Those Little Things Can Provide A Big Laugh

“Little things make the BIG things happen. – John Wooden”

If I look to Erma Bombeck as a role model, I’m not at all sure I’ll ever make it as a newspaper columnist, simply because I don’t habitually put my pantyhose on backwards.  I have, however, had a couple of experiences, which may qualify me for the job.

On one particular busy day, I dressed and readied myself for the classroom with the usual amount of care.  I took some of my own advice and promptly forgot about my appearance as I got on with the more important tasks of my day.

I was in the middle of a lecture on how dress can communicate personality, and was about to assume a marvelous model stance to make a particular point. (You know the stance, right foot pointed straight ahead, left foot directly behind and at an angle, back arched and body slanted slightly back, with head held erect.

My nest move was to slip my hands into the pocket of my jumper, creating that very sophisticated “cool and collected” look. But as I slid my hands down to hip level, my fingers flapped around a little seeking the side seam pockets. Panic!  Where were my pockets?

I had worn that jumper dozens of times and they had always been there before.  I lowered my head slightly in an attempt to casually spot the source of the trouble, and realized that my students were studying my curiously.

Rigor mortise was beginning to set into my left leg.  “How long can I hold this pose?” I thought.  Dare I look down?”

By this time, students were grinning full face, some of them collapsing in loud laughter over the joke that was on me.

It was time to look. “Oh terrific,” I thought, as I realized I had my jumper on backwards.  The pockets were still there, but how “cool and collected” could I look with my hands shoved into misplaced pockets?

“Hey,” I wanted to say, “don’t make too much of this.  The front and the back of this jumper look just alike.  Anybody could have made the same mistake!”

Anybody but me, that is.  Somehow, standing there in my marvelous slanted T-stance, with hands showed backwards into my top stitched pockets, I had clearly blown my image.

So, what do you do when you’ve blown it?  You smile. You chuckle.  Then you laugh right out loud along with everyone else.  It was the best joke of the day.

Let’s face it.  Even after you’ve read all the best of the fashion books I like to recommend, even when you’ve done your very best to present an attractive and accurate image of yourself, don’t ever take yourself too seriously.  And don’t ever lose your ability to laugh at yourself.