Je Ne Sais Quoi: Evolution

This past weekend I had a lovely afternoon with some friends. We had lunch and then meandered through some shops, browsing the clothing racks and trying on shoes.

(As an aside...if you are reading this and happened upon a small to-go container of fried fish next to the accessories at Charlotte Russe, I do apologize. Those would be mine. And yes--I accidentally left them there.)

And during our browsing we came across a selection of GIANT costume rings for dirt-cheap prices. Huge, gaudy, glittery rings that most normal people wouldn't consider wearing. I know because I used to be one of those normal people.

Until things started to change for me.

Let me show you what I mean. The above photo is a ring from my earlier days. Notice the delicate band and the charming heart-shaped opal stone. This is the kind of ring I once considered "my style." Small, unassuming, petite.

For many years I kept to this principle of small and simple. I saw myself as a natural Colorado girl, which often meant sandals and khaki shorts and earth tones. And my accessories matched this theme. The ring above, for instance, was a college graduation present from my family. Notice that it's a tad bigger than the golden opal, but still unassuming. I was going for low maintenance. Sporty. Effortless.

But then gradually things started to shift. I began to drift away from simple and move toward flashier styles. Like the ring above, which I received from my husband during one of our first Christmases together as a married couple.

The ring, of course, is still fairly natural. The stone is amber and it's set simply in sterling silver. I could still pull it off with shorts and sandals if I wanted to. I was getting girlier, but not too much. Not yet.

And then this happened. Christmas, 2008. Stacks and stacks of faux pearls bigger than my thumb. What happened to me, you might ask? How did I go from small and petite to this monstrosity in just a few short years?

The answers, I'm afraid, don't come easily. All I can say is that once I started dabbling in my feminine side, I couldn't stop. The older I got, the more I regressed to my childhood fantasies of elaborate rhinestone gems and princess attire. The earth tones were replaced by pink and purple. The sandals were ousted by wedges and stilettos. And the rings...well, the just kept getting bigger and bigger.

Which is what led me to purchase this GIANT adornment last Saturday for $4.00. I didn't even think twice about it. Long gone are the days of simple and petite. These are the days for Grand and Ostentatious! I am no longer that natural, Colorado girl. I am Stephanie, princess of the land.

And I can barely lift my hand to prove it to you.

To close, the photo above illustrates perfectly the path of my evolution. Your guess is as good as mine as to where it will lead me next.

But I'd put money on more rhinestones...