In Case of Emergency (Break Glass)

Or, how to make sure you never find yourself in that position

Phone cases have always been a point of deep personal shame in my life. As a middle schooler, receiving my first cell phone was a right of passage, my glorious foray into the world of choosing the perfect text signature and never having to ask to borrow someone's phone. Unfortunately, whatever indestructible hunk of plastic and rubber I so gratefully received pre-data plan (a time that I have now blocked from my memory), was not popular enough to warrant the creation of its own phone case. I made do by festooning the back of my phone with 3D jeweled rainbow stickers (the essence of style and class), but it simply was not the same. Life continued that way, my phone unprotected from both the elements and my own clumsy ways, for years. I was living on the edge, a girl on the verge of a breakdown, with a phone that just wouldn't quit. Seriously though, it was commonplace for people to throw their phones at the floor/wall as hard as the could. Try doing that with your iPhone and see what happens.

Finally, about a year ago, my shining moment came. My father upgraded phones, which meant that I could now use his old iPhone (a 4s). I was elated, not only because of the instant street cred boost that comes with whipping out your iphone to search something on google or ask siri where the nearest Dairy Queen is, but because I could now (finally) purchase the phone case of my dreams. I snapped on my mother's old rubber case for interim phone protection (those glass screens break so easily), and set off into the world, armed with my new phone, an affirmation that I was now an adult.

A year later, I am still stuck with the same disintegrating black case. How I allowed this to happen, I have no idea. I could use the feeble explanation of whining that stores really don't sell cases for old iPhones anymore, shaking my fist at the moon and cursing Steve Jobs for altering the shape of the phone so arbitrarily. Although that is totally, completely, absolutely true (and very annoying for that matter), it really wouldn't be the entire truth. To be perfectly honest, I don't know how this happened. My old black phone case is literally ripping, falling off my phone constantly, providing almost zero protection, and yet I feel powerless. There are just too many cases out there (not that any of them would fit my phone), and I have no idea what to do. For someone who is so dedicated to expressing my specific sense of style in every aspect of my life, I have really failed when it comes to my cell phone.

I could easily spend hours in a store obsessing over the same three shades of lipstick, or scents of candles, or pairs of shoes, debating over and over with myself (and my family, and the salespeople, and any unfortunate passersby) which to choose. I am, in short, not great at making decisions, and even less so when the volume of choices is extensive. However, I am putting my foot down. Here, I have compiled a short list of cute (if overpriced) phone cases, and I am forcing myself to make a decision.

Counterclockwise from top right: The Case Factory, The Case Factory, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, MICHAEL Michael Kors, Adopted, Adopted, The Case Factory, Adopted, Diane Von Furstenberg