I've always wanted a "Pretty Woman" style shopping day. I mean, who doesn't, right? I can now check that one off the bucket list, although in a completely different way than I thought.

DH has a new employee who has taken up residence here at our Island of Misfit Toys. The kid, Doc, had just been through an ugly breakup, and was essentially homeless with little more than the clothes on his back. He was also looking a little bit Neanderthal when he arrived here, so I got with my hair sorceress Jade about getting him prettied up. She couldn't work him in right away, so he went to the chop shop across town. Well, Jade wants to use Doc for a video shoot, so she's properly doing his hair and beard on the 15th. She has the videographer lined up to make a tutorial /instructional video, there will be still photos for promotional materials for the products she will be using, the whole nine yards. In other words, a serious video and photo shoot. So she asked me to make sure he showed up looking nice (she's only ever seen him in his work clothes, which is pretty rough LOL).

So Doc was told we were going shopping and he WOULD try on whatever I handed him in a store. Being a nice kid, Doc said "yes ma'am" and promptly forgot all about needing to shop for clothes. So this past Saturday, while DH was out of town on a hunting trip with friends (a very successful one YAY DH!), Doc rode with me to take my Miss Mollie to the vet to get some allergy shots. Afterward, I took Doc and Mollie to Allen Premium Outlets just north of Dallas. We wound up entering directly in front of the Armani outlet, so we paid to park and left Miss Mollie in the car with some water (very mild temperatures, totally ok for her to sit in the car for a short time). We walk in Armani, Doc still looking a bit like a lumberjack because all he had were work clothes and work is dirty. Doc gets some side-eye from the SAs as we head to a rack of jeans. Doc is looking for his size, I'm just kicked back staying out of the way; one of the SAs says hi to me. I turn to chat and watch him take in my outfit (some of my major designer thrift & consignment scores), and I literally watched his entire demeanor change when he takes in the icing on the cake (my Celine bag). He became very polite and helpful to Doc (and had the good sense to hide the price tags in pockets), and found Doc some jeans (no small feat since Doc is 6'4" with legs for days and it is a true outlet, meaning random overstocked sizes). Doc came out of the dressing room and asked me if they really counted as jeans because they were the most comfortable things he had ever had on in his life. Well, that sold those jeans LOL. I got lucky and got the jeans for 70% off because black Friday, so next stop was H&M for some basics (with Mollie in one of my extra large tote bags because she likes shopping too). Got a tee and hoodie in there and moved on to 7FAM. Doc sat outside with Miss Mollie while I went to pull things for him to try on. SA Nicole told me to go get Doc and Mollie, and she started a dressing room for us. She helped Doc find several shirts, but unfortunately they didn't have any jeans that were long enough. She did try to get me to start a room for myself, but when I explained to her that it was about Doc for the day, she went back to giving him the royal treatment while Mollie and I shopped for Mummy (my 7FAM jeans are a favorite, and I know my size there).

After we got done at 7FAM, it was time to eat because we were all hangry. As we left, Doc almost made me cry. He said that was the nicest thing anybody had ever done for him. We did go online and find him some Frye boots to complete his outfit for the video shoot. All in, I spent less than I did on my extensions, because black Friday sales were kicking a$$, so I was super pleased with my shopping prowess. I also grabbed him a delicious chocolate wool JCrew sweater because it was scrumptious enough to eat, and we gotta get him ready for his first modeling gig LOL

I guess the points of my story are:
* SAs are the unsung heroes & heroines of the modern age. The Armani & 7FAM staff gave Doc a dose of the "Pretty Woman" experience, and it was really cool to watch him start getting some self-confidence back. He ended the day standing straight and feeling better about life in general.
* appearances matter. They shouldn't, yet here we are. My outfit and bag got Doc the treatment he deserved in a place that Doc would never have thought he could shop in (he actually said that he would never have felt he could go in a store like that). Doc's scruffy, starting from nothing attitude and appearance was not worthy of serious attention until they realized he was with somebody who doesn't feel like there is ANY store she can't shop in (they don't have to know that my outfit was all consignment or that I don't care whether they think I belong there or not LOL).
* sometimes, people just need a chance. Doc looked at me in shock when I responded to his thank yous with "well, we had to get you ready for your first modeling gig" because he was thinking "It's a haircut being done by someone who teaches people how to cut hair". It all reminded me of how people treated me with dignity when I first got clean (sober) and looked and felt more like Doc than a member of a fab fashion forum. Everyone deserves an opportunity to be treated with dignity and to be queen (or king) for a day. Also, to get him thinking of himself as a model? Was fun to watch. His eyes and chin lifted a bit with some sort of delicious inner happiness to think that someone thought he was model material (Jade thinks Doc is gorgeous)
* sometimes, it is TOTALLY better to give than receive. My 12 step recovery teaches me that I keep what I have only by giving it away. In other words, sometimes I have to let it be all about someone else.

Final note: Jade is not wrong. Doc's proper haircut is still pending, and he's seriously pretty already. I would like to enter into evidence Exhibits A & B (pics 1 & 2). Also? He's definitely a goofball, as shown in Exhibit C (3rd pic) which is exactly what I deserved for making this sweet Jewish kid help me put up Christmas trees whilst DH was stalking a massive 9 point buck. Bonus pics, 4 and 5 (created from the raw pic #2) to show what a little filtering can do to help us airbrush ourselves, and a black and white because it's just so good.

I'm looking forward to showing you guys some pics from Doc's first modeling gig, because I think Jade is going to knock this one out of the park with her hair sorcery. Also? Doc will take anything I hand him to try on. He says "if you think it's good, i know women will like it". So i now have myself a real live dress-up doll and am likely going to make Doc start an Instagram account so we can let me play dress-up more often LOL. Please don't judge me, but my DH Sunshine has a very well-defined rugged casual style. Doc is willing to let me pick pretty clothes and put guyliner on him, so I get to have fun with masculine style too

Anyway, thanks for reading, and thanks for being here to understand why this experience was so fun for me!
XO