Second Hand Glamour That Expires

She had that trashy chic thing about her. What I imagine Dolly Parton meant when she described seeing the horrendous hooker-looking lady, but against all logic, she had the undying want to look like her. Her lips are too pink. I mean, the lipstick is too vibrant and a bit too eager to put a menthol in between them. Her hair was also vibrant, fluorescently blonde, so unnatural. Not to say it didn’t look good, but when you got up close, the split ends looked at you first. Totally brittle and unhidden. Her designer merchandise was fake, but she was so real you didn’t seem to mind it, even when obvious. Who has a 2002 Sprinter van and a Gucci bag? It didn’t seem like a contradiction but more like a character of sorts. And when the glitter tattoo started to come off, she didn’t scrub it entirely off; she left the bits of unconnected chunky glitter to sit on her sun-damaged skin, catching the light in uneven flashes. She is trashy and broke like her mother, but she just looked better doing it, at least for the time being. Maybe we will say the same about her daughter many years from now, making something fleeting look like style.