Vanessa: PUFFY! WHITE! Marshmallow Coat

"Backstory: This was taken during a kids' window-painting contest in the 'downtown' area of Baldwinsville, when I was in 4th grade. 'Twas an incredibly cold and rainy morning--but you'd never know it from that sassy smile, would you? Things that ARE painfully apparent: my weather-flattened frizzy hair, my SUPER! PUFFY! WHITE! marshmallow coat, my sweatshirt proclaiming that I was 'Ultra Cool' (this was one of my favorite articles of clothing at the time), and my weirdly-framed old lady glasses (I picked those out, so I can't even blame my mother). That Mott's juice box is an unnecessary-but-classy touch of maturity. And the disembodied, pastry-clutching hand is my best friend Katie, who has stuck by me for twenty-five years even through questionable fashion moments like this."

After the jump: Vanessa today...