In a foul mood and out of the loop

This morning brought another dreadfully dreary day in Dallas. The kind of day when even alliteration did not improve my mood.

The smattering of raindrops and fog this morning did nothing to facilitate my creativity. Facing my clothes I remained steadfast, refusing to accept defeat. What to wear? What to wear? Only subdued colors would suit the mood I was in. Some people dress for the occasion. I dress for my temperament. This would explain why some days I show up to work in an electric blue shirt and other days I wear grey. Much like Homeland Security advises of threat levels, my outfits rely on color to relay my mood.

But instead of looking like this:

Its more like this:

I think predictability is overrated (although I'm sure most husbands would disagree).**

Today I opted for -- what I consider to be -- subtle colors. I wore a pair of navy blue trousers that have a faint, small "window pane" pattern. The large, flap-front pockets and over sized buttons are reminiscent of sailor pants. I paired it with a salmon colored, short sleeve button up with slightly puffy sleeves. While I am aware that the color salmon does not impart my feelings of apathy to the general public, to me it is a step-down from the bright aqua blue I considered wearing. After mulling over what shoes to wear I opted for my go-to nude heels. Now, for a belt. I'm not going to lie, I have 29 belts (I counted) including one with glitter (I know, what was I thinking? That is going in the trash). But even with 28 belts, I never have the "right belt." (Sisters, can I get an "Amen!"?)

I've had these pants for just a short time and have not yet found the "right belt" for them. And, since my self-imposed moratorium on shopping, I'm about 80 days away from being able to buy the "right belt" for these pants. As I stood in front of my closet (kicking myself), I considered my options. Surely one of my belts would work right? Wrong.

As I mentioned on Friday, I have a short torso. My build, coupled with the fashion industry's desire to cut trousers to hit "just below the waist," leaves me with a dilemma. Even pants designed to hit "at the waist" fall below my natural waist. Whereas I can get away with a smaller belt to encircle my waist, I need a larger belt to encircle my hips when I wear pants. I call this the Lily Rush Syndrome -- which I named after the heroine detective on "Cold Case." Unlike me, she is willowy and able to wear her uniform low-rise pants with a belt. I just can't pull that off.

I tried several belts this morning, none of which fit properly with these pants. It is this very reason that I so rarely wear shirts tucked into pants and why I am a huge fan of pants without belt loops. I considered changing clothes and then said "screw it" (but as I was saying it to my dogs, I used an expletive). I went to my jewelry drawer. I put on a long, silver chain necklace, my silver hoop earrings and a silver bangle (Cookie Lee, of course). Then I added a second necklace for good measure. Maybe the jewelry will keep the attention away from the fact I'm not wearing a belt. After all, this is Dallas -- people here are easily distracted by shiny objects (Oh, you know its true).

**I heart the Internet! You can design your own personal threat level chart at http://www.personalthreatlevel.com/ I would have done my own, but they didn't offer plum, fuchsia, pewter, chartreuse or any other colors I deem necessary.