My closet is full of sequins.
No one knows how many sequins I own. Not even my husband, Peter, even though we share a closet. He gets one side and I get the other, which seems to me a little unfair, since I have so many more clothes than he does. He points out that if I were allowed use of his side of the closet, he would have no closet space at all—and I agree there is some truth to this.
So all my sequins are squashed into a surprisingly small area. Peter does his best to ignore the shiny territory, and even he does not know how many sequin-covered dresses and jackets I own.
The answer is: a lot. And the surprising thing about owning so many sequins is that I never had a single item with sequins on it until quite recently.
I worked as an actor and never wore sequins. I acted so long ago that I played the “ingenue,” the young love interest. I had a lot of lovely clothes to wear on stage—but none of them had sequins. In real life, I wore very ordinary clothes. I don’t remember getting dressed up being something I wanted to do.
But now that I am in my sixties, I am no longer the “young love interest.” (Except to Peter. Peter is 10 years older than I am, so I will always be Peter’s ingenue.) And now I wear sequins—at least when I am presenting myself as a writer. I have been buying up sequin-covered clothing at my favorite consignment shop as if I were trying to corner the market.
Because I think writers can be kind of boring— and I don’t want to be.
Writers tend to be introverts, and a lot of them don’t really want to be out in public much; when they are, they often fade into the background until they are asked to read something. They will read and then do the skedaddle at the first opportunity.
I am not like that. I have the misfortune of being an extroverted writer.
Now that my first book has been out for six months and the second is on the way, I am starting to do some presentations, and unlike a lot of writers, I am really looking forward to this. I love talking to readers, and I can’t think of anything more exciting to talk about than stories. So it seems to me that the appropriate attire for doing anything this exciting is sequins.
Sequins set an expectation. When I am wearing sequins, whatever happens has to be memorable and fun. Sequins on a person my age are a sign that I do not take myself too seriously. But they also say that I don’t mind shining when the occasion is right. Sequins tell the audience that, yes, this is a special occasion. We are telling stories, and that is always special.
Every so often, if I’m feeling a little in the dumps—if I’m not feeling particularly glamorous, not anything like an ingenue— I’ll wonder, “Are these sequins over the top?”
The answer is “Yes.” My sequins are over the top. They are too bright and a little silly and totally inappropriate for a serious-minded person giving a dignified presentation.
And that is exactly the point.
I am going to wear sequins every chance I get, just to let everyone know from the moment they see me that what we are going to do is special and fun, bright and shiny.
Till next time, Carrie