Last night was a pretty slow night for tv so my husband and I decided to tune in to Fashion Rocks. Kohl’s was one of the major sponsors of the event, and being the company man that my hubby is, we thought we’d help the ratings by suffering through the two hours. While watching Fashion Rocks, I learned two things. I am getting old and I am quite out of touch.
Let’s break down the show into the two titular words “FASHION” and “ROCKS”. I am not fashionable. I never have been and it’s not something I have ever desired to be. I am quite comfortable in basic color tees and sweaters and jeans. In the summer I have 5 different pairs of khaki capris. I am as boring as it comes. For my 30th birthday I wore a silky black shirt that I lovingly named the “booby” shirt because I felt that’s what people would stare at all night when I wore it. That was my one slip into the high fashion world and I was totally uncomfortable. I am also not fashionable, because fashion really isn’t made for people like me. I’m short and stout. The stout thing I could work on, but even when I was much thinner, clothes just never looked right on me. I am only 5’ tall and even petite length pants are too long. I put on a pair of sweatpants the other night and I could pull them up to my neck and bottoms rested on my ankles. I buy some brands of capri pants that can be pulled off as regular length pants. I don’t need to go on “What Not to Wear” because I do follow what’s in style and I shop at fairly trendy stores, I just tend to go for the same look every time. You’d think one person could only have so many black short-sleeved tops, but you’d be mistaken. The only things that I like that are truly fashionable are my Coach purses. They’re a guilty pleasure and they may not necessarily go with my Lands End navy blue tee and capri jeans, but they’re just so dang cute.
“Rocks” was the other focus of the show. You must understand that I am someone who loves music. I am a singer, my dad is a drummer and my husband is an all-around musician. Music is a constant in our lives. The thing of it is, I don’t listen to a lot of popular music these days. I have a six-disc changer in my car and I only listen to two of the cd’s-Now That’s What I Call Shrek (music from and inspired by the Shrek movies) and The Curious George Soundtrack (featuring music by Jack Johnson). We listen to these CD’s so often that the other day, the Shrek CD started to skip. God help us all if that disc breaks. So although I knew most of the artists that performed last night, I didn’t know any of their songs (except for their interpretations of classics). I was really excited when Lynyrd Skynyrd came on stage with Kid Rock. I know all of their songs and have seen them in concert twice. Then came a selection of Timbaland produced singers. Who? I guess he’s the most sought after producer and I didn’t know a single one of the songs. Old and out of touch am I. Finally at the end there was a bevy of the “most talented women in music today” singing a song about standing up to cancer. Catchy tune, but why did I only know half of the women? I knew Carrie Underwood from American Idol and of course I know Mariah Carey and Beyonce and I even knew Mary J. Blige because that woman has never turned down a chance to sing live, ever. Down the line I thought, who the heck is that? My husband said “That’s Miley Cyrus” and I said “Oh, Hannah Montana”. I know her from our six-year old neighbors. I was so proud of myself when my hubby asked “Who’s the gal in the white jeans?” I knew it was Natasha Bedingfield because her song “Pocket full of sunshine” just so happens to be on the radio on the off chance that I do have a break from Shrek and Curious George. So as I sat there and listened to the music and watched this season’s styles, I got a sense of what my parents went through when I used to make them watch MTV with me or when they just had to let me stay up to watch New Kids on the Block on the Tonight Show. I wonder if they felt old and out of touch too?