to go through my closet and purge 3 (garbage) bags full. I was filled with a bit of disappointment in myself and my consumerism – does anyone need so many clothes? – and became ruthless in my purge. There was none of the oh, maybe I’ll wear this again, this is kind of cute, it doesn’t fit well but it’s still in great shape feelings I normally have.
The other thing of semi-importance that happened this weekend: my husband briefly activated the multiplayer setting on our Wii, which led to our family becoming torn apart. It was probably the single worst idea in the history of our family’s video games. The kids have played multiplayer in Mario Kart and Wii Sports, which is evidently VERY DIFFERENT from the murder and death that came from multiplayer Star Wars Force Unleashed. By the end of the afternoon all three of the boys, including my husband, were not on good terms, and I was miffed that no one wanted to be Johnny to my Baby in Just Dance. It was not the time of my life, let me tell you. I instigated a rule that never again would the multiplayer setting be activated, and peace reigned in the Boyhouse galaxy.
I love a ruthless purge. Since I appear to be the only person in my family who enjoys same, I have to wait until the kids are out of town to sneak into their rooms and purge the living heck out of their closets, drawers, etc. Always satisfying.
I believe T & Lo have an entirely separate set of judging criteria w/r/t western wear that they employ when evaluating events like the County Music Awards. Applying that, or indeed any standard, your new skirt is cute!
Note to self: never activate multiplayer setting on SWFU. I can’t deal with anymore video game based irritation in my life. Am already full up.
It’s a very cute skirt!
As a homeschooler, I can not wear a denim skirt (of any cut, colour or length). It’s too cliched. However, yours is cute.
Most of the women I know who are actual “cowgirls,” ranchers, farmers, etc wear work clothes that can take a lot of abuse (ie Cartharts). Tacky, blingy, shiny, tight “cowgirl” clothes are generally worn by urbanites who idealize the country life. Or more accurately: idealize sex with a cowboy. Let’s face it: Stampede Week is the prairie equivalent of Fleet Week, hence the slutty fashion parade.
Of course, I’m an ex-Edmontonian who saw far, far too many questionable Klondike Kate outfits in my youth.
Oh lawd…multiplayer…we have the Indiana Jones and the Star Wars something something. My kid doesn’t know how to use all the buttons so he does the nunchuk and we use the other part.
I can’t imagine us letting him on his own and us kicking his ass every time.
Might be fun now that I think of it.
That’s a sassy skirt. So you’re sending your garbage bags to my house? That’s so nice of you.
OMG – it was literally crying out for you to buy it. And I have a cousin who grew up on an actual farm and yet still does the slutty sparkly stampede wear – curious. Do you have cowboy boots? You would totally rock cowboy boots.