L-A: I have no idea how this happened, but Sheryl Crow’s song “My Favourite Mistake” was in my head when I was on a flight from Palm Springs to Calgary.

My only guess is that it was Ally-approved airport lounge music.  I didn’t even remember it was a Sheryl Crow song until I googled it just now.  Whatever.  It gave me an idea for a new blog feature (the idea is not to wear leather pants and be a mime…what kind of dance is she doing in that video?).  The idea is: my favourite fashion mistake.  This is when you buy/wear shit you probably shouldn’t, but because you love it so much, you don’t care that it’s a mistake.

I’ll start with my first Dooney & Bourke bag: a purple “It” bag, purchased about five years ago. Why a woman in her mid to late 20s needed a tiny purple logo-covered bag is a mystery as complex as how they get the caramel inside a caramilk bar.

I was new to shopping in the States and I fell in love with rainbow zipper and the ridiculousness of the purse.

It had O.C. era Mischa Barton on the tag!

You see? Marissa Cooper Approved! As seen in Teen Vogue! Of course I needed the bag. In my defense, I did not pay full price for it (which was $165 – I am not that crazycakes). I got it at Marshall’s, where it had been marked down significantly.

Have I used the bag?

Yes. I have stepped out on the town in Halifax with that purse and was completely aware of its ridiculousness when I did so. I can’t remember the last time I took it out for a walk, but I can’t bear to part with the silly thing. It lives in a bag on my purse shelf (which is dangerously en route to Hoarders territory).  I should probably donate it to a good cause (is there a good cause for silly purses?) or sell it. But I probably wouldn’t get back the money I paid for it. A quick search of Ebay says that if I could get bids on it, I’d maybe get $10 for it. It certainly doesn’t help that despite storing him in a cloth bag, purse has become discoloured with age. That means I’d be one of those sad sales on Ebay that barely get past the $0.01 starting bid.  Shipping would cost more than the bag.

Crap.

Anyway, even if I could sell it, I can’t get rid of it. It’s completely out of style and I’m probably too old to be seen in public with it, but I still have an odd fondness for it.  And I don’t regret buying it.  This is why it is one of my favourite mistakes.  Maybe I’ll go as Marissa Cooper for Halloween, that way I’ll get to use it again.

I have more favourite mistakes, and I’m sure Ally has had her share, but we’ll save those for another Friday.

Ally: I truly wanted to complete the week of Ally Doing Absolutely Nothing on the Blog. I think it was an A+ effort.  The truth is that I’ve been busy with some “real work” stuff, and that has been my focus during naptimes and after BabyG’s bedtime. Ok, I’ve also had time to Facebook and have a Lilo twitter meltdown, but you can’t take that away from me!

I can’t really talk about my favourite mistakes, mostly because my husband and Dad read this blog. Love you both! It terms of clothing and accessories, my favourite mistake would be the faux snake skin thigh high boots I purchased at age 19 from Le Chateau. They were RIDICULOUS. I tried to find an image, and this was the closest I could find:

Source

Sadly, the image is actually very close to the reality. I have no idea where these boots are now. The only thing left is the terrifying memory of me wearing them to the Marquee paired with a tan suede skirt (I do miss that skirt…). I am picturing my father weeping softly into his coffee this morning as he reads this. It was just a pair of shoes, Dad! Remember your dental hygenist shirt from Frenchy’s that you wore because it had “tons of pockets”? Who’s more in the wrong here?