No self-respecting Seattle resident uses an umbrella.

This is a true statement. Every born & bred Seattle kid knows that you are not caught dead in the rain with an umbrella. We live here! This is our land! We don’t need no stinking umbrellas! We experience a monsoon-sized rainstorm every three minutes! When we’re born, we’re immediately put face-first into a cold shower so we can start building up our resistance! We value our hands for important things like warming our hands on a latte and texting while crossing the street – we don’t have time for useless luxuries like umbrellas! We are from the Pacific Northwest! We owe you nothing!

But then I got one for my birthday from another born & bred Seattleite (heck yes, I clicked “Add To Dictionary” – little red squiggly lines everywhere be damned!), and liked it. Now everything’s gone sideways.

So like any good problem child, I was eager to explore this new potential vice/rebellion of “liking umbrellas.” The first place I went? Obvious: shopping. I found this Vera Bradley umbrella on Zappos, and got instantly romanced by the really, really good use of color and the clean, graphic lines. I love anything that pairs “bold” with “feminine.” I also love imagining that bright, neon blue against a grey, drizzly day. Something so clean & bright would undoubtedly brighten up everything around it. It would be like Ferngully out there if I had this thing.

> Vera Bradley Island Blooms Umbrella: $36 <

Probably watching Netflix.