That Professional Look?

Preparing for conference this year, I gave up and sent everything to the cleaners. The last time I did that (yep, very same cleaners) I was preparing to travel to Longview, Texas to speak to The East Texas Writers Association, a writer's group I formed with my very own little heart and hands. I'd found a very flattering suit to wear: navy blue slacks and jacket with an attached white blouse. I don't know how to explain it any better than that. It was a two-piece but looked like three. Get the picture?

I'm always hitting the cleaners at the last minute, but that's beside the point. They're professionals. They should know not to clean/laundry/dry reds and whites together. Shouldn't they? I didn't notice until I arrived in Longview, shimmied into my professional attire and viewed myself in the floor-length mirror.
"Doesn't that white look a little tinted?" I asked.
Tinted? That's putting it mildly.

I stood before twenty-five plus people and tried to be the perfect example of success. In my smart navy blue suit, and faded, washed out, weird-looking pink blouse, I felt like I'd crawled out of a Goodwill grab bag. I think the lesson here might be 1) double check your clothing before you leave town. 2) Remove the plastic and take a magnifying glass to those whites. 3) Don't wait until the day before to take your things to the laundry. 4) Don't wear white? :-) 5) Always know that whatever can go wrong before a speaking engagement or book signing will go wrong. That's Murphy's Law.

Yesterday I took twelve items to the cleaners. If my white blouse comes back pink, then I can always fall back on the black one or the green one or the tan one. You know what I always say. . . be prepared. And suspect everyone!