Picture this, Dear Readers: You head to Charleston for a long weekend with your man to see friends and enjoy the sights. You pack one of your favorite looks so that you can shoot and write a fun little “What to Wear to Thanksgiving” post. I mean a multi-layered pleated mini-dress with fun fall colors is perfect with a pair of Over the Knee (OTK) boots, right?! You walk around in the bright South Carolina sunshine all morning thinking, “Man, I must be looking super-fly because I keep getting a lot of double-takes.” You engage in a quick photo shoot and then check in on the pics to make sure they’re turning out alright. And then you see it, the reason for all those double-takes: YOUR DRESS IS 100% SEE THROUGH AND THE WORLD CAN SEE YOUR BRA, SLIP, THONG UNDERWEAR, AND BUTT.
HOW EMBARRASSING. But hey, even fashionistas make mistakes, so I thought I’d share mine with you in case you learn something. You might be wondering why I didn’t know the sheer dress was see-through. But up close, it really isn’t. It’s made up of a few layers of black fabric, so I thought nothing of a black bra and underwear with a nude slip – surely it wouldn’t show. Except that now as I write this, I should’ve known otherwise, and I learned a few hard life lessons that day:
- Always have the appropriate undergarments (black slip and half-slip, nude slip and half-slip).
- Always travel with the appropriate undergarments.
- Wear black slips with dark fabrics and nude slips with lighter fabrics.
- Always wear a slip under sheer fabrics, and make sure your undies are the same color as the slip.
So, how did I fix this mess? First I made Evan walk in front of me while we scurried back to the car. Then I looked up the stores in downtown Charleston where I know the sizing well – J.Crew and LOFT. I chose LOFT because they have better sales. Evan dropped me off right at the door, I ran in and sure enough they had plenty of boho style dresses on sale to go with my hat and OTK boots. I was immediately drawn to this peacock print and grabbed a sale belt to cinch the waist. I also made sure it wasn’t see-through by checking the lining, choosing an intense print, putting my slip back on, standing in the natural light and asking the sales person to check. Crisis averted!! And off we went to enjoy our day without further interruption. The whole thing was resolved in about 30 minutes, but boy was I mortified. And yes, I could’ve also gone to a department store to purchase a new slip but there wasn’t one convenient within my price range – undies can be expensive!
To the people who saw way more of me than I’d ever intended, ever in a million years: I’m so sorry (or maybe, you’re welcome for the show?!).
