power shopping

I bought a suit today! It certainly felt weird after months and months and months of living on no budget. Seriously, aside from rent and groceries and toilet paper, I haven't bought much of anything at all this year. My lifestyle doesn't demand much of an entertainment budget, and the spectre of the Only Two Suitcases still looms large on the horizon, curtailing my consumerist urges.

But I have an interview, and they are springing for the transatlantic plane ticket, so the least I can do is show up looking semi-professional. And sweltering, probably, from the humidity and the power outage. I hope that the breeze coming off the lake can make its way through the... whatever material suits are made of. A friend just asked me what it looks like. Umm... it’s black?

I’m fashion-blind, see. Seriously, one suit looks the same as any other suit to me. But as soon as I put a couple of them on, Miss M and the other Miss M began shaking their heads and frowning that specific frown that meant they saw more than just Generic Suit in that mirror. Apparently you are supposed to take into consideration things like How the Arm Hangs and What Shape Your Butt Has in Those Pants and whether there’s a lining, for pete’s sake. For me the main questions are: Can I button it up and zip the zipper? and Do I look like a football player in this thing? (Shoulder pads are not my friends.)

So I tried on enough suits until I got to one that caused no frowns among the more discerning public. And then I knew. I knew like you know about a good melon... with a couple of friends and some employees not-frowning in the background of the melon patch.

So, I have a suit. I guess now I have to do something about this godawful hair.