Fashion Week!

It seemed like there were posters and electronic displays for Fashion Week everywhere I went. Fashion Week Paris, Fashion Week London, Fashion Week Milan!

How exciting! You can't begin to imagine my excitement. I'd been wearing the same (comfortable) shoes for nearly three weeks. I'd been doing laundry every few days because I only had three pairs of pants and about seven tops. I'd been using some of the makeup I bought in unintended ways to make up for products I either couldn't find or somehow neglected to buy.

I'd been telling myself that I should not worry about what I was going to wear. (Consider the lilies of the field and how gloriously they are arrayed, etc...) I reminded myself that it's what you're like on the inside that is important, not your outward appearance.  I did my best to focus on things that were not superficial.

And truly, those who know me know that Fashion Week is not something I'd ever really be excited about. (Take a look at those models - I don't think they're especially excited, either.) While I love cute shoes, I tend to go more for comfort these days. And while I'd taken an assortment of jewelry and accessories with me on the trip, all I really had with me was the jewelry because the accessories were all in the missing bag. But given my limited wardrobe, I really didn't need many jewelry choices.

I can say that after three weeks of no accessories, no change of shoes, and very limited clothing choices, I was so disgusted defeated that I couldn't even be bothered to put on lipstick for the last few days of the trip and for several days after we got home.

I found myself at a crossroads. Do I want to become a dedicated fashionista? Suffer the uncomfortable shoes? Change handbags every time I leave the house? Refuse to leave the house until I find the "right" lipstick? Probably not. Or do I want to focus on inner beauty? Wear whatever is hanging in the front of the closet and go for comfort over style? Hmmm, that may be a bit extreme. I've never considered myself a fashionista. At least not lately. No, make that never. But I have always taken care with my appearance. (My first husband never even saw me without makeup on. Ever.) And I'm just not a sloppy t-shirt kind of girl. They're okay for the gym (but there are really cute workout clothes) or painting the house but I'd rather have a cute top to wear with my jeans. Maybe I should just continue to walk down the middle of that road - in comfortable, but cute, shoes.