Hello girlies,
I was in my early 20s, freshly graduated, and clueless about fashion and styling. I had just broken up with a baby "boyfriend" (2-month relationship) whose only relevance to the story is a pair of earrings he had given me and that I sold the same week I broke up with him.
Why? Because I didn't need earrings.
I needed a wardrobe upgrade for the corporate world.
Back then the only thing I knew about fashion and elegance, besides the high price tag, was from magazines and runway pictures.
So I got the money from the earrings I sold (~2000$), plus some of my personal savings(~500$), a picture of the red Carolina Herrera leather dress and the black trench coat from Carolina as well, and headed with a friend to a small French city known for its leather artisans and tailors.
We scoured the town for an affordable tailor and found a sweet old man who agreed to make both pieces for me from good-quality leather.
The trench coat was really really beautiful, and looked amazing on me... the cut was the right one for my body, the quality, the details... everything. I felt like I was Neomi Campbell.
The red dress (which I think was a closed coat but didn't know )... was exactly like the picture. But I didn't anticipate that my Middle Eastern hips ( even though I was skinny) were not made for a straight cut like that... I looked awful.
Anyway, today I was out for the first time in a week and wore this green Mugler leather jacket ( runway piece) for the second time in 4 years, and it reminded me of my very first leather coat and the story behind it.
Back then, I remember that I hated every second of the whole thing... the fact that I had to sell something and travel to get a "replica" of a designer coat because I couldn't afford the runway one... but now I remember it with a different feeling... nostalgic and proud of the craftiness of the little girl I once was.
The moral of the story ... maybe some of you are on a tight budget and you need to make compromises now in order to look a certain way or live a certain way.... I just want to tell you that it's not permanent, and maybe you'll have your full circle moment soon.
PS : I had the trench coat for over 10 years and kept it in immaculate condition until it got stolen in a work event.
Celine, with love
I am Celine Gray
I write (anonymously) about everything I learned from 25+ years of dating up and marrying up (twice).
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Céline, with love ❤
