The Birthday Dress

January is my birthday month. And no matter how sad I think it is to turn older with each passing year; it’s definitely no reason to avoid a wonderful chance to party with all my close friends. This time however; thanks to my friends finding love and getting married and of course, me making some new friends (gotta thank the stars!)- The ‘close friends’ circle had expanded and now constituted of 50 odd people. So well, more the merrier – I thought to myself; as the thought of buying the perfect party dress consumed my mind.

Since we had scheduled the celebrations for the weekend, I decided to utilize my birthday leave by looking for the perfect dress. I spent an entire day strutting from store to store at the mall, with my head up in the air- it was like no dress could ever satisfy me! Too ill fitting, too casual, too wintery, too long, too conventional, too basic, too old-fashioned- all of them were a little too much, yet not good enough.

I believe there are two types of people in this world- one, who know exactly what they want and the other kind, who have no idea what they’re looking for. This holds true in all aspects. And I’ve always been the first kind. I’ve always known exactly what I’m looking for, exactly what I want. In case of the dress too- I knew exactly what I was looking for- Glittery, Knee-length and Shiny. I’m very particular and intransigent with my tastes in fashion and absolutely refuse to take advice from anyone at all, and thus, the difficulty in finding the perfect dress.

My disappointment levels were rising, one store after another. And as the closing time of the mall neared, my frustration levels shot through the roof. Who knew finding the right dress would really be as difficult as finding Mr. Right? However, I refused to settle. I returned from the mall- having bought two dresses but with an intent to keep the hunt for the birthday dress on.

Next day, I convinced Naina to check out another mall with me. Zara- disappointing. H&M- full of junk, and people. Promod- very average. Mango- no no. Vero Moda- Nada! My sorrow knew no bounds and my mind immediately started to think of Back-ups and other new ‘unworn’ dresses I have at home that could come to the rescue. But just when I had started contemplating settling for something that was already available with me, Naina pulled me inside M&S. I reluctantly entered the store as I was pretty certain of not finding my ‘type’ in there. M&S always does sober, really classy clothes- not glittery or shiny.

I, nevertheless, decided to explore the racks for something I may like. And there I saw a Black dress- sober, lacy, calf-length and cold-shouldered. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for; and I saw that only a single piece was available which was one size smaller than what I usually wear- but I decided to try it on. From the minute I tried that dress on, it felt like it was made for me, and I knew that, that’s exactly what I wanted to wear for my birthday celebrations. I showed it to Naina and she loved it too! One size small, non-shiny, calf length instead of knee length, black non-glittery dress made its way to my closet, my heart and my birthday party- I was surprised at my own self. Compliments flowed in at the party and the dress was an absolute stunner.

The dress shopping incident taught me one very important life lesson- Sometimes in life we think we know what we want, and we keep looking for it everywhere, in every nook and corner, in each part of the world, everywhere we go. But then, we find something else, that is nothing similar to what we wanted in the first place, but it fits so perfectly in our lives that we change our minds. This just doesn’t hold true for the clothes we buy. It holds true in life too. I’ve always been on the lookout for a really tall, talkative guy, whose world revolves around me. That’s how I had always pictured my Mr. Right; yet here I am, falling for this guy who isn’t really tall but has the cutest smile in the world. He always says the right things, and every single time that I look at him, I feel lucky to have him around. Is he someone I always wanted? No. But with his nerdy charm, kinda dorky personality and sensible talks- he did manage to find a place in my heart and my life- and he fits perfectly; just like the dress.

So here I am, open to possibilities, and opportunities; saying yes to what may have a chance of bringing in even a little bit of happiness in my life- looking out not only for what I want, but for everything. And maybe, just maybe, we’ve all been looking for the wrong things. Maybe we think we want something, but universe has other plans for us. And maybe, we don’t really even know what we want unless we see it in front of our eyes. Maybe what we’re seeking is not meant to be; and what’s meant to be is really just a mystery. So keep your eyes open, take your chances, have an open mind, and never say no without trying something out. You never know what life has in store for you- I hope it’s the latest collection! And I also hope that you too, find your perfect dress, just like I did.