While shopping in the local Oxfam in my lunch hour the other day I came across an Edinburgh wool, calf-length, purple, red, green and yellow tartan skirt with pleats falling most flatteringly from the hips. I pounced on said skirt and added it to the ever growing mound of ‘to buy’ clothes on my arm, hoping it would fit me (though resigned to ebaying if it didn’t).

Arriving home I eagerly slipped out of my flares and into the skirt, only to find it a perfect fit. I added it to my wardrobe.

This morning I got up for work, slipped on a black shirt, red puff-sleeved sweater and said skirt, and stood in front of the mirror to admire myself/dry my hair. A voice piped up from the bed behind me.

“When did you get that?”

“Yesterday, in a charity shop,” I replied. “Do you like it?”

Now, that’s always the wrong question to ask. The response began with “it’s quite bright, isn’t it”, then slowly gathered speed into a rolling damnation of my lovely bargain. I pointed out that when worn with my platformed and bowed t-bars it actually referenced the punk era, and that our beloved Gwen Stefani had showcased an array of multi-toned bright plaids in her LAMB collection this week, but to no avail.

The skirt was consigned, in Euan’s head at least, to my ‘Ugly Betty’ wardrobe.

So what do you think? Is this more Betty Suarez than Betty Rubble* ? Answers on a postcard (or in ‘comments’ to save on stamps…).

*Betty Rubble, to my mind at least, was the Posh Spice of Bedrock – not only well turned out herself but with a clear handle on Barney’s clean and simple wardrobe. Meanwhile, Wilma may have had a hold on her own wardrobe, but Pebbles sported oversized bones in her hair and Fred wore that hideous orange animal-print skin! *Shudder*