The "perfect" homecoming outfit

Tomorrow the search begins.

The search for the perfect homecoming outfit.

My friend Chelsey has been kind enough- or crazy enough- to volunteer to help me with this search.  So tomorrow we are shopping.  I have no idea what exactly I am looking for.  I'm hoping I will know it when I see it.  However, I am confident I know what I am not looking for.

With this being our 4th homecoming, I have really seen it all.  So I have a good idea of what NOT to wear.  (At least for me!)

1. No White.

In 2004, I traveled to Camp Lejeune with Randy's mom, brother, and a couple close family friends of theirs.  We left late Friday night, and he was due home Saturday afternoon.  I got changed in the Burger King bathroom on base.  (Classy, I know.)  I threw on a white tank top and jeans and flip flops.  My goal was to be comfortable- because I knew we would be waiting for quite a while.  That's just what you do at homecoming.  You wait.  And I was- so I succeeded there.  

What I did not factor in was hugs.  

Once the guys got off the bus- I was hugging absolute strangers (who are now like my big brothers).  It was so completely overwhelming to meet all these guys who knew so much about me already- and they all deserved a hug.  My white tank top quickly became covered with gross handprints.  After all, these guys had been at war for 7 months, and hadn't showered in 2 days because they were traveling, and then had just loaded and unloaded all of their gear from the plane into the trucks. 

Lesson learned- No white!!!

2.  No dresses, and no heels.

The girls that wear dresses and/or high heels are brave in my book.  Again- we are standing around waiting for hours.  There are hundreds of family members and friends, and never enough chairs.  Each homecoming I have found myself sitting on a curb, or plopping down in the middle of the sidewalk.  (That is when I'm not frantically pacing with nervousness and excitement!)

There's just no way to be ladylike in a dress and sit on a sidewalk, unless I want the whole world to be up in my business.  (Which believe it or not, I have seen before!)  There is also no way I would risk potentially breaking an ankle running to greet Randy with heels on.  That's why I stick to flip flips.  (I actually wore the exact same pair of flips to our 3 back to back homecomings.  I'm kinda sad they broke and I won't be able to rock them this year.)

I was looking at pictures on a photographer's Facebook page the other day- and one thing stuck out at me when I looked at one homecoming in particular.  This girl's dress was so short, that when she ran and jumped on her husband- her butt was mere centimeters from hanging out.  Um, no thanks.

3. No costumes, or costume accessories.

Don't worry, you read that right.  You'd be surprised what some significant others wear.  I will never- and I mean NEVER- forget this one.  In 2005 Randy came home on October 1st.  I'm not sure if this one wife missed the memo that Halloween was still a few weeks away.  But I remember trying not to stare.  She was wearing one of those headbands that have devil horns on them.  Glittery sequin covered devil horns.  With a red tank top, plaid skirt, fishnets, and thigh high boots.  Completely appropriate for the family atmosphere that homecoming is, right?  To make it even more memorable, she had about 6 kids and a new puppy that ran circles around her for 2 hours straight, while she sat in a chair and smoked a cigarette.  (I am sure some of my LAR ladies remember this!)

I think I'm putting a bit more thought into my outfit this time around because I have hired a photographer to be there.  So I'm figuring that if I'm spending the money for that, I might as well look nice in the pictures!  You can check out my past homecoming outfits here.

So my goal with the perfect homecoming outfit is to be comfortable, look nice, and be appropriate and memorable- but not memorable in a trashy way.  Hopefully this isn't too tall of an order.  I'll let you know how it goes! ;)