Made Up for the Mall: Fashion Fun or Faux-Pas?

I have always loved the mall. Pretty much any mall. I love the shopping, I love the food court, but most of all, I love the people watching. There is an amazing array of people and their style that walk the halls of the mall every day, and I love to take it all in. There are all ages and shapes, sizes, colors, and attitudes, but what I love to watch the most is the clothes that they wear.

Today I saw some clothes that made me laugh, shake my head, and even sigh. My beauty conscious eyes made me see ways to help folks improve their style or maybe even change it altogether. Here's what I saw today.

Geek Chic Punk Gone Wrong. Naturally, I think geeks are pretty cool because, well, I pretty much am one. So while I had to giggle, I also felt a little bad for a small band of teens who just tried a little too hard today. I have to say, I liked their efforts and they seemed like fun folks, but a pretty girl with a fuzzy beaver cap doesn't quite fit this hot July weather. Her friend cracked me up with his eighties head band and coordinating purple and pink dinosaur backpack. Yup, just what every teen boy wants! I must say, they did a good job of capturing my attention and if that was their intention, well, they an A plus! But I do wonder what they were thinking when they pulled out headbands and beaver caps from their dresser drawers on this hot, humid day.

Anime in Real Life I also saw a beautiful girl heading down the sidewalk in a gorgeous skirt and blouse. She looked pretty and put together, but when I got up close, I thought she looked like a little piece of Anime brought to life I have a bad feeling about people dressing like a cartoon, (imagine a model trying to look like Smurffette?) although I have to say that she was very pretty and tasteful at the same time and I couldn't stop staring.

Professional In Need of a little Updating There was a pretty woman in a business pants suit hurrying her way along the mall, probably on her lunch break. I though she looked very put together and professional, but she could have upped the ante a bit if she had added some highlights, loose waves, and a side swept bang to her long straight blond hair. Some cage heels would have addedsome real 'wow' to her steps, or a pair of black patent leather heels would have increased the wattage of her power suit. Maybe she just prefers to look understated in a world bustling to grab our attention.

Short Shorts that Should Never Have Left Home Short shorts are everywhere, and when I see them on the racks in clothing stores, I am shocked at how little they are. They are shorter than my unmentionables, and definitely not G-rated. Call me old fashioned if you will, but I feel like clothes that leave nothing to the imagination are better left on the rack. A little mystique - and a lot more coverage - are much more beautiful.

The Ladies in Black These girls gave me a chuckle, because all three of them were dressed in black from head to toe. I'm sure that they were stylists, or estheticians, or maybe even waitresses. They were dressed quite appropriately and they moved through the mall quickly and deliberately as any employee or business owner would. But I have to admit, seeing the three of them together, outside of their workplace, brought back memories of "Men In Black" and made me wonder if that's what it would look like if women starred in the movie instead. But I'm not complaining, as I'm often dressed in all black and I probably give someone else an opportunity for a chuckle, too.

A Too Tiny Top Call them love handles, muffin top, spillover. It's what happens when the jeans are too tight and the shirt is too small. Of course, I'm all for tight jeans, but to avoid the overflow on top, pair them with a loose T, a caftan, or a tunic. They hide everything!

A Beautiful Halter Top, Revealing a lovely tat There was a mom ordering in Chic-FIl-A with a beautiful green halter top. It wasn't overly revealing, it was just pretty. The gorgeous shade of green went beautifully with her soft, brown hair. And when she turned around, it showed off her tattoo on her shoulder blade. She was striking yet not overdone and looked like someone I would like to call a friend.

As I watched these folks, and many others, walk, saunter, and cruise around the mall shops, I wondered if they knew what kind of image they presented. Did they stop to wonder what someone would think of them when they chose their outfits that day? Or did they, like me, grab the first outfit in the closet that was clean, unwrinkled, a somewhat comfortable? The beaver cap and dinosaur backpack were a great reminder to me that what is on the outside doesn't always match what's on the inside. No matter how you are dressed on the outside, it is far more important to be dressed well on the inside. First impressions are certainly important, but not nearly as important as who you are when no one else is looking at you. Just maybe I'll go get myself a purple dinosaur backpack to remind me every time I wear it. On second thought, maybe I won't.