I was the queen of short shorts in high school.
Honestly, I didn't understand the concept of dress code and short lengths (to your fingertips, ladies!) and how they applied to me. Here's the rule: Your shorts had to be longer than your fingertips, plain and simple.
Every single time I wore shorts to school (and every single time I got in trouble for them), I'd exclaim that "I have long arms and short legs! They don't make shorts that long!"
It is true; I do have long arms and short legs. It isn't true that they do not make shorts that long. I just didn't want to wear them. Therefore, most of the time I wore jeans to school, though I had plenty of opportunities of sitting in the principal's office or getting sent home for my wardrobe.
Every single one of my friends was capable of complying with the code, but not me. I always laugh when I hear the Mase (90s) song where it says, "I'm the reason they made the dress code." I smile to think how stubborn I was about such a ridiculous issue.
(I heard a teenage girl the other day going off about her dress code and I just wanted to tell her to relax, already. You can't fight city hall. Besides, the public school dress code is basically this: Don't show up naked.)
I've reached a point in life where I can no longer wear those shorty shorts. It just isn't attractive. I still exercise, still try to eat healthy(ish)...but the times, they are a'changing. I'm getting older and do not have the body of a 16-year-old.
I've learned, in my slightly older age, that there are good mirrors and there are bad mirrors.
The mirror in my bedroom is BAD. The light is natural, but it hits at just the right angle that it highlights every lump and bump. The mirror in the gym is also bad, fluorescent light from above that make me look like I have the legs of someone much older.
The mirror in Talbots...ahh, so nice. They have that down to a T. Perfect lighting, makes all the lumps go away but tends to highlight redness on the face. The mirror at a thrift store up the road-- good mirror. It's one of those Ripley's Believe it or Not mirrors that make you look ten pounds lighter.
I actually brought home a pair of wide leg striped blue (and gold) shorts that hit right at the knee from that place. Why, I have no idea. My kids took one look, laughed and said that I looked like Aladdin.
Just as you can't fight city hall, I can't fight the fact that my legs are a bit lumpier than I'd prefer. I have finally given in and bought the longer short length. These shorts, on the models, hit about mid-thigh. On my short legs, they're practically pants.
They're still cute, just longer.
But...I tell you what. If Talbot's ever goes out of business, I'm buying myself the lights and mirrors from that dressing room.
If I can light candles and play the music to create the right atmosphere in my house...why not make the getting dressed experience just a little bit better?
Honestly, I didn't understand the concept of dress code and short lengths (to your fingertips, ladies!) and how they applied to me. Here's the rule: Your shorts had to be longer than your fingertips, plain and simple.
Every single time I wore shorts to school (and every single time I got in trouble for them), I'd exclaim that "I have long arms and short legs! They don't make shorts that long!"
It is true; I do have long arms and short legs. It isn't true that they do not make shorts that long. I just didn't want to wear them. Therefore, most of the time I wore jeans to school, though I had plenty of opportunities of sitting in the principal's office or getting sent home for my wardrobe.
Every single one of my friends was capable of complying with the code, but not me. I always laugh when I hear the Mase (90s) song where it says, "I'm the reason they made the dress code." I smile to think how stubborn I was about such a ridiculous issue.
(I heard a teenage girl the other day going off about her dress code and I just wanted to tell her to relax, already. You can't fight city hall. Besides, the public school dress code is basically this: Don't show up naked.)
I've reached a point in life where I can no longer wear those shorty shorts. It just isn't attractive. I still exercise, still try to eat healthy(ish)...but the times, they are a'changing. I'm getting older and do not have the body of a 16-year-old.
I've learned, in my slightly older age, that there are good mirrors and there are bad mirrors.
The mirror in my bedroom is BAD. The light is natural, but it hits at just the right angle that it highlights every lump and bump. The mirror in the gym is also bad, fluorescent light from above that make me look like I have the legs of someone much older.
The mirror in Talbots...ahh, so nice. They have that down to a T. Perfect lighting, makes all the lumps go away but tends to highlight redness on the face. The mirror at a thrift store up the road-- good mirror. It's one of those Ripley's Believe it or Not mirrors that make you look ten pounds lighter.
I actually brought home a pair of wide leg striped blue (and gold) shorts that hit right at the knee from that place. Why, I have no idea. My kids took one look, laughed and said that I looked like Aladdin.
Just as you can't fight city hall, I can't fight the fact that my legs are a bit lumpier than I'd prefer. I have finally given in and bought the longer short length. These shorts, on the models, hit about mid-thigh. On my short legs, they're practically pants.
They're still cute, just longer.
But...I tell you what. If Talbot's ever goes out of business, I'm buying myself the lights and mirrors from that dressing room.
If I can light candles and play the music to create the right atmosphere in my house...why not make the getting dressed experience just a little bit better?
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