I've got another "WHY?"

Why is it so difficult for me whenever I try to dress up?

It happens when I start wearing skirts. Wait, let me correct that. Skirts that are flowy and girlie, not the usual mini denim or camo-print skirts that I wear. Ok, so I've only got two such recently-owned 'girlie' skirts, but in every occasion that I've worn them, I've not failed to garner unwanted attention and comments: "Wah!!! Hwee Cheng/Huijing!! So girly today ah? Hot date issit?", from women or men, young or old alike.

My point: aren't skirts just skirts? Don't all skirts make a woman instantly feminine, no matter the length/cut/design? What's the difference between wearing minis and 'girlies'? And isn't wearing mini-skirts supposed to be more girlie or sexy (ok, ok, maybe not in my case)? WTF?!

And then there's my also-newly-acquired dangly earrings. So gypsy, so pretty. I actually fell in love with them the minute I set my eyes on them. Almost classified as an impulse buy, but I had a plan for them - to complete the gypsy-inspired look I'd decided to try out this year. It worked; I did get comments that I looked like a gypsy (and all I needed to make it whole was just one more headscarf), though I thought I sensed some sarcasm in those remarks. But I don't dwell on them. So anyway, just as I dreaded, the earrings also became a catalyst from some jibing from 'friends': "Wow, what's with the earrings, man?!"; "Check out those earrings on Hwee Cheng!"; "Shake those things for me!".

And then, there are the heels that I occasionally don. Well, correction again: I only once dug out this pair of once-favorite heels that had been well-kept in a well-hidden shoebox (for maybe 4 years?) and thought I should wear them to work with my cropped black pants for a nice change. The ammo came almost immediately: "Wah!! *My nickname* (to protect identity of evil friends) wearing high heels today ah!!!". As if this wasn't bad enough, I got an even ruder comment that I looked like an "auntie" in those heels. WTF? I happen to love those shoes, ok.

Yet another new acquisition was this slightly (note: slightly, not totally) off-the-shoulder top that I happen to be wearing to work today. Pair it off with jeans and birkies, and my dangly earrings no less, and I thought the look was casual enough for a weekday. But nooo... the minute I stepped into the office, my friend grinned strangely at me, and asked, "Hot date tonight?" "No! I'm actually washing my car tonight!", I almost growled. I know the underlying thoughts, and it makes me uncomfortable again. Well, the one good thing that almost happened was I almost got a free 'tau sar pao' from the coffee-boy. Yes, that beefy coffee-boy. Heh heh, bite that, Leng.

*Ok, colleague number two just looked at my earrings and asked cheekily, "Aiyo, how come nowadays so hiao?" Urgh.

And of course, there are those wedding dinners that I attended. Dress, make-up, heels, jewelry, the full works. 'Nuff said.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like compliments, nor that I'm uncomfortable with them. I take compliments pretty well, I guess, but only if they are nicely administered. I like people telling me I look great in a dress, my skirt is so sweet, my earrings are so pretty, my mascara-ed eyes make me look different, and I always return a gracious thanks. (Actually, I suspect I like people telling me the things I have are nice, so it makes me feel less guilty for having spent those kind of money! Haha.)

But the comments and remarks that some friends have given make me feel like a small girl over again. Like I was simply playing 'dress-up', that it's not really me in those clothes, that they really expect to see me tomorrow in my tees-and-jeans get-up again. Why all the weird comments? Is it because I look funny? I don't look right? I wear them all wrong? What's wrong??? Can somebody tell me?

Maybe I only have myself to blame - for being a 'tomboy' for way too long.

By the way, call me 'tomboy', can. Because I really am one. But call me 'ah lian', I cannot accept.

But fear not. I am not quite bothered by these. I just simply wonder why. I'm already planning to buy that ultra-mini leather skirt and a pair of knee-high boots, so I can continue to sock 'em in the eye and make their jaws drop.