A day in boots

A few days ago I tripped against a stack of two empty pallets, and acquired a lovely bruise on my ankle the size of a silver dollar. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my dress/skirt days, and so yesterday I decided to wear boots to cover up my multi-colored souvenir. This is how I normally plan my outfits: from the shoes up.

So Farah goes to work, in a sheer chocolate-brown jersey dress, black tights and knee high boots. This was also the first day I'd blown my hair out straight since I'd dyed it black over the weekend.

I got compliments and comments on everything from my hair to my skirt to my legs and boots. I felt fabulous, fun and flirty in my getup, which overall guys seemed to find sexy and girls thought was slutty. Generally speaking.

No one said it that way, of course. It's just that male coworkers who normally don't talk to me complimented me on my hair, noticed the change in haircolor, observed that boots are back in fashion (season, actually), and said I had pretty legs.

My so-called girlfriends on the other hand, smilingly teased me about my short hemline, the sheerness of my dress, and how my dress sense seems to have changed recently, as if I'm looking for a boyfriend.

Guys seem to think that a girl who looks hot feels that way too, and that it doesn't hurt to ask because the worst thing she can say is no.

Girls seem to resent a girl who gets that kind of attention, and no matter how nice they supposedly are, have no problem cutting you down with veiled insults. Even if they're you're fucking friends.

And when they step back and remember that it's same old you they're taking turns stabbing at, they are taken aback by some of the things they've said (because a Christian woman wouldn't do that, right?) and, chastened, add as an afterthought that "If you don't like what we say, you don't have to listen".

And if you don't like what I'm wearing, you don't have to look.

I'm told I'm sexier now, or dress that way. I don't feel it, no matter what people seem to think. Actually, I'm ten pounds heavier, and not in the right places. I am comfortable with my clothes, which are well within dress code, btw -- even the "short jersey dress, which hovers two inches above my knees. An oufit that's put together well does give a bit of a boost to one's day, though it's more a feeling like "I'm wearing new socks today" than anything else.

Today I wore a three-quarter length button-down shirt, slacks, and a frown. Though I value learning, I sometimes regret the things I learn about people. You think you know who your friends are, y'know?