My Essay on Racked: “Polo Shirts Are My Secret Weapon”

Polo Shirts Are My Secret WeaponI’ve got a confession to make, friends: The spring somehow got away from me this year — so much so that I didn’t do my annual polo shirt season post this year!! Whaaaat? Crazy, I know! I sincerely apologize, but I think my newest published essay will (hopefully!) make up for my tragic oversights! I’m so happy that my first piece for Racked is about how polo shirts are my secret weapon!!! Doesn’t that just make me sound like some kind of cool, mysterious superhero??

Anyway, the essay, out today, just sort of flowed out once I sat down to the keyboard! Polo shirts had been something I’d wanted to write about in more detail for a few years now, but who knew I’d have so many things to say about a simple garment?

Here’s an excerpt of the essay, in which I also link my love of polo shirts to the evolution of my blog over the last eight years…

What did my wardrobe, with those boring shoes, tell the world about me? Easy: I was the grandmother of those crop-top-wearing Cher Horowitzes, and I was off to a fun night of bingo! My wardrobe seemed as fun and exciting as Jell-O night at the retirement community. And it was as bland as tapioca pudding, too — lacking in all things colorful and flavorful. I grew up feeling like my disability held me back in a lot of ways, like I couldn’t express myself through my style choices; I had to conform to the clothes that fit my disability instead of being able to choose whatever I wanted.

And then a few years ago, I discovered the wonderful world of polo shirts. It was sort of a happy accident. My mom had randomly picked up some at Goodwill, just a couple in plain colors, and it was love at first sight. Granted, polo shirts are nothing new, but I’m neither a polo player nor someone who spends their summers in the Hamptons, so I never really noticed them before. But for the first time, I’d found a style that really fit me — no pun intended. It was also around the same time I got one of my first “adult” jobs (as a newspaper advisor at a community college), so I thought it was time to take my style up a notch. Polo shirts are all about that put-together, confident vibe. Inside, I already felt confident and capable. Now it was time to match that feeling on the outside.

You can read the full essay here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

Family Photos: Polo Shirts and Patios!

There comes a time in every public figure’s life when they must apologize for their transgression, and, well, that time has come for Yours Truly. I must say “I’m sorry” because my conscience won’t let me off the hook on this one — thanks for the super-developed sense of guilt, Mom!

A couple weeks ago, I received an email from reader Linda…

Hi Melissa!

I’ve been reading and enjoying your blog for a little over a year. I look forward to reading it each morning. I do have a question, though. What is going on with your polo shirt season? I started watching for it April 1st and have yet to see any mention of it. Please don’t tell me you stopped sporting polos?!

I hope you don’t think this is too strange of a question (even though it is!), but I couldn’t let another day go by without asking!!

(Im)patiently waiting your reply!

Linda

As you can imagine, this email filled me with both an overwhelming joy and utter shame. Joy because it’s just another confirmation that people other than my immediate family read my blog, so maybe I’m doing something right here? And shame because you all know how I hate to disappoint and it looked like I had big time here.

So here’s the deal, as I wrote to Linda. I didn’t forget about Polo Shirt Season — you should know by now that I have the memory of an elephant — and, in fact, I was very excited about it. But then, during my spring break, I found myself sidelined by that annoying cold. Add to that the fact that April 1st occurred on a Friday, and, well, HELLO to a recipe for disaster.

All this to say that I am here to mend the error of my ways! I wore my first polo shirt last Monday and snapped the above photo of myself. The shirt, my red hair, the morning spring sun glistening in the background — the perfect ingredients for a photo, don’t you think?

And then last weekend, my mom and I christened our patio for the first time this year with our first game outside. It was a beautiful Sunday morning. You know, one of those lazy ones when you have the whole day ahead of you and are grinning from ear to ear because you…are…just…soooo…relaxed. It was glorious, even if I did lose most of the games of rummy that we played. Oh well, as I always say, I’m here for the social occasion.

Does anyone else think my mom is copying me?? She’s wearing a polo too!!!

How’s your spring shaping up, friends? What FUN things have you been doing? Feel free to share your adventures in the comments! xoxo

Peek Inside: Polo Shirt Season 2015

Last night, I tweeted the following cryptic message…

FYI, tomorrow is a VERY exciting day…and no, I’m not referring to April Fool’s Day!

Can you guess???

Well, I suppose it’s not such a cryptic tweet if you’ve been reading So About What I Said for a few years now…

Still stumped??

It’s the first day of Polo Shirt Season 2015 — *cue rousing cheers*

You know how much I love my eye-catching polos, and the weather was beautiful today, so I got to usher in the season the right way!

Do you love the look, friends? Will you be wearing colorful polo shirts this spring? Any polo-related fashion tips you’d like to share with me? I’d looooove to hear them! Something tells me it’s going to be a great season this year! xoxo

P.S. Posts of polos seasons past: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

P.P.S. A big thank you to Ms. Bear for snapping these photos! 🙂

Family Photos: Easter weekend…

Confession: I’m not quite sure where the last four days have gone. It’s been a blur of relaxation, a leisurely lunch at Applebee’s and a bit of Target shopping thrown in for good measure. Good thing I snapped a few photos to capture the moments, starting with my musings in Barnes & Noble, above. I saw that bag at the checkout, and couldn’t help but wonder: Is that me? Isn’t that all of us sometimes?

The hair — the before-and-after shots really demonstrate my desperation, don’t you think?

Of course I wore my best polo shirt for Easter day!

And according to my mother, you’re never too old for a little visit from the Easter Bunny. Who was I to argue with her? She’s pretty convincing.

How was YOUR weekend, friends? Got any Easter loot to share? xoxo

Big day! Can you guess what it is??

No, it’s not because today is April Fool’s Day — though that prank I pulled a few years back was pretty genius, wasn’t it? Today is…

…wait for it…

The start of Polo Shirt Season!!! Despite a gusty wind blowing outside, I couldn’t let this most official of official holidays go by without sharing my sheer happiness, so I had Janelle snap a few fun photos this morning. This yellow polo is one of my favorites, and, as Janelle, it “really pops since your name means honey bee.” I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not.

Either way, I’m SO excited about polo season this year…and of course, shopping for a few new colorful shirts! xoxo