Style Once was Everything

There once was a girl who was very into fashion, fitness, and beauty.  She never took this to the level of crazy that many women do, but it still took some precedence in her life.  She enjoyed her youth, her figure, and her taste in all things "refined".  Then she entered the real world.  The world where room and board are not covered.  The world where extra hours at work trump time at the gym.  Her youth went by the wayside.  It was a slow ascent.  It was the sort of climb where you don't even know you are climbing.  Rather, day-by-day, life marched on.  One thing led to another.  The fog slowly lifted and there she stood on new ground.  It was the winter of 2011 and she needed a new suit for work.  She realized she was nearly 30.  She lived in a small town (no place to find a suit in a jiff).  She had life committments (no funds for worsted wool).  She had let herself go (her size 6-8 wardrobe wouldn't fit around her ankle).  Then suddenly, like a Mack truck from hell she found herself in Marshalltown, IA (the epitome of the most drab place on earth) at a JC Penny (the epitome of the least fashionable place on earth) purchasing not only off-the-rack, but CLEARANCE women's suiting made of polyester (oh the horror) in not a size 6, 8, or even 10... but a size 16.

Life as we know it was over.  The girl died.