It’s 2017. Buy That Weird Thing You’ve Been Afraid to Try

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In the first 48 hours of 2017, I’ve put zero effort into getting dressed. Yesterday was a Sunday spent on the couch, which traditionally means putting on the same T-shirt, jeans, and sweater I wore on Saturday. Today I’m working from home because the office is closed, and the only difference is that the jeans have been replaced by an old pair of track pants.

That I would greet the new year in my laziest outfit has more to do with circumstance than intent, but it does seem like a fitting way to ring in what I’ve been calling, in texts to my friends, “THE YEAR OF LOW EXPECTATIONS !!!”

Low expectations can bring with them a DGAF attitude, which at its most productive doesn’t translate to apathy but rather to the blissful practice of not giving a crap where you need not give one. It was with this feeling in my chest that I discovered, this morning, a heated need to buy a striped chenille dress from Creatures of Comfort that looks like the love child of a bowling shirt and a throw blanket.

I had been eyeing this dress for months but felt like it was a hair too weird for everyday use. In the light of a new year, that suddenly seemed like the best, most obvious reason to acquire the thing. Also, it was more than half off.

By similar logic, I could also see myself purchasing a baby blue ruffled bib blouse from Trademark, or a Kim Shui red faux fur and black faux snakeskin coat, perfect for a dance party at the end of the world. Though they both speak to me, neither looks like anything I would usually wear. That’s compelling.

I don’t expect this New Year’s boldness to last, but maybe it will. My point is, it’s 2017. Go buy yourself something daring that scares you a little, and don’t look back.