Sisterhood of the Traveling Jumpsuit

Hello Sisters!

I am so excited to be sharing this journey with you! I miss you oh so much and cannot wait to be in the same city with all of you. I took our magic jumpsuit out for spin on Friday night hoping some of the magic would rub off on my life. I was in desperate need for a girls’ night out. When Zora texted me that she had tickets to see Waitress: The Musical at the Paramount, my fingers flew across my keyboard typing “YASSSSSSSSSSSS,” with an embarrassing and eager amount of the letter “s”.  As you know, I’m in the middle of breakup (or really rather, post break up but in denial), post rejection from grad school, rejection from the workforce, and in desperate search of a home. Our darling Zora was out however much for the x number fix on the car. Broke, rejected, desperately single (well me anyway) we took our seats.  

The show if you are unfamiliar, is about a waitress at a diner somewhere in the south with an abusive husband who unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. Unsure of her future, she begins an affair with her charming doctor. With the help of him and her best friends (other waitresses at the diner), she begins to take steps to have agency over her future. 

There is a scene in the show in which the women prepare their friend for a date. My loves, I wept as I listened to them sing, “When your breaking point’s all that you have, a dream is as soft place to land. May we all be so lucky.” Together they affirmed each other’s seemingly impossible aspirations and desires. It made me think of you loves, and how much I miss and love you, how grateful I am to have you in my life.

The female space is often ridiculed, but at its finest it is respect for what it means to be a woman in the world, lots of period talk, someone willing to put in the emotional labor of friendship, a deep love, perhaps a pantsuit, tickets to a show, a glass of wine, and someone to tell you you’re beautiful and mean it. 

Maybe it’s easy to make fun of girl clubs; the Traveling Pants, Sex and the City (I mean my god, Carrie could feed a third world country on her shoe budget alone), and Babysitters Club come to mind. There’re no stakes really. Just the everyday stuff that will pass. That everyone goes through-in some form or other. But in the end...it feels good. 

It feels good to have someone eat pasta out of Tupperware with you. It feels good to have someone you trust enough to tell you what looks bad and what looks beautiful. It feels good to have someone make you a magic pie to bring to your date, only to tell you that the reason your date wants to see you again is all because you are so special, magic pie not withstanding. It feels good to have someone say, “you are the queen of goodness and kindness.” Maybe it feels even better to hear that from someone who knows you, and knows that is not true and yet can say it without lying. Who maybe has shared some life and life experience with you. It feels good to have someone who matters to you.

I remember once, when I was living in New York, I had a neighbor who lived downstairs from Ethiopia. Apparently in her community, work between the sexes was very divided. When she moved to the United States, an uncle had put her in touch with an Ethiopian-managed Marshalls. It was almost entirely staffed by women. When I asked her what that was like, she looked away, smiled, and said “It’s nice, it feels like home.”

As the protagonist sang her torch song about a lost youth and uncertain future Zora gripped my hand and kissed me on the cheek. When the song ended, we shared an understanding as we wept and held each other. 

I styled our lovely jumpsuit from Clementine’s with a pair of sparkly International Affair pumps that I have been dying to wear out. I went for a Cher mid-70s look with a dramatic middle part and slicked down low bun, dangly gemstone earrings, and no bra!  And of course, I didn’t leave the house without a dramatic lip, bright red to contrast with the dark velvet of the jumpsuit.

Wishing you magic and love! In the words of Becky the waitress, “This ain’t no affair, this is for life.”

Kisses,

Emily 

Instagram: @eclaire_03

### 

*Sisterhood of traveling jumpsuit is a blog series about traveling sisters who travel the world in this amazing velvet jumpsuit. It starts out with Emily and who knows where it will end? Let me know if you have a jumpsuit photo to share and tell us where you've been!* 

Other shoes we recommend to wear with this jumpsuit: 

• The Palatines Inergia Duo Boot

• Miista Lorelle Ankle Boots

• WAL & PAI Fin

 

1 Response

Leave a comment

Comments will be approved before showing up.

Name *

Email *

Comment *