So then soon after this picture, we found out we were expecting baby boy #2 and summer came, then the baby came and it was pretty much an outstanding effort on my part just to be dressed, much less stylish, for about 6 months (some moms get it together faster...not me!) So now here we are again, winter upon us, and I still don't have any of these cute boots.
Enter Black Friday.
A tradition in our house, this year it was a little different. We were missing a person, and the stores messed everything up by opening at crazy times. We only wanted 2 things, but Target opened at midnight and Jo-Ann didn't open until 6 am...so we had to find filler stops (including an inpromptu trip to Krispy Kreme. If you aren't from The South then you probably don't understand the magnetism of the HOT light. But, seriously.) We found ourselves at one point fighting the mob at Belk to catch some of the $19 boots. Mom and I each came away with 2 pair, and all of our appendages, so I consider that to be quite a success. I finally had some cute furry boots just like everyone else, and I was happy.
Until we got home and I realized some things:
1) The boots kind of look like they are lined with a Davy Crockett hat, fur around the top rim and fur down the backside, almost tail-like...
2) I'm not entirely sure I meet the age requirement to wear boots like this. I'm on the last half of my 20s...is it still acceptable to dress in high school trends? Most of me says probably not, but part of me says I can squeeze it in for a few more years.
3) I still have no pants that I can shove into my boots, so having the boots does me no good.
As I considered each of these concerns, it was easy to rationalize away the first one. My husband didn't know whether it was Davy Crockett or Daniel Boone that wore the hat, and I'm banking on the No Child Left Behind Act to leave an open gap in the minds of those who are younger than me. So that means that only the older generations might think my boots are funny looking, but they probably think everyone's boots are funny looking, so it doesn't bother me as much.
Number Two wasn't as easy to overcome. BUT, I have a dear friend who rocks these types of boots and she is beautiful and graceful and I adore her personal style. And she is much nearer to my age, so I feel better about it because of her.
That leaves Number Three, and the purpose of this rant-blog. I'm not a physically balanced person. I think they call me "pear-shaped". So the whole skinny jeans/leggings/jeggings thing makes me a little nervous. A blog I read recently put it best "I don't want to look like a lollipop." So all of my jeans have straight legs, which Stacy and Clinton say are best for my figure. But damnit, I bought those boots, so I gotta do something now.
So I went into my "upcycle" bag and found a pair of jeans with a lot of stretch and oddly shaped legs that I *thought* were a little short for me. I tried them on. A little tight, but the legs sure did look crazy. They were perfect!
I turned them inside out, sat on the couch and pinned the excess jean away from my leg. Then carefully (VERY Carefully) I slid them off and took them to my sewing counter (which doubles as my kitchen counter). I drew a line along the pins, then removed them and lined up the other leg and made similar markings. Then I sewed the line. Simple enough, right?
Then I tried them on. I must have fat ankles. Stupid foot hole...so tiny. Plus I had some extra random baggy material up near the knee, so I adjusted my original line and re-sewed. This time they were nearly perfect, one foothole a little tight, but as good as I was going to get while both boys were up running around. I slid them on, put on the boots, and wore them all day.
I was so stinkin excited about it, although I'm not positive that I pulled it off. And my camera was MIA, so no pictures of the process. But I'm considering offering that as a service..turning old uncool jeans into new wearable ones. I also considered going into the show shop at Mom and Dad's and digging out all her late 80s jeans, which would be vintage and cool, without alterations. But I'm not ready to go acid wash just yet!
