"It's better to look good than to feel good"

I think the first time my Mom told me that was when I was about eight years old and not liking the scratchy thick tights or the slightly too small dress shoes I had to wear to church.

In the years since, that thought has stayed with me whether I’m wearing high heels, a high waisted pencil skirt, an updo with bobby pins sticking into my scalp, or, generally, any of the various accoutrements of fashion that look pretty but are distinctly uncomfortable.

Upon reflection, I’m not sure that “It’s better to look good than to feel good” is really the best life advice to give to a little girl. That is, if we are concerned about overemphasizing outward appearance at all.  I don’t think I’d recommend it, necessarily. However, my mom balanced it out with “Pretty is as pretty does,”  and quite a bit of other, more biblically based teachings, so I turned out okay.

Still, I think that learning from a young age that appearance doesn’t always go with comfort is very practical in a world where many occasions necessitate looking put together, even if that put-togetherness is slightly painful. 

However, today was not one of those occasions, and I put together a outfit that was both genius as well as perfectly comfortable and well-suited to today’s chilly weather.