Fashion Mantra on a Cracker Barrel Magnet

              After a shopping trip to the Outlet Shops in Pigeon Forge with splurges at the $5 rack, I had a consciousness raising experience. I saw a magnet while gobbling breakfast at Cracker Barrel. The magnet featured a mismatched, middle-aged woman wearing a tacky outfit carrying a Queen Elizabeth handbag and sporting orthopedic shoes. Across the bottom the caption read, “Just because it’s on sale does not mean you should buy it!”  It capsuled my new mantra for shopping trips.

            While I can’t bring myself to pay an eye-popping price for any outfit, especially since I’m now on a fixed income,  I’ve come to understand why I should not purchase fashion items crammed onto a circular rack with a sign telling shoppers to “take an additional 75% off already reduced prices.” There’s a good reason the item was making that kind of fashion statement.     

       Today, I was suckered into purchasing a style watcher magazine for Spring 2016. A few

moments of waiting in line at the grocery store and I spotted these headlines: “What’s in for

SPRING,” “Best New Trends, Colors, and Pieces to Wear NOW!” The featured color on the cover

was pink which reminded me I once swished and twirled in a two-piece Miss Pat full skirt and

blouse combo in pretty pink paired with a contoured pink leather belt. Black and white saddle-

oxfords with white socks completed the look.

            As I paged through the style magazine at home, I was taken aback by the pages I thought contained a What Not to Wear feature. Instead, I was surprised by  “new looks” in boho prints, jungle patterns, and giant geometric designs for the "curvy" body type. The caption: “Wear it long to feature the thinnest part of your legs.” 

        “Street fashion” must be the euphemism for “what to wear at the corner of Lamar and

Lamar” in Memphis. Red spike pumps with fringe at the heel caught my attention. In another

magazine section, models displayed wardrobes epitomizing their advice to “go crazy with

mismatching prints – just repeat some of the same colors for cohesion.”

            A subtle skirt with a whisper of pink shading, cream silk blouse,topped with a soft pink, sleeveless long vest coupled with pretty pink heels caught my eye. It was the prettiest, classiest outfit in the magazine. The headline screamed, “Just the Shoes: $1045” and advised me I could make Spring headlines in a similar outfit, a knock-off for a mere $371, spending a pittance, only $99 for pink satin pumps. That’s at least a whopping 65% savings when buying everything from a discount retailer at "substantial markdowns on already reduced prices."
           Perhaps I should rethink my shopping mantra.