Broken Zipper

Express button down shirt (old), Polka-dot skirt (also old – I’m really loving this one), Baby Phat blue and silver pumps (ancient), Aldo checkered clutch, Starburst crystal earring (similar), Mixed bangles, Peter Pan collar 

Have you ever been gripped by that humiliating feeling of embarrassment? Maybe I’m the only one. This is one of my last outfits for the summer that I threw on for a busy day of meetings and running errands. At the end this particularly long day, the hubby and I wanted to indulge in some guacamole and chips with margarita, so we headed to a Mexican restaurant in Beverly Hills with outdoor seating where we could take in the nice weather while enjoying our food. As we sat down and were served our humongous salted rim goblets of margaritas, another couple came with a friend and sat next to our table, laughing and having a good time. They occasionally glanced at me with a big smile to which I thought, ‘wow, these folks are really friendly…’ then again, they did have a couple of drinks. After sitting there a while drinking and chatting with hubby, I got up to use the restroom and came back, sat down to converse some more, but by this time the lady at the table next to us was standing right next to me talking to her friends at the table while smiling at me. Eventually, the time came for us to leave and we walked for a good five minutes or so to where we parked, got in the car and drove home. As we arrived home, the hubby dropped me off at the door and as I was getting out of the car he said – wait for it, “hey! is your zipper broken?” I looked down at my skirt’s zipper and it was totally ripped (I mean mouth wide open) open from my waist all the way down to my hip showing my undergarment. By this point, I was mortified and all kinds of crazy thoughts flooded my head: thinking OMGoodness, when did the zipper break? Was it after I went to the restroom? Eek, did everyone in the restaurant see my undergarment as I walked past them to go back outside from the bathroom? Was that why the lady at the table next to us was laughing (at me) the whole time? How many passersby in their cars in Beverly Hills did I torment seeing my rather unsightly broken zipper exposing things that ought not be exposed? For a while there, I was thinking I never want to walk the streets again cause people have seen all my jiggly bits.

After my initial shock of being mortified, I spent the whole rest of the evening thinking the worst. Finally, I had to remember suffering embarrassment is an unavoidable part of life. True, you should do your best to avoid unfortunate things like that from happening. But it goes to show that in spite of your most strenuous efforts, embarrassing situations do occur from time to time. Instead of wallowing in what I considered was one of my most embarrassing moments to-date, I had to make a conscious decision not to keep beating myself up about something that I had no control over. Sometimes we all judge ourselves much too harshly.

How, though, should you handle those moments when you wish you could jump into the bowels of the earth? One practical way is: Don’t take yourself too seriously. Attaching too much significance to a minor error is just a form of thinking more of oneself than is necessary. Do you imagine that every time people see you, they’ll think of a certain incident? Does your little slipup really occupy such an important place in the minds of others? Not likely. So it’s really best to simply forget about minor mishaps and move on. Needless to say, I have since had the zipper replaced because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the skirt.

Shop similar items: