I bought this dress in
a thrift shop for RM15 (around $3.50). A dress like this in retail could easily
cost me around three to four times that price.
The dress, had twice,
brought me memories that I will never forget. Twice while wearing this dress,
people had mistakenly thought I was pregnant. I’m not offended though, quite
far from it actually. I found their opinion hilarious.
The first time I heard
of it was when I went to the doctors for cough + flu + fever combo in 2019.
Whenever I fell ill, my skin felt like it’s on fire. Everything hurts, even a
slight breeze. Every time my skin brushed against any articles of clothes I’m
wearing, it felt like I’m being sliced with a sharp knife. So a broad dress
came across as heavenly at times like this. It’s comfortable and didn’t brush
against me as much.
The doctor took my temperature,
and asked the usual questions; symptoms, drug allergies. He took off his
stethoscope and said, ‘This dress you’re wearing, you’re not pregnant are you?’
I’m not being ignorant;
I can hear what the doctor wasn’t saying. He just wanted to make sure I’m not
with child so that he can give me the proper medicine to treat me. But he did
mention the dress being the reason he asked. Both of us laughed loudly in his
office when I told him no.
The second time I heard
of it was on Saturday in 2020 when I went to the string of food market near the town
library. It was exceptionally hot, and I felt especially plump that day, so I
pulled this dress from my closet to wear. There was this lady, whose stall was
selling pastries: bread, buns, full-sized egg tarts, mini egg tarts, pineapple
tarts, you name it. I was craving for pineapple tarts so I went there to buy a
carton. The lady switched the carton I handed her to what she said to be a
“better looking tarts” because the one I picked had cracks in them.
“We women should give
good food to our babies if we’re pregnant” she said, implying that I’m
pregnant. “The poor baby in your tummy wants to eat pineapple tarts. Let’s give
the baby the good-looking tarts, okay”.
I
laughed so hard when I heard her say it. I did not correct her, as I did not
want to embarrass her and make things awkward. I went along with her
assumption, and was given a discount for the pineapple tarts and she even
thrown an egg tart for free.
I
collapsed in the car in a fit of laughter when I tell my father about it. I
know this has everything to do with the dress. I’m on the chubby side, but
people never outwardly ask or assume I’m pregnant. But it has happened only
twice, and both times were because I wore this dress.
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