I must confess

Liz Claiborne dies at 78

Very few people know the fashion designer dream I once had...and well, threw away. ANYWAY....After high school graduation my friends Juli and Andrea and I decided to have one last adventure together before we all moved on with our lives. The decision of where to go was easily made. My fashion mentor Gloria was taking a group of students to Manhattan to see first hand the New York fashion scene. They were not only going to shop on 5th Avenue and visit a few up and coming design houses, but they were going to meet Liz Claiborne at one of her stores on Pier 17 (South Street Seaport). You know The LIZ CLAIBORNE that people thought was Satanic, which is the only real reason I liked her, her style was way too conservative for me. If that wasn't enough, the trip was going to be fairly cheap considering it included seeing Broadway shows: Cats, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera (a special showing with Michael Crawford, the original Phantom, he left the show in 1990). I totally fell asleep in Phantom...to much club hoppin' at night I guess. OH and I LOVED Beauty and the Beast, it was my favorite show!

Back to Liz...I have no idea what day of the trip this was, but we took the subway from our hotel, The Marriott Marquee in Time Square (Jealous?) to Pier 17. I wore the wrong shoes, doc martens, OUCH! Anyway, after a few hours of shopping in all the stores, we made our way to Liz's store. We walked in and I remember saying out loud..."And people think she's Satanic?" Her clothes could be found on the modern day Stepford Wife...well I guess that is sort of creepy, Satanic? not so much. I kept checking price tags expecting to see $400 for a shirt, but they were reasonably priced for NY. I wondered over to the bathroom and decided to stop in while we were still waiting for the meet and greet. No one likes a mid-meeting pisser. To my surprise or naivety there were clothing products in the bathroom for sell! I thought it was an invitation for theft and they really shouldn't put products in the bathroom! I eyeballed some knee high tights that felt like heaven in my hands, I had to have them. I don't remember them being very expensive but the opportunity of stealing them was screaming at me so I did. I tossed them in my bag, used the facilities and left the room. Half way through the fashion show (ya I forgot until now they put on a fashion show just for us) I had forgotten about my thieving ways. When we returned to the hotel that night, I shared my indiscretion with my friends. Their mouths gaped for a moment and we all laughed!

Back to my point...Liz, may you rest in peace and I sincerely apologize for stealing your socks!