Falling In Love With Blouses, Boutiques, and Rock Stars

voltee ♦ September 14, 2010 ♦ 2 Comments

Item: Blouse    Color/Fabric:  Pink, Silk, Rayon     Designer:  Marc Jacobs    Where Purchased:  Next Boutique    Years Owned:  6ish

This is my 17th post!  I’m not sure why that number seems like a milestone, but it does.  I’m very surprised and rather delighted that I am turning this into such an effortless habit.  It’s becoming a lovely and relaxing nightly ritual.  Now to just make myself believe that I can carry the momentum into my fiction, that entity that is lying cold and dead somewhere far away beyond my reach.  I’m starting to feel like I can actually revive it.  I will.

Today I spent the afternoon working at Next Boutique.  I’ve taken about a two year hiatus from there, and it’s nice to be back, even in my limited capacity.  I’ve started to fall in love with the store all over again, and was prompted to think of the first thing I ever bought from there.

I remember the first time I saw the Boutique- it was the 4th of July, and we had lived here for just about a month.  Next was closed, but I looked in the windows and was mesmerized.  Next Boutique is almost like a living and breathing entity, with a distinct yet ever evolving style that is very palpable to all who enter.  It is just the right combination of sparkle, rockstar, simplicity, and class.  From that little peak, I thought about it a lot, but did not have enough courage to actually go inside for a while.  I became very hermit-like in those first few months of living here.

When I finally decided I could shop at Next, I found this blouse on the sale rack, and I loved it instantly.  The deal was sealed, though, when I saw the little buttons on the back- they are precious. I felt like I deserved a treat for being brave enough to move so far away from my home and my family.  So I bought it, and have worn it numerous times.  It is well loved, and well worn.  Yet it still looks and feels brand new.

I know that I wore this the first time we went to Coney Island, with the jeans I used to call my “Britney Jeans” because they were very low and very tight.  And Nate told me that I looked like I was “trying too hard.”  That cut me to the quick then, but I realize now that he was most definitely correct.  I wear it much differently these days.

We spent the day on the boardwalk, and riding the scariest roller coaster of all time, the Cyclone.  The fear is heightened byu the fact that it is virtually ancient, and so rickety you feel it might just disintegrate mid ride.  It’s awesome!

The highlight of the night was a triple-bill concert; Brenden Bensen, The Shins, and the White Stripes.  All were really great live, and afterwards I bought Brenden Bensen’s albums in the hopes that he could make enough money to buy a cheeseburger.  He’s the skinniest person I’ve ever seen.  Seriously.  The Shins were extremely cool, and were even walking around on the boardwalk before the show like us regular folk.  And The White Stripes are without doubt in my Top 3 list of best live bands ever.  And not just because I think Jack White is one of the hottest men on the planet.

And this might just be my favorite blouse.  I am still in love with it.  I like the textures of it, and how it feels when I’m wearing it.  It’s like so many things that I’ve found at Next Boutique; special enough to stand out, but timeless enough to never really look dated.  I’d like to keep this forever.  Thoughts?  

**Confirmed. I will keep this forever!!