A Tale: The Old Lady and The Leggings

"He She was an old man woman who fished shopped alone..."  

with apologies to Ernest Hemingway.

I have a birthday coming up. But, before that could happen, I had to catch up on a certain birthday that occurred at the end of July, our daughter's; I had promised her a mother-daughter birthday lunch. I made good on that promise last week, we had a delicious lunch together in the Capital City. While we ate she told me that she wanted to take me to her friend's house who sells Lularoe clothing. Lula who? Lularoe. It's big right now, I had heard about it from friends and family. Our daughter has been wearing the cutest skirts and Lucy Ann has shown me some precious dresses from Lularoe. The fabric is oh-so soft. I was excited about going to look at the clothes, any line that advertises "when fashion meets comfort" has my full attention; plus, I hadn't been shopping with Marcia for a very long time, it would be fun!  "I want you to try on a pair of leggings" she told me, that's when I almost dropped my fork. "Absolutely not", I responded. I tried to explain my reluctance abject refusal through logical reasoning: "leggings are not pants, they are not meant to be worn on legs over ~ahem~ a certain age (6?), they are too revealing".  She wouldn't listen, she shook her head and smiled,  "I want you to try a pair on" she said, while smiling. "I would like to get you an outfit for your birthday".  "I'll go" I thought, "I'll try them on" I smiled to myself, "but, no, I definitely won't come home with a pair; not me". Marcia's friend has devoted her living room to Lularoe. She had racks upon racks of tops, skirts, dresses and... oh, yes, the ubiquitous leggings. I chose a really cute top to pair with a straight, black skirt that I had at home. In fact, I bought it and wore it to church yesterday (top photo), I just loved the fabric and the cut the instant I tried it on. It's extremely comfortable and versatile, it will look nice with slacks or jeans too. I also bought a pretty knit skirt with a flared hem that I can wear anytime, it can easily be dressed up or down. Marcia and her Lularoe friend were very convincing about the leggings: "you need to try a black pair first", the friend was putting them into my hand as she explained, "everyone needs a 'starter' pair, see what you think". I chose a plain tunic-style swing top to try on over the leggings, it seemed long enough to satisfy my need to cover*. I knew that the chatter wouldn't end until I took a deep breath and got it over with. I retreated to a bedroom with a full-length mirror to scrutinize the appearance of my aging body in the non-pants. I wasn't hopeful. First of all these tights-without-feet are "one size fits all"; we all know what that means.  I wiggled myself into them and tugged them up. They stayed where I put them. Hmmm. The weight of the knit was substantial enough to not be see-through. Hmmm. And, truth be told, as much as I hated to admit it: the super-soft knit was strong enough to actually be somewhat flattering; they didn't look that bad! Hmmm. The top that I tried on wasn't right though. I went back to the living-room-turned-Lularoe-marketplace to choose some different tops. There were cheers from my daughter and her friend when I entered; "don't you love the leggings?" my daughter asked? She could already tell that I did. I tried on a few more tops and settled on this combination, I honestly did not want to take the leggings off. My now ecstatic daughter told me that she and her family wanted to give me this outfit for my birthday. I felt happy and confident with the choice and agreed.  "I'm not sure I will wear them out of the house though", I told her with a wink. Change is hard for me. I learned a lot last week though this experience; to not be afraid to open myself up to something new and different, to accept the opinions of others as valuable resources that can balance my own and to simply trust more.

She was right; I am now a dyed-in-the-wool cotton-knit-convert. Who knew? 

I have to admit this old dog lady can still learn a trick or two, as long as I keep my mind open. I did assure my daughter though, that these solid black 'starter' leggings are as far as I am willing to step outside my comfort zone. I won't be asking her to pick me up a pair of bright orange hibiscus print anytime soon! I have to draw the line somewhere, right? So, what do you think? Should I leave the house? 

Life is Good!

*For the record: I am no stranger to 'tops' of this length, when I was in high school this would have been considered a dress! That was then. This is now.