Secondhand style: I melted a shirt. Seriously.

This is Alden’s fourth entry in the series “Grist dared me to make a change.” Read the first, second, third, and fifth here. And support her dare with a gift to Grist!

Mango Suit dress, $14.99; Express necklace with the tags still on, $19.99; gold star stud earrings, $1.99; black purse, $9.99; BCBGirls black open-toed pumps, $12.99. Total for outfit: $59.95.Photo: Alden WickerEveryone seemed to love yesterday’s outfit, especially when I lost the shirt and just wore the dress. I thought the dress looked frumpy without it, but I got a lot of compliments (“That sweetheart neckline looks so good on you!”), even from people who have no idea about this dare. So maybe it’s a keeper. It’s comfy, anyway.

This morning I was feeling really positive about my outfit. But when I was ironing the Mossimo blouse, I pulled the iron away and discovered that I had melted it.

Seriously? I haven’t done that since high school, probably because I don’t buy rayon/nylon shirts anymore. Granted, I should have checked the label, but that just didn’t occur to me. I spent a long time staring at the offending spot, trying to figure out how bad it looked. I finally gave up on that shirt, and the whole outfit. I don’t have anything else to wear with the skirt, unfortunately.

So I wriggled into a sundress, and realized that it’s a wee bit small on me. So small I can’t wear a bra, because then I get double-boob fat on the sides. I can just hear my mom clucking. But my wardrobe schedule is so tight this week, I’m going to wear it anyway. I guess when I was in Goodwill, I was just so excited about finding a pretty dress, I didn’t look that hard at it. If I had been in the store, I would have put it back and gone a size up. Or looked at the size in the first place and realized it’s a size 2. (I’m a size 4.)

This is what happens when you iron a shirt made of petroleum products. Photo: Alden WickerThat reminds me: I’m not proud of how much I spent at Goodwill. When I was there, I overheard someone inquire about half-off prices, to which the clerk said that it didn’t apply that day. It seemed funny to me, that Goodwill would have a sale. But after I brought my pile of clothing up to the counter and it totaled $250, I was really wishing I had come on a sale day! For $250, I got eight work outfits (one of which is now unusable and another too tight) and two yoga outfits. That’s great. But it was still a shock.

Here’s a thought: How about you all donate enough to Grist to at least match what I spent on clothing this week? It would make me feel much better about the fact that I look vaguely inappropriate for work today. There’s a chance I might accidentally flash someone. That’s gotta be worth something, right?