Runway countdown

Today is Monday. In just four more days, I'll walk out in front of hundreds of women (and presumably at least a handful of men) as part of the fashion show for the Go Red for Women luncheon.

So this afternoon, I met Nancy at Macy's to select my outfit, which will be on loan to me for the event. When Nancy suggested a suit, I winced a little. I am definitely not a suit kind of gal. But keeping in mind that beggars can't be choosers and that it's really nice of Macy's to do this for us, I agreed to at least try on one.

The first try was red jacket with a very fashion forward belt and a pair of black pants. Ugh! I vowed to NOT wear black pants. But I really did like the outfit. Unfortunately, despite my weight loss, it was too snug.

On to the next option, which was what I'm calling a garden party dress. It's a black and white sundress with big red flowers at the bottom and a black cardigan to wear over. I really liked this dress. Fun and flirty, but pretty similar in style to the dress Annie wore to the junior high dance at school.

Nancy and I both liked "fun and flirty," but I wanted to see what else Macy's might have for me. On the way out of the dressing room, I saw a very classic red suit and amazingly, it was available in my size. Now, this suit was definitely nothing I would normally wear. But that whole "opposites attract" thing was at work, I think, because I really liked it. I couldn't believe that I was considering a suit.

Still, I'd seen an outfit on a mannequin upstairs that I wanted to look out. Nancy, bless her very patient heart, agreed to go have a look. But when we got upstairs and I got a closer look, the shirt seemed a little chintzy. Well, not really like chintz, but cheapy. And there was not a whole lot of red in the plus-size department (sadly, it's still my fashion home...). Lots of pink, but "go pink for women" is a whole different cause.

As I was still mulling "power suit" vs. "fun 'n flirty" -- and trying to get the Facebook vote to help me decide -- Nancy and I hit the shoe department. Now, I'm not very adventurous when it comes to shoes. I'm all about hip footwear, as long as the heel is not skinny, pointy or higher than about one and a half inches. I was feeling a little discouraged, but it was Nancy to the rescue with a pair that was perfect -- for the suit. I couldn't believe I was actually considering the suit.

If you know me, you probably know that I do not make decisions lightly. Especially decisions about what I will wear in front of hundreds of people who will, at some point in the day, all be looking at me. So, I sent Nancy off to work with another Go Red challenger and I went back to try on the two outfits again.

This time, I called for reinforcements. I snapped pictures of myself in front of the mirror and e-mailed them to my sister Angie and to Annie:

(Like the big flower pin? I picked that out all by myself! So if you don't like it, I don't want to know.)

Both Annie and Angie voted for the dress, as did the sales lady who was gracious enough to weigh in with her opinion. That, plus the fact that I could picture myself having fun in the dress, was enough to convince me. The suit, while flattering, made me feel a little stiff.

So I went off to find Nancy and told her that I'd changed my mind. She was gracious and didn't say (at least out loud) "Oh for the love of Pete, be finished already!" Instead, she smiled and offered to locate a pair of slingback shoes to go with the dress (which of course will necessitate a pedicure before Friday!).

There's a place in heaven for Nancy. And I'm sure when she arrives, she'll be impeccably dressed!