Fashion Flashback Faux Pas (FFFP) - Oops, no pants!

I've always been known for having my own style - sometimes this is a good thing; sometimes not so much. Since I usually post about my more "successful" outfits, I figured you guys could use some laughs and see some of my more unusual choices from my outfit archive.

Most of these outfits have a story behind them but some were just straight up bad choices. If I can find pictures to attach, I promise I will - if not, I will try to find some kind of visual to give you an idea how it call came together.

So with that, I introduce my first Fashion Flashback Faux Pas (FFFP) post titled: Oops, no pants!

1988
Seattle, WA
Age: 9

Growing up, I was obsessed with Benetton. I had to have everything from there. At the time, they were known for their layering pieces in different colors, patterns and textures. Featured outfits in the ads/stores showed patterned sweaters layered with bright polo shirts, plaid skirts and striped thigh-high socks. I LOVED this look...I had to have every piece and the crazier the mixture of patterns, the better. Although out of everything one of my favorite pieces were the striped thigh-high socks - something EVERY 8 year old should have, right?!?

Since it was the 80's, I was also very into spandex/stretch pants - now known as leggings. I had just about every single color you could imagine - EXCEPT black and white striped which I could not find anywhere. These are kind of like what I wanted...

Cheap Monday Stripe Skinny Jeans 

One evening while selecting my outfit for the next day to go with my brand new black, off the shoulder sweatshirt (it was the 80's, ok??), I realized I NEEDED to have that pair of striped leggings. Back then, and I guess still to this date, there are some items I will obsess about until I buy them or find them. In this case, my outfit was not going to be complete without those leggings!

Then all of a sudden I had the genius idea to wear my Benetton thigh-high striped socks and put on a pair of neon pink ankle socks over them to make them look just like striped leggings! I put the outfit together and was very pleased with the overall look. I could barely sleep that night - so excited to wear my new outfit to school.

At school the next morning, one of my friends commented on how cool my new "pants" were and asked me where I got them. Proud of my creativity and resourcefulness, I happily revealed my secret to her - they weren't pants but rather really long socks! My confidence instantly vanished when she replied, "So you're like not wearing any pants - just socks and a shirt??"  It wasn't until that moment that I realized, I was - in fact- at school and not wearing any pants!

Now one could say my shirt was technically a "dress" and therefore the outfit was essentially the same as wearing a dress/skirt with high socks, but I could not shake the overall feeling that I was totally inappropriate and a borderline "flasher."

I can't remember how it all went down but I do remember around lunchtime, my mom showed up to my classroom and brought me a pair of bright purple 80's style running shorts (kind of like these) to put on under my shirt. Even though no one could see the difference (they were pretty short), I felt much better knowing I had some coverage. Oh and in case you were wondering, with the addition of the short-shorts, the entire outfit became one of my faves and was worn many, MANY times again!

The moral of this FFFP story: It's OK to get creative for fashion - just don't forget to wear pants!

If you want a modern day (less 80's) look using stripes, leggings and some neon, I would recommend something more along the lines of this:

Leggings, Stripes and Neon 

Until next time...