This isn’t going into the oops purchase series because I bought it many years ago and had been thrilled with it for many years to follow. It is only in hindsight that I am saying, “oops…” So this is what happened… I was looking through some old facebook pictures and reminiscing when I cam across this one. I don’t really know what to say other than what the &@#($) was I thinking?

My friend Steph and I used to get a thrill out of wearing clothing that reflected our own personal, unique taste (aka ugly)… we loved, I think, that no one else was going to turn up in the same or even similar outfit. Part of my daily clothing ensemble was legwarmers. I don’t know whether it was the mounds of legwarmers that I collected after working in a dance boutique throughout high school, or their functionality… I just couldn’t get enough of them. I swear I owned a pair in every color available. Most people have a socks and underwear drawer… I had a leg warmer drawer. Legwarmers became my safety blanket and I found a way to incorporate these knit accessories into pretty much every outfit I wore. I am almost certain that I was made fun of for this, but I really didn’t care because I was so madly in love with them. To this day I wear them around the house as an homage to our profound college relationship.

As your eye travels from one piece of clothing in this picture to the next, you may think it was preparation for a theme party, or even Halloween. But, no, my friends… it was just a regular evening at Muhlenberg college. The Roxy surf top that I am wearing had been one of my favorite articles of clothing, and that skirt actually had draw-strings on either side to make it as short as a belt. As though the neon hue of the top and the teal legwarmers weren’t enough I threw on some large, circular, white, iridescent earrings, put my hair in some sort of multi pony-tail combination and, with my belly hanging out, posed for the camera! Steph chose to go light that night with some simple majenta fishnets and black legwarmers.

Why do I feel like an old maid right now? Disappointed not only my strange style concepts, but also lack of skirt, exposed midriff, and jeesh… everything else going on in this picture.

So I just shared a really embarrassing photo with you all, put my freshman year style out there for you all to make fun of, and shake your heads at… but I’m also hoping it gave you a real good laugh and also gives me the opportunity to admit that I still own that shirt and cannot get myself to throw it away!? Don’t you all have some items that you just can’t get rid of even though you know they are wrong and weird? Like, do I think I’m saving it for the next time it comes back in style? OH- You didn’t hear? Fall ’09 is all about the Malibu Barbie silhouette and color palette?

I do have to give Steph and myself a standing ovation for doing our own thing… that I do not regret. Ever since I was old enough to make my own clothing decisions, the things that I came up with were always quite interesting, unforgettable, and more often than not involved tutu’s… So it’s not like that freshman era of dressing as though I was a circus act came out of nowhere.. but, it certainly is fun to laugh at. One day, when I really can be considered an old maid, I will either look at this photo with even more extreme horror, or be thoroughly impressed with myself that I did what felt just right. Hopefully the ladder.

So here I am, on iChat … I just sent Steph a draft making sure it was all good in the hood with her… She responded with something that made me smile and this is it…

“Looking at this picture, I can’t help but laugh and simultaneously tap myself on the back for being so awesome. Freshman year, Maddie and I were so unimpressed by the mostly blase, preppy backdrop of our semi-artsy liberal arts college that we had no choice but to mix it up. Leg warmers certainly were the staple, we had them in every color imaginable and wore them no matter what the occasion. If they weren’t over our jeans they were under them, (just ask anyone either of us hooked up with). While we were being silly and incorporating random, unconventional things into our wardrobe, people on campus began to take notice. Initially people may have sneered, but over time other girls with leg warmers started popping up around campus. We were being copied! So we had to evolve, up our game. Mads clearly took it to the next level here with her Roxy top that nobody could replicate, and me with my pink fishnets, which nobody would be ridiculous enough to wear seriously. We took risks with our hair, make up, jewelry, and attitude. Cutting shirts and jeans, never being satisfied with accepting clothes as they were created. We figured, why not?

Life can be so ordinary. I think Mads and I proved with our many many fashion risks, failures and successes that the four key ingredients to creating a look for yourself is ingenuity, fun, functionality, and comfort. At least that’s what I learned from fishnets and leg warmers. Now I’m a comedian in Los Angeles and I still believe that fashion makes people happy and interested in you. When I get on stage with my hair on the side of my head and my bizarre choices of jewelry, I feel comforted knowing, that even if I’m not the funniest, I’m definitely the most unique.”

Find out more about the beautiful and talented Steph Simbari on twitter, facebook, MySpace, and her blogeroo! !