On Having Clothes
So I'm in the middle of the seasonal clothing migration, summer to storage, winter into closet, and I'm trying to purge as I go. Not that this is the best time to try, since most of the stuff I have doesn't fit for the nonce and it's very difficult to answer the question "will I wear this in the next year or so?" since I don't honestly know what I'll look like in a year. Size-wise, anyway. And the acid test "did I wear this over the past year?" didn't work because the weather was so unseasonally rainy this year, I couldn't wear a lot of my fluffy summer clothes. Yeah, that's it.
I think I have too many clothes (I can hear you all laughing hysterically). I do give away large bags of clothing to Women in Need (local charity thrift store) 3 or 4 times a year but the stuff keeps multiplying. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with my haunting ValueVillage (local second-hand bargain store) and single-handedly keeping discount malls in business.
When I was on retreat, I took three pairs of pants and three tops and wore them all three times. Considering I was sedentary the whole time, it was feasible. It was also very freeing to not stand in front of the closet each morning and try to put an ensemble together. Although it is a creative act in many ways, it is also stressful on the days when things refuse to match, and who needs more stress? Mind you by the end of the retreat I was heartily sick of those pieces of clothing - but only because they needed washing. Could I do that as a routine? Probably would start feeling too poor (old skeleton in my closet).
Anyway, the thought is, how much clothing is too much? My friend R. has frugal tastes and an equally and admirably frugal closet, which we keep trying to remedy at Birthdays and Christmas, but she seems quite happy with a small (in my mind) amount of clothing. Another friend who shall remain initial-less to protect her identity, has four full closets of clothing, which seems extreme. I only have three, which I'm sure is WAY better. snort. At least only two of them contain routinely wearable clothes, the others are off-season and special occasion (overcoats and evening gowns and such).
What to do? I could just slash-and-burn, and ruthlessly donate everything I didn't wear this summer. (shriek!) I think I am with clothes the way other people are with food. I use them for emotional comfort and creativity, and a sense of security. Am I making too much of it? Has everyone else in our benighted society already fought and vanquished the clothing demon? Gauging by the number of clothing stores, I'd say not. And I think most people don't feel they have too much clothing. Do they?
I knew a woman once who would buy clothes and they would hang in her closet with the tags still on for MONTHS, sometimes she never wore them and then just threw them out (until I yelled at her about all the women in need). That was a bit odd, probably verging on compulsive purchasing (there's undoubtedly a well-entrenched neurosis there - shopaholic type stuff). I've done some of that in the past, but I inevitably feel dragged-out and blue if I buy too much. I can sense the bag-lady hovering over my shoulder. Don't tempt fate! You could be me if you squander your money!
Anyway. I've culled two large garbage-size bags of clothes and put the rest away. I guess my clothes are here to stay, unless I find a substitute source of security, creativity, and comfort. All in all, I'd rather my vice be clothing than food, which seems much the worse demon to struggle with.
I think I have too many clothes (I can hear you all laughing hysterically). I do give away large bags of clothing to Women in Need (local charity thrift store) 3 or 4 times a year but the stuff keeps multiplying. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with my haunting ValueVillage (local second-hand bargain store) and single-handedly keeping discount malls in business.
When I was on retreat, I took three pairs of pants and three tops and wore them all three times. Considering I was sedentary the whole time, it was feasible. It was also very freeing to not stand in front of the closet each morning and try to put an ensemble together. Although it is a creative act in many ways, it is also stressful on the days when things refuse to match, and who needs more stress? Mind you by the end of the retreat I was heartily sick of those pieces of clothing - but only because they needed washing. Could I do that as a routine? Probably would start feeling too poor (old skeleton in my closet).
Anyway, the thought is, how much clothing is too much? My friend R. has frugal tastes and an equally and admirably frugal closet, which we keep trying to remedy at Birthdays and Christmas, but she seems quite happy with a small (in my mind) amount of clothing. Another friend who shall remain initial-less to protect her identity, has four full closets of clothing, which seems extreme. I only have three, which I'm sure is WAY better. snort. At least only two of them contain routinely wearable clothes, the others are off-season and special occasion (overcoats and evening gowns and such).
What to do? I could just slash-and-burn, and ruthlessly donate everything I didn't wear this summer. (shriek!) I think I am with clothes the way other people are with food. I use them for emotional comfort and creativity, and a sense of security. Am I making too much of it? Has everyone else in our benighted society already fought and vanquished the clothing demon? Gauging by the number of clothing stores, I'd say not. And I think most people don't feel they have too much clothing. Do they?
I knew a woman once who would buy clothes and they would hang in her closet with the tags still on for MONTHS, sometimes she never wore them and then just threw them out (until I yelled at her about all the women in need). That was a bit odd, probably verging on compulsive purchasing (there's undoubtedly a well-entrenched neurosis there - shopaholic type stuff). I've done some of that in the past, but I inevitably feel dragged-out and blue if I buy too much. I can sense the bag-lady hovering over my shoulder. Don't tempt fate! You could be me if you squander your money!
Anyway. I've culled two large garbage-size bags of clothes and put the rest away. I guess my clothes are here to stay, unless I find a substitute source of security, creativity, and comfort. All in all, I'd rather my vice be clothing than food, which seems much the worse demon to struggle with.
posted by zouzou at 3:46 p.m.
1 Comments:
Here's an idea... why don't you get all your friends together and do a clothing exchange? Each of you brings what she no longer wants/needs/fits into - and it's all up for grabs.
Not only do you get new threads, you have a girls' night at the same time. (Naturally, you don't invite people from work... because showing up at work in someone else's clothes might lead to *all kinds* of speculation!)
What's not traded goes to Women In Need.
And speaking as someone who's been every size from 4 to 22, I believe that having a good, steady stock of clothes is essential. But then again... so is having new stuff...
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