A Fashion Blogger’s Nightmare

Some people have nightmares about being chased or about screaming as loud as possible, only to hear nothing come out… But I, on the other hand, have nightmares about clothes. Specifically, beautiful clothes that I never get the chance to wear. (Terrifying, I know.) I’ve always been a very vivid dreamer, and unfortunately for those who know me, this means they have to listen to me regale exotic tales from dreamland each morning during breakfast. On Saturday night I had a dreadful dream—a fashion blogger’s nightmare—and figured it was absolutely necessary to share this haunting tale with all of you…

It started when one of my best high school friends—we’ll call her Carly—burst into my bedroom. She told me that she was getting married that night, in just two hours, and that she wanted me to be her maid of honor. Then—poof! She disappeared, as dream people quite often do. My mind frantically started racing… What will I wear? Do I have time to shower? And why the HELL did she not tell me the wedding is happening tonight?!

I decided my first priority was choosing an outfit. I rushed to my closet and started sifting through my dress section, landing on this gorgeous light purple gown I wore to prom senior year… I pulled it out and excitedly said, “What about this one?”

Then Carly and my mom magically appeared in my bedroom, Carly with her wedding dress in hand. She showed me the gown and it was a beautiful light purple silk and chiffon dress, instead of traditional white. My mom exclaimed, “You can’t wear that dress, Grace; it’s too close in color to Carly’s gown!”

I knew she was right, so I rushed back to the drawing board, aka my closet, as time tick-tick-ticked away. Along with my usual formalwear—this red fringe dress and this mint sequin dress—I found several new dresses waiting for me in my closet. An absolute dream! There was a short fit-and-flare dress that was a black floral fabric with beading, and the dress had a unique lace/mesh capelet attached. There was also a long black gown, with big beaded floral appliques and a beautifully dramatic off-the-shoulder v-neckline. I couldn’t wait to try the pieces on and show them to my mom.

But oh! I forgot that I had less than two hours ‘til the wedding—only about an hour and 45 minutes now. I still hadn’t showered or done my hair or makeup, and I had no idea how far away the venue was located. I could feel the panic rising in my chest. I held the two new dresses out to my mom and said, “Which one??” I desperately wanted to wear the black gown and had planned on doing so, but my mother told me I absolutely could not wear a gown like that to a wedding. After all, it was more of a celebrity red carpet look… Think Oscar de la Renta.

I huffed and I puffed and I, stormed off back to the closet… The stress continued to build as I couldn’t try on any of the dresses. I eventually just reached for my mint sequin dress and threw it on, hoping it still fit. It definitely wasn’t the fabulous outfit I had wanted to wear—after all, fancy occasions are few and far between, so I always try to make the most of every formal outfit—but I was running out of time. I grabbed my trusty silver block heels and hit the road.

No, I did not have time to shower, and no, I had not washed my hair in at least four days (this was true in real life as well). I had unbrushed chlorine locks from the pool the day before… And you could definitely tell. I was horrified to leave the house like that, especially to go to a wedding, but I had no other choice. I didn’t have the chance to do any makeup, either, so I looked like a troll playing dress-up in her mother’s closet. And maybe the worst part of all? I wasn’t able to photograph the outfit (not that I wanted to, considering I looked like trash, but commemorating an outfit is essential for fashion bloggers). It truly was a nightmare.

Once I arrived at the wedding venue, I quickly realized my mother was right to tell me not to wear the black gown—everyone there was wearing t-shirts, ripped jeans, flannels, and aviator sunglasses instead of dresses and suits. It looked like a gas station rather than a wedding! I was horrified at the site, and while I initially thought my mint outfit was rather drab, I suddenly felt extremely overdressed. The crowd definitely made my nappy hair and plain face look a lot better by comparison (it’s sort of like watching “The Tiger King” or those Walmart videos—they make you feel better about yourself). It was an outdoor wedding, and I rushed to the end of the aisle to meet with Carly and see what she wanted me to do. After all, I was maid of honor, but I had no idea what was going on, nor had I helped plan anything. Oh, and did I mention there were only 10 minutes left ‘til the wedding started?

By this point I had accepted that the wedding and my outfit were both a disaster, and there was nothing I could do. Absolutely tragic. After that, the dream quickly morphed into a bad driving nightmare instead, which is third in my top 3 list of recurring bad dreams. First on the list is dreams about losing my teeth (apparently that means I’m anxious about something), and second is, of course, stressful dreams about clothes I can’t try on. I wonder what that says about me? These types of dreams usually start well, as I enter my closet and find racks of beautiful new clothing. But they always turn stressful because, for one reason or another, something interrupts and inhibits me from putting the clothes on. Bizarre, I know. Am I the only one who has clothing-related stress dreams?! They’re similar to school-related nightmares where you forget to turn in items or get into a fight with a teacher; it’s the same level of anxiety.

How often do you dream about clothing, if ever? Or are you the type of person who doesn’t remember your dreams? I love my bizarre, exotic dreams, even when they turn stressful. They make going to sleep like turning on the TV, and sometimes my dreams are the most entertaining part of my day!

Completely unrelated is the cute summer outfit featured in today’s post. How fun is this hand-me-down umbrella maxi skirt? It’s so breezy for those hot summer days! And I love that my black and white striped sunglasses add the perfect hint of pattern mixing to this outfit.

I hope you have a great start to your week and that you enjoyed this funky post. I love fashion so much that it infiltrates every part of my life, even my subconscious! As always, thanks so much for stopping by.

Miles of smiles,

Grace

Turquoise Top: JCPenney, $20 // Umbrella Maxi Skirt: Hand-me-down // Black Sandals: Macy’s, $28 // Pink Purse: A gift, handmade in Italy // Striped Sunglasses: Charming Charlie, $10