Dear Belle,

I hate shopping. But my girlfriend wanted to pick up something last Sunday so we dropped into Nordstrom before we went to lunch.  Next thing I know, I’m in the men’s department trying on clothes.  I probably tried on 30 items, and just to stop the madness I bought a pair of jeans–which, come on, they’re jeans–and she talked me into a purple sweater.  She says it’s “eggplant.”

Now, I own this thing and I don’t know what to wear it with.  But I have to wear it, or it will be a thing. 

Sincerely,

Do Tough Guys Wear Purple?

I laughed my head off when I received this e-mail.  Mostly, because the signature line is hysterical.  But also, because this poor guy thinks they just “dropped in” to a department store and just wound up trying on clothes. 

I’m not saying she planned this for weeks, but I am saying that the second you stepped foot in that mall, you were going shopping.  Your girlfriend’s premeditated, men’s department drive-by aside, this is a very common problem.  

Girlfriend/Wife/Mom buys you a piece of clothing and now you have to wear it, but you don’t know how.  This is especially problematic if the piece in question is either an odd color, a bold pattern, or outside of the box in any way.  But, yes, tough guys do wear purple.  (And pink.)

If you’re going to give a new outfit a test flight, you don’t do it at work.  If I want to try something new, I wear it to dinner, to church, or break it out for Saturday errands.  This way I can decide whether it works for me without the fear that I’m embarassing myself in a professional setting.  Here’s an outfit that would be great for a Saturday night dinner date.