You can take the girl out of the 80s...

Well, you know the rest.

As I was getting dressed today, I came to a realization. I had put on a pair of blue jeans (I only own 2 pairs of jeans) and a bright red top. I looked at myself in the mirror, and I felt plain. The problem: too much colour. Yes, I felt plain without something black.

I grew up during the mid-80s - the time of black clothes, buckle boots, white face make-up, thick dark eyeliner, teased Robert Smith/Siouxsie Sioux hair - and it has never really left me. It was a time when, though only a 12/13 year old, I really started to develop who I am now - I discovered my artistic talents, I started colouring my hair, I stopped eating meat, I sought out all things "alternative." 21 years later, I wear a lot of black, I never tan my face (I have been known to tan the rest of my body, though, while on vacation), I feel insanely nostalgic when I hear early Smiths, my eyeliner extends just a wee bit too far from the outer edges of my eyes, I love it when my hair contains a bit of black, plus a bunch of other stuff that doesn't have to do with my appearance.

So, when I looked at myself in the mirror this morning, jeans and a red shirt just couldn't cut it. But I had a sudden spark of creativity - I took an old black t-shirt that had shrunk up (I hate when they do that), cut off most of the torso and put it on over the red shirt. I felt better.

I had something black.