dressing up five (err, four? mondays aren’t my best fashion days) days a week for work has kind of resulted in more “eh, no one will mind if i stay in my lululemon crops and tank all day, right?” attitude when it comes to my weekend wardrobe. i mean, let’s be honest, that uniform is perfectly appropriate for my customary honey’s dining, target perusing, sprouts shopping, starbucks coffee consuming (and barista chummy-ing), and laundry washing that comes standard with two days away from the 9-5 (7:30-4). but regardless of how fuss-free it is to remain in my pure barre uniform well after my 8 a.m. class has ended, i learned from stacy and clinton (of what not to wear) a long time ago that there’s this confidence that comes when you’re wearing a fierce outfit that simply cannot be channeled when donned in less-than-runway-worthy duds.

i’m not saying i don’t feel ferocious in my black spandex pants (if by ferocious i mean exposed), but it’s amazing what swapping out a workout ensemble for a summer dress can do for your morale. you can’t help but walk a little taller, smile a bit wider, and well, twirl a heck of a lot more.

you see, in addition to whales, i suffer from an irrational fear of wasting good outfits on days when i know they will not be admired by the general public. i know, i said it was irrational. and vain. but regardless, i’ve let a lot of opportunities to wear an extra-spring-in-my-step ensemble pass me by based simply on the fact that it was saturday afternoon and who could i possibly run into at the car wash? but i think that’s where i’ve been mistaken all along. sometimes, it’s not about wearing an outfit so that it can be seen, but rather, for the way that it makes you feel once you’re beneath its fibers. plus, hi, cute guys have to get their car washed, too sometimes.

i met B for coffee at starbucks in cardiff (obviously) on saturday afternoon. sunscreened and sunkissed (and sans shower) from my morning at the pool, i contemplated turning to an old standby of jean cut-offs and a tee to throw over my suit. and while that would have been a perfectly fine outfit for an outing such as this, i chose instead to bring a little seersucker number out of retirement. truth be told, the dress i ended up wearing to our afternoon caffeination sesh was the one i also wore on stage as i accepted my high school diploma. a dress i’ve always just concluded to be too special for anything less than crossing a life milestone off my list. problem is, i’m pretty much done with crossing off milestones off of my list -at least in the educational realm (i think). so based on my logic, this pretty little red and white striped dress will never see the light of day again.

and you know what, that’s a darn shame.

i mean, i’m not saying you should wear your wedding dress to pick up your to-go order at wahoo’s, but you know, if you feel like wearing sequins to the grocery store on a tuesday afternoon because it’s the first time you’ve gotten dressed for the day or because you’re in need of a good-old-fashioned pick-me-up, or maybe both, i say go for it. sure, there will be times when that special outfit is actually worn to an extra special occasion -a first date, a wedding, a movie premiere (who do you know and how can we be friends?), but don’t limit yourself to those events alone. over a sunscreen-saturated body, with dirty hair hidden under a fedora and tucked in a side braid, and sans makeup, too, i wore my high school graduation dress to an afternoon coffee date. and you know what? i’ve never felt more confident and beautiful.