Dating Tales

I do not dress for men. I dress for women. I’m totally straight and in a great relationship, but totally disregard what my boyfriend has to say about my fashion choices. I am more concerned with what my female co-workers think of my outfit or my girlfriends feel about my new earrings than I do my boyfriend or other men.

Take my bag, for instance. I searched for a cute, short-strapped, every day bag for months. Finally, I found a grey purse at Aldo Accessories in the mall. I was psyched. For around $20 I found exactly what I was looking. I was particularly excited about the leopard print lining.

My boyfriend hates this bag. He thinks that my purse should match my outfit. He doesn’t understand that shades of a color can complement another color. He refuses to look positively at the oblong gray bag with round metal hoops keeping it together. (As if the color weren’t enough for him, the metal hoops rattle and chime in the car whenever I’m in it, ha ha.)

My point of telling you this is that I have gotten more compliments from my friends and random women about this bag than I have on any other piece of clothing or accessory. This only justifies my need to dress for other women.

Just in the last week, the grocery story clerk commented on its cuteness. My neighbor asked me in the elevator where I bought it, and the woman sitting next to me at the nail salon asked to inspect it.

And there’s more. A few weeks ago while on the bus to work, a woman offered me $30 and her bag to trade. At this point I had already received a lot of compliments and so I understood the value of my bag and asked for $80. She agreed, but I only laughed.

There’s no way I’m giving up this bag or listening to my boyfriend’s fashion advice.