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You’re getting them; I’m getting them. With the state of the retail sector, we’ve all been getting them for at least a month: The most amazing, attractive, drool-worthy emails from retailers that we have(or perhaps have never) either visited, filled a shopping cart for, or purchased something from. (and yes, I do know that ending a sentence with a preposition is ‘a bad thing’, but I could not figure out how to do that sentence without that)
Now that the holidays are over, it’s even more tempting. I’ve received one today with the headline: “The one you won’t want to miss: $5.99 and UP!!!”
That’s the sort of thing that, except for the fact that I have never been able to use my store credit card to shop ON their site, would have in the past had me with the plastic out, clicking off item after ‘bargain’ item. But, I have taken an entirely different philosophy about my closet these days that I would like to share. I think it works for all genders and certainly makes ME feel that I’ve got one more thing under some modicum of control.
Read this whole thing and then do it, OK – Aunt Toby doesn’t want anyone to break a leg or a clavicle running up and down the stairs to do this.
This is an assignment, so go get your notebook and pen. Draw a line down the middle of a page.
Go stand in front of the closet and imagine some particular event that happens to us all – sometimes several times – in a year. Pick events that frankly make you go crazy in terms of deciding what to wear. On the top of the left hand side of the page, write: Event. On the right hand side, write: Outfit. Under Event, write the first thing that comes to your mind. Here is an example:
Event Outfit
Funeral – Close Relative
Funeral – Not Related But Close
Job Interview
Wedding-winter
Wedding-summer
Stare into the closet and ask yourself the following question: What do I have there that is appropriate for the occasion?
While everyone does NOT have tickets to President and Mrs. Obama’s Inaugural Ball in a couple of weeks (if you do, Aunt Toby envies you unless you don’t have an appropriate outfit – as you know, the Rules of Shopping say that when you need something wonderful to wear, all wonderful things disappear, POOF!), but everyone sooner or later has a funeral, a job interview or a wedding to go to as a guest.
Calling hours and funerals are usually events that are announced rather suddenly and leave us anxious in terms of dressing appropriately. Lacking time to do an adequate search and shop for appropriate attire only makes the occasion worse. A call to come in for a job interview can provide the same anxiety; usually you get a couple of days notice, but Aunt Toby once got a call first thing in the morning and was asked to show up before lunch! Weddings usually give the greatest notice but still are fraught with dressing problems.
Men are very lucky: All they need is a good dark suit (navy or medium grey will carry you through all seasons; navy and charcoal grey is great for the winter), a change of nice dress shirts, a couple of good ties, good dress shoes in black (not loafers) and dark blue or black socks. That outfit will carry them through Everything on the list plus weekly attendance at your chosen house of worship. Men are very lucky.
For women, a nice blouse and medium colored or dark suit (not black or navy; looks too much like an airlines uniform) or dress(knee length, not too low in the neck, with some sort of sleeve; if you can get a matching jacket, do that) will get you through everything except for the summer wedding. A pretty tailored dress and hat will get women through that and there is the added usefulness of wearing it to work or church and shaming people who show up in blue jeans and tatty tee shirts with their coffee mugs on Sunday mornings.
Now, let’s think about that: For the guys, one outfit focused on a dark suit. For the ladies, one outfit for winter focused on a dark suit or dress and one outfit for summer focused on a tailored dress. All eventualities. All stressful times. All taken care of with one outfit – sort of like that ‘One Ring to Rule Them All” Right?
So, back to the email adverts and the closet and ask yourself the important question: Do I or don’t I have that one outfit? Is there anything in those adverts that I am getting that is going to get me that outfit? What do I really NEED? Don’t be seduced by the photography.
If they are showing that sort of clothing, it’s time to think seriously about investing in that one outfit. If not, take the money that you would have spent doing the ‘click throughs’ to the shopping cart and put that money away and SAVE IT.
Go visit places that have good solid clothing of this sort and watch sales (right now is a very good time – in colder areas, get all wool or nearly all wool for suits; if you live in warmer areas, look for tropical weight wools or fabrics with some wool in them – keeps wrinkles down – for suits; dressier fabrics that do no wrinkle or have to be dry cleaned for dresses). Men, if you can get an extra pair of pants with the suit, that is a great investment. If you need a pair of good black conservative pumps or tie dress shoes, the same goes for that.
As you visit, try on clothing and get comfortable with the process, put away more money. When you find the items you need, get them and put them in the closet. Think of this in the same way as buying staples for the kitchen shelf: They are there and ready for when you need them. That way, when you get the call for the job interview, or sadly, for a funeral, you can just reach in the closet, pull out your outfit and you are good to go.
You can get more wear out of the outfit and reduce your per-wearing cost by wearing your outfits to work or religious services or to go out to dinner. But you will have an outfit. You will not have to run around trying to find something appropriate to wear, having to pay more than you had planned on, or perhaps not finding anything that fits.
This way, when you see advertisements or things in stores or magazines, you can ask yourself, “What are my clothing needs for the next six months or a year? Is what I’m seeing something on ‘my list’? Or is it something that is appealing to the eye but has little wearing value in terms of what I need and will eventually end up in the bag for the charity or the landfill?”
NOT buying stuff we don’t need is another way to save money.
Cross-posted at: Aunt Toby’s New Blog, Kitchen Counter Economics
18 Comments
Digg is open, folks.
Or, if you’re me, clothes don’t mean anything. I have a pair of black dress slacks and a decent blouse and black flats I wear for somber occasions. I have one skirt and a blouse for festive. That’s it. I’m not comfortable in dresses. Never have been. Jeans and sweaters and sweats and tee shirts suit me just fine.
Whatever works for you. If you feel at some point that you need to really dress this up, a good black blazer or jacket is something that you will always be able to find, in various materials and pricepoints.
Good advice in this post–thanks Toby! I also went and checked out your new blog–very nicely done.
I actually started a new gardening blog. It’s not as far along as yours is, but I’m having fun with it and learning the ropes. It’s at minervasgardenwriter.wordpress.com. I hope to add some video and pictures to it soon.
Good on ya!
Toby’s new blog? Linky? Doesn’t seem to be linked to your name.
Dugg.
This is a great series.
Oh, never mind. The link is in the diary.
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The last “from” isn’t necessary because of the first “from”–just end the sentence at “something”. And it might be nice to replace “that we have” with “whom we have”.
An old school teacher.
I knew one of you would be out there…..thanks!
Something I did not mention above that I will mention here when I talk about looking for wools in fabrics: Wool is a terrific fiber (yes, even for people who live in the South and even for people who say that they find it ‘itchy’). You can find wool fabrics(and clothing made from them) in all weights from tissue gauzes all the way up to heavy melton topcoat weight. Tropical weight wools are wearable except for the most hot and humid times during the summer. But even if you do not want to wear 100% wool anything, look for some wool content because:
1) Wool’s fibers are coiled like springs – they resist wrinkles tremendously. The greater the wool content, the greater the wrinkle resistence. Another way to test is to take the garment in your hands and crush a piece of it and let it go – see how long it takes for the wrinkles to lessen.
2) Wool does not ‘flash fire’ – that is why it is used for upholstery and carpeting in public buildings.
3) Wool can absorb up to 40% of its own weight in moisture and not make the wearer feel clammy. There’s a reason that there is such a thing as a ‘fisherman’s sweater’.
4) Wool fabrics do not require washing or cleaning after every use. They can be brushed off and hung out; because wool ‘breathes’, suits, dresses and sweaters can be worn numerous times without needing costly trips to the cleaners. The DH has 5 outfits that he wears to work every day, so each suit/sportcoat and slacks gets worn once a week. He brushes and spot cleans (a little water on a rag – a teeny bit of detergent if necessary for oily spots) and gets his items cleaned once a year. Period. In terms of the ‘long term per wearing cost’ — wool more than pays for itself every time.
5) You can find wool fabrics for every requirement – twills are really good if you are hard on your clothing. They are tightly spun and woven and the ridges in the twill will protect against wear in places such as the rearend of pants, the insides of the legs of pants and so on.
6) Woolen vs. Worsted. These are terms that refer to how the fibers are dealt with before they are spun. Worsted fibers have been pulled through a die or a combing device so that all the fibers are going in one direction. Then they are spun – so you have no odd little fibers hanging off. These fabrics are smooth and tight – great for men’s suits. Woolen is just the opposite – those fibers are not pulled through a die or combed very much, so the fibers are every which way and lots of little fibers are on the surface. That is what gives woolen fabrics their nap (like flannels) and what increases the warmth and air-holding capacity of the cloth or yarn used in the sweater. At the same time, though, because of that, the surface is less resistent to wear. In men’s clothing, your best buy (in terms of long term wearability and resistence to abrasion) is worsted for men’s suits and pants; woolens are really for sportcoats(think tweeds and flannels there).
You consistently amaze me with your knowledge of all things practical. When I grow up I want to be just like you.
hahahaha — The DH and I raised sheep and angora goats (mohair) for about 10 years and I got involved in processing the fleeces, spinning and dyeing. So, I had to do some work in terms of ‘wool knowledge’ just so I could talk about it with them. Wool is a great fiber – probably the best of the ‘renewables’ and quite fascinating. When our sheep used to lay down in the snow – if there was a good snow storm going with wind – you would not be able to see anything except for their black noses…until you showed up with dinner, in which case, they’d jump up, shake off the snow and run for the barn. The snow would be melted right down to the ground underneath them and if you put your hand down through their fleeces(with the frozen crust on the top) and parted it, the steam would rise off them like a boiling pot of water. It was amazing.
I once had the “wedding” problem.
Went to JC Penney’s and found a dress for $10.00. It was more of a summer dress but the colors were fine for winter. I had accessories and scarf and I got more compliments on the outfit.
Now if you could just include tips on how not to put on the pounds so we can still fit into those clothes…..
I’m as guilty as the next person on this one, but I can tell you this: The more time I spend in front of the computer, the larger my hips get. I make myself get up once an hour now to run around because sitting in front of the computer is a real problem for me and I suspect it is for other people too. http://www.sciencedaily.com/re…..074852.htm
Great series, Toby.
I’m completely at a loss when I go clothes shopping (at Goodwill) because for many years I only had to wear scrubs to work. Fortunately, there are some ladies there who will say, “Get that. It goes with this.”
Here are a few ‘can’t miss’ tips:
1) Everything ‘goes with’ black pants or a black skirt.
2) Browns and beiges are very funky because there are some with reds/oranges/golds/yellows in them (these are the warm ones and include chocolate and rust in the group and look great on folks who’ve got green eyes and who freckle easily)and then there are the ones that have grey in them which look good on folks with cooler skin tones. If you are freckly person and wear the browns and beiges that have greys in them, you will tend to look washed out unless you put something in a warmer color, like a scarf, near your face.
3) Putting prints together is such an artform that frankly, I stick with the ‘don’t mix stipes, checks or polka dots together’ rule. As long you have only one item with a print and it contains one of the other colors in the outfit, you are considered ‘pulled together’.
4) Certain color combinations carry connotations of class, income and education that can’t be missed. No matter how hard we try, our clothing is going to send a message.