The Blue Fleece

The summer after eighth grade my family took a trip to the Northwest US. It was peak of awkwardness for all three of us girls.

Here we are in San Francisco, when we discovered that we were three blocks away from the famous part of Lombard street. Inclines are hard for Floridians.

After San Fran, we went to the redwood forest. 

I got that bucket hat in San Fran, by the way. So stylish. I was also obsessed with Adidas at the time. All the cool kids wore Adidas. I also wore Adidas, but it didn't do the trick for me. 

I was somewhat of an oblivious lame head in middle school. 

Recently my friend reminded me that we called ourselves the "cold girls" in middle school. When she said this, I replied, "Oh, because we were cooler than cool?" And she shook her head, "No, Deb, because the other girls were the hot girls." Oh, yeah. Dang it. Still oblivious.

I wasn't the only one oblivious to the true nature of my social status. 

See, I owned this blue fleece from Old Navy. I'm wearing it here at Olympia National Forest in Washington. 

While in San Francisco, my dear little sis purchased a similar blue fleece. It's the one that she's wearing in the redwood forest picture. I learned many years later that she bought that blue fleece to be like me. 

When I found out, I felt horrible and still do to this day! A serious case of the blind leading the blind! I inadvertently led her deeper into awkwardness. No offense to anyone who owns blue fleeces, but mine was ugly to begin with, and the one she bought was worse. Bad, bad, bad fashion choices on both our parts. 

I can't believe she thought I was cool. I can't believe I thought I was cool. It's sad, really. 

It's now a joke to us, but I still feel a bit guilty. I've never deserved for her to look up to me, especially when it comes to my clothes, especially in eighth grade. I mean, it didn't get much better in high school. Don't even get me started on my American Eagle years.

Now-a-days, I take fashion advice from her! Because I've wised-up, and because I guess she learned her lesson.