Basic Black

It is so hard to get rid of 'stuff'. You know that's one of my bug-bears! Soon after writing about it last time I went through my clothing and amassed a huge bagful to take to the op-shop but made the mistake of not putting it in the car straight away...so today I went through it again. I took about four things out but that's not too terrible as I added another six. In the meantime I have been given three pairs of pants and eight pairs of socks. I'll try the pants on and with a bit of luck they won't fit and I can add them to the bag...except for the beaut walking pants...zip off legs, quick dry, secret pockets...it will be good if they fit. Socks...well they don't take up too much room. Don't you just love the feel of new socks on your feet? 

Do you have a wardrobe full of things that mix and match...or a matchless mix like me? This goes with....nothing really. That goes with... Well everything goes with jeans. Or black pants. Do you go shopping with a plan? Or are you a spontaneous, spur of the moment, Specials Rack Buyer like me? I keep trying to tell myself that I should only buy if it's my size and black, grey or...black. I'm a sucker for the 2 (of anything) for $10 rack!! The funny thing is that if you put me in any shop, anywhere in the world, I'd be willing to bet my life that I could instantly put my hand on THE most expensive item on the rack, shelf, table, bin or anywhere else. This tells me that I can appreciate and identify quality fabrics and classic style (these are the things that hold their price), but somehow they are always beyond my budget. I know, I know, if I didn't buy lots of useless bits with which to later endow the local charity shop, I could save and buy quality. I could invest in timeless pieces that I would wear for years and always look fabulous because they would be suitably accessorised with chunky gold jewellery. I can only wear gold because my body disagrees with me wearing anything else; I end up smelling like I've been rubbed with old pennies. Not nice and rather annoying as there are lots of lovely 2 for $10 costume jewellery options out there. So, even the atoms of my body seem to know that quality is what I've been bred for; those that are not part of my brain anyway. 

My brain takes over when I am out shopping. It does the math. It says yes you can do this but not that. Lay-by is difficult here because I'm a long way from the shops and what if I forget to make the payments?? My shopping self is still in the Dark Ages. It still thinks you have to go into the shop and get it now. It hasn't moved properly into the 21st Century and adapted to online shopping (although I do order toner cartridges for my printer that way...and have been tricked there by the cheap and nasty too!!). I bought two pairs of jeans that way once too...that worked out well because I had budgeted $50 for a pair of jeans - a brand that I knew fitted me - and when I got to the webshop it had a sale on and I got two pairs and postage for less than the fifty bucks! Woohoo! So it's not that I can't do it. What I need to do is make a plan for my clothes shopping and (the hard part) stick to it.

Have you ever gone through your wardrobe and decided what you need to buy to make it work better for you. I look and I just want to laugh...or cry...or both. It's so confusing. I mean, where does one begin? There has to be a systematic way to approach this job that will ensure success every time. If you have any tips let me know! I've trawled through various websites at different times trying to find the simple solution, but I'm just not convinced that I can do things their way. I don't seem to have the right stuff to start with. And in the end, does it really matter, I ask myself. 

I am clothed. That's a good thing. Let's look at the bright side. I haven't noticed anyone laughing at me when I go out, so I guess I am not standing out in the crowd. I must look fairly decent. I read somewhere recently (on one of those websites aforementioned - I'll put a link at the bottom of this rave if I can find it again - done!) that some women had done an experiment where they wore the same top or dress or outfit for weeks on end, and only one person got any kind of a comment about it...from a work colleague I believe it was. So it's hard to believe that we make so much flipping fuss over what we wear. You may well be the only person who notices what you're wearing...unless it happens to be so tiny that it defies easy identification...that may pull a bit more interest...as onlookers try to work out if it's a skirt or a belt for example. This is not a problem I'm likely to have in the near future or ever if I have anything to do with wardrobe management in my house. More likely...did I last see that holding potatoes?? Not really. It's not that bad...really it's not.

Opportunity shops do pretty well out of me. I frequently drop a bag or box of clothes off for them to sell. I often buy bits n pieces too...and later they get them back for nix when I find out they don't fit...or they don't go with anything! They use the money to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and to run programs for counselling the less fortunate or less happy among us. They do good work. I'm happy to support them. So really it's not going to matter if I never get this fashion thing worked out. It's not that terrible if I buy 2 for $10 thingys that the op-shop can re-sell and get back and re-sell again. One little impulse buy like that on my part has the potential to make hundreds of dollars to help the needy. I can look at it as an act of community service if I am liberal enough in my thinking...in the meantime...I pinky promise only to buy anything new if it's black!

http://theproject333.com/ This website has lots of helpful information on dressing with less...I might go back and have another read I think. I'm sure I'll work it out eventually! I'm pretty sure this is where I read about the experiment I mentioned above.