Laura was heading back to Margaret's car, enjoying the feeling of walking in her new shoes, when she passed a clothing store. She stopped and looked through the showcase window at the clothing being displayed. Then she looked down at herself and frowned. She never really realized it before, but her clothes were kind of boring and frumpy and didn't make her look very pretty at all. And even worse, they didn't even match her new shoes very well. Maybe she could just pop into the store for a little bit and pick up something new. She certainly didn't have to go overboard. She had seen women at her own church wearing clothing similar to what she saw through the showcase window.
She glanced over at Margaret's car. No one was in it for the moment. That meant that Laura had a little more time. She turned back towards the store and walked inside.
"May I help you?" asked a young saleswoman.
"Yes. Where are your skirts?" Laura asked.
"In that section over there," the woman said, pointing.
Laura nodded, then headed in that direction. On the way, she passed several racks filled with blouses and shirts. Maybe she'd check those out later.
After finding where the skirts were, she immediately found ones that she liked that were in her size. She then headed back into one of the changing rooms to try them out. She was used to wearing ankle-length skirts, so showing so much leg with a knee-length skirt was a bit adventurous for her. But it was in no way indecent. After she put on the white skirt with the pink and red flower pattern, she looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. The skirt looked great, but the blouse looked all wrong. She suddenly felt so ... prudish. Funny, she used to like that. She felt safe with that. But now ... it felt so wrong. Surely, there was nothing wrong with showing a little skin, as long as it's appropriate. Truly, there were women at her church that wore short-sleeve blouses and dresses that were just as devout in their religion as Laura was. She grinned, knowing what she should do.
She left the changing room and headed towards the shirt and blouse racks. And after searching through them, she found the ones the liked the most and took them back to the changing room with her.
After discarding the frumpy high-necked long-sleeved blouse, she put on the red short-sleeved cotton knit top and smiled. It was perfect. It matched her new skirt and new shoes so well. And there was nothing inappropriate about any of it.
Smiling, she headed to the checkout counter and paid for the clothes she picked out: four skirts and five shirts and blouses. With the bag she already had from the shoe store, she definitely had a lot to carry. Never in her life had she shopped for so much in such a small amount of time. But for some reason, she was really feeling energetic today.
She left she store and smiled up towards the clear blue sky. It really was a great day.
