Only a true friend would volunteer to help me pick out "proper church clothes" for my children's baptism or a friend who has seen my "church wardrobe" (which is nonexistent.) I received an e-mail invite earlier in the week. The message started off subtle and ended with the obvious (I don't have church clothes in my wardrobe.) "By the way, do you have something to wear to the baptism event of the year? If not I am taking you shopping for something "suitably churchy." Maybe Thursday after hours or Friday when all the kids are off and driving us crazy. Let me know."
When I called to arrange the date, my friend talked about how hard it was for her, finding clothes being petite, and that I must have the same problem. That old light bulb flashed on, that's my problem! I am shopping in the wrong department. Although I am not sure The Gap and Old Navy have departments? I always seem to forget that I fall into that category of being vertically challenged at 5'3". I never shop in petites and that is probably why I always end up tripping in pants that are too long. Besides with four children, who has time for alterations and department shopping?
Shopping with children is stressful. I pretty much gave up shopping for myself by child number three. I can't even remember the last time I bought clothes for myself (other than at Target?) If the fashion police came to my house they would probably be able to tell me, 2001 or 2002. But now, I had the opportunity to go shopping without my children and with a fashion advisor.
Thursday evening it was! A miracle. No kids, shopping! Before I knew it, I had piles of clothes in my arms. How she did it, amazed me. She was going through the racks of clothes pulling out skirts, shirts and trousers. Without her help, I would probably still be standing there trying to figure which ones to try on. She knew. Macy's petite section, 70% off sale. As she handed me another shirt she informed me, "If this fits you, you are buying it! If only because it will cost you about $5 after the sale price, which you can't even do at Target.
When I had about thirty items in my arms, we moved on to the dressing room. I commented on how spacious the little cubicle seemed without four children and a stroller. I wouldn't have to stand on the bench to try on clothes. My friend then offered to pretend to be one of my children, so I wouldn't feel like I was in some alternate universe. I told her I would let her know if I felt the need to hear some complaining or have some resistance to staying in the dressing room.
Overwhelmed, I was not sure what to try on first. What shirt with what bottom? As I was hanging the clothes on the hooks, I grabbed a pair black of pants. I figured it would make trying on all of the shirts easy. What does not go with black? Very little. Immediately I could see the benefits of shopping in the petite section. There would be no tripping on these pants. The length was perfect. I then said a silent prayer for my friend.
"Thank you God, not only giving me a such a great friend, but one that can help me in my time of shopping need. Never in my thirty plus years have I had a friend who picked clothes out for me and then could say as I stepped out of the dressing room in a scooped neck shirt, "The pants are great, but the shirt makes your shoulders look wider than those of a linebacker in the NFL. Besides, I think you can fit Jack's sippy cup in that scoopy neck thing that is going on." Later it would be "no ruffles and no horizontal lines or anything that makes the buttons on the shirt look like the are going to bust open, no pun intended."
Finding a shirt proved to be harder than we thought. I did buy the bargain shirt, but it was a bit bright for a baptism. I left with great pants and some borrowed shoes to boot, literally and figuratively. After two hours of shopping it was clear to me why I never do this with my children. Luckily, I have two more days before the Baptism, enough time to find a shirt. I hope. If not, because the pants are black, I definitely have a shirt from a few fashion years ago that will work in a pinch, especially at my church, St. Clement's, where "there shall be no outcasts" and I assume that pertains to "fashion faux pas."
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