Fashion Fiasco

“How to get rid of unwanted gifts?” I googled as I stared at the ugliest sweater I had ever laid my eyes on. It was a size too big for me and had the worst color combination ever. An odd cake layer of baby blue, brown, black and neon green at the end, like an exclamation make at the end of a boring sentence. What was up with that? I could hardly believe it was gifted to me by my best friend, Rose, who knew my taste and passion for fashion better than anybody else! Annoyed, I clicked the first link below the add. Six ways to get rid of unwanted gifts by Lucy. The article started out by kindly easing my prickled conscience about trying to get rid of a gift, especially one given by someone so close to me. Lucy’s right, no amount of love and care in the world can turn something I dislike to something I like. Besides I really need to declutter my already full closet and room of the things I DO like. Might as well start here. And this might be my new favorite quote ‘The real value of gifts is in giving and receiving. Not in the actual gifts themselves!’ Genius.

Now that I feel more at peace, its time to try to do the deed. Scrolling down, I weigh my options. Option one: politely decline. Too late for that and there was no way I could when she looked so happy and excited giving it to me. I could have said that it was the wrong size and color for me but for some reason I just couldn't and without the receipt, I can’t exchange or refund it so option two went straight out. Option three was dangerous indeed. There is no way I can regift it without being caught. But I still close my eyes and think about it. Plotting how to get away with it. I could get it out of town. Gift it to my relatives who live 3 hours away. They will be coming over for Christmas anyway. Yes…one less gift to buy. I think it would look good on my least favorite cousin. I let me smile turn upside down. Nope, I can’t risk it. What if Rose sees my cousin wearing it. What if she expects me to wear it? I shudder.

I need to come up with a better plan, a better excuse, something! Option number four and five seem to be my best bet. Either sell it or donate it. Either way is fine for me. If I can make some money out if it, I will use it to make it up to her. I can come up with an excuse to donate it too. I was wearing it out around town to show it off, when a homeless girl from downtown compliments my sweater with envy. I noticed her not having warm enough clothes so being the tender-hearted woman that I am, I immediately give her my sweater, saying she needs it more than I do. Yes, I think Rose will like that story. It might even bring tears of joy to her eyes. At least I hope they will be of joy…. I shook the worry out of my head. It’s alright! I’ll make it up to her. Somehow. I must avoid option six at all costs.

I rose from my bed to get ready to go out. To help make myself feel better, I wore my favorite outfit from my most favorite fashion designer Ciri Style. I have loved her work ever since I first laid eyes on it. It’s something so unique and unpredictable. I own almost every item from her brand. She is my biggest inspiration and I hope to follow in her footsteps one day. To create a piece of clothing that makes someone feel confident and powerful and beautiful all at once. Her logo is just as cool as she is. It’s a C and S combined to form a half of a yin-yang symbol. I stroke it and dared to dream. Snapping back to the present, I neatly fold the ugly sweater and place it in a pretty bag for balance and walked out.

A few hours later, after visiting twelve different shops to try to sell or donate this thing, I’m convinced it must be cursed. I even tried to give it out to random strangers on the street, but everyone refused to so much as touch it because of one major complaint. They all claimed it smelled terrible. People parted like the red sea did for Moses for me while I walked around with this thing. Ever since I caught and recovered from this new flu going around called the Kowit Virus, I haven’t been able to smell much of anything at all. I’m currently undergoing treatment for the anosmia, but the doctors say it will still take a while for my sense of smell to heal completely. Rose knows this, why would she give me such a gift? Is this a prank? The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Long gone were those feelings of guilt trying to get rid of this horrid gift. I’m going to burn it!

But first I’m going to go shopping at Ciri’s store to vent out all this frustration and to feel good again. I marched off in the direction of the store fast paced, eyes to the ground, almost running. Which is why I collided with a strangely dressed lady at the front of the store so hard that we both fell to the ground. She was completely covered like the invisible man, wearing a mask (which was not so uncommon these days), sunglasses despite the setting sun and her hair was completely covered under a large black beanie. When we fell, I spilled my stinky sweater and her sunglasses and beanie fell off revealing rare and vibrant violet eyes and extremely curly red hair. I had been staring at this person’s pictures for too long to not recognize her immediately as my idol. ‘It’s Ciri Style!’ I cried.

People around us started to stir and get excited. Being born and raised in this town she was a local legend after all. One of the most successful people from this remote area. Ciri realized that a crowd would gather soon so she quickly picked up her stuff and mine, grabbed my hand and we ran off into the sunset down the street.

We stopped to hide and catch our breath deep within our local park where the foliage provided us with enough covering from the crowd. I couldn’t believe it. It was a Christmas miracle! The greatest gift the universe could have ever given me. I was in the presence of my hero. I squealed internally but made no sound. In fact, I think I was holding my breath when she asked, ‘Where did you get this sweater?!’ I mistook her surprise for disgust and blushed.

‘Oh, sorry. That’s…my best friend gifted it to me but...’

‘This sweater used to belong to me.’

‘Sorry?’ Now I was the one surprised.

‘This was the very first piece of clothing I ever made when I learnt how to knit. It has the favorite colors of each of my family members. Baby blue for my baby brother, brown for my mom, black for my dad and green for me. See. It smells because I always wore it while eating my favorite fruit. It's called Durian. It’s known for its bad smell but its delicious. Haha.’ A pause while she stared at it, and I stared at her. ‘It brings back so many fond memories of simpler times. I thought I had lost this forever when we moved. I searched everywhere for it.’

I blinked. ‘If it’s yours then you should keep it.’

‘What? Are you sure? Your friend might have gone through a lot of trouble to get it for you.’

‘Of course, Ciri. I’m one of your biggest fans. You’ve inspired me so much that this is the least I can do.’

She smiled at that. ‘Thank you so much.’

‘But I would like to ask a favor in return.’

As I walked home that evening with Ciri’s autograph and phone number in my small sketchbook in my bag, I couldn't help but miss that formerly ugly sweater. It was thanks to that sweater that I had secured a summer apprenticeship with one of the most prominent fashion designers of our time. At first, I thought she wouldn’t agree to my request but nostalgia from the sweater along with the work in my fashion design sketchbook that I carry everywhere must have convinced her. I could hardly believe my dream was coming true in such a bizarre turn of events but for now I needed to figure out how to repay Rose for the greatest unwanted gift in the world.