Shop Till You Drop (dead)

I was planning on posting about my new “pashmina” when I got sick and pushed that post aside for this one.

The one where I bitch about being sick.

No one likes being sick, unless you’re a kid and get to miss school, or have the type of job where you can truly not work while you’re home with a bucket by your bed and Bravo! on mute in the background. I can’t even imagine being sick and having kids. Jslow, that must really blow.

The Acne Studios building in Downtown Los Angeles, AKA the color of my skin the past week.

When illness infects my menopausal person, it’s a thousand times worse than it was even five years ago. Every wrinkle and age spot triples in size and throbs. My dry sallow skin turns a ghoulish green, eyes ache. And try taking this all in through 4+ magnifying reading glasses. Truly horrifying and icing on the crappy cake I can’t taste because I’m sick.

And there is never a good time to be sick. I mean, there are some times that are slightly more convenient to be sick, but it’s just never a good time. Ever.

Life goes on, and I had to travel to Los Angeles for work. To a fashion company. Full of beautiful and fashionable people. And I was a mess.

My nose was bright red, skin peeling away at the tip from all of the excessive blowing. My hair was dull. My body had atrophied. When my client, one of the most stunning women ever (this is not helping!) greeted me at the entrance of her company, I quickly hawked a loogie into the ice plant when she turned the other way to walk through the doors.

Somehow, I held my shit together and made it through the day of meetings but was ready for a hotel bed and Toblerone. I Ubered to the Ace in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA, in case you hadn’t heard) ready to pass out, when out of the corner of my eye spotted Acne Studios, A.P.C. and OAK NYC. All were installed on the ground floors of some of the most lovely Art Deco buildings I’ve ever seen. I suddenly felt awake, alive, awesome!

Then it hit me: Shopping is my smelling salts! It’s the Chicken Soup for my soul, shallow it may be. It’s a goddamned miracle worker!

And so there I am above, in front of the Ace, heading to Acne, or in my case, ‘the doctor.’ T-shirt by Rag & Bone, vintage Levi’s, Rick Owens sandals.

By the way, this was my first stay at the Ace in DTLA, and first time exploring this area in fifteen years. I highly recommend it, as does Jslow. Maybe it’s time to call in sick and book a flight. It certainly made me feel better.