I'm always buying new clothes. After all, clothes wear out, get too small when we gain weight/grow taller/get pregnant, get too large when we lose weight/have a baby, go badly out of style. Every time I buy something new, it's because one or two new things are in need of being recycled or thrown out. So I've got a rotating wardrobe, as most of us do.
I also make a point once a year of going through my things to see what no longer fits my personality. If I haven't worn something in the last two years, I fold it up and put it away in a box marked with the reason: Too small, too large, out of style, worn out. Every two or three years, I go through those boxes and figure out what I want to give away to clothing charities or to friends who could make use of them.
Then, about every four years, I make a point of going through my closet and deciding what I want my image to be, going forward. Elementary school was all about sturdy clothing that fit and would stand up to the abuse I gave it on the playground, plus a few pretty dresses for religious settings, formal occasions, and performances (I was a child performer, yes). Junior high was almost the same, but I'd graduated from little floral playwear to very tomboyish, rough-and-tumble things, and from dresses with ruffles to dresses with a wee bit less babyish look to them. High school, I went right for trendy fashion, and thus I'm equipped with photographs at which my friends' children laugh themselves sick. In college I went for things that looked a bit more neutral, a bit more adult, but (to be honest) still more playful than professional.
Since college, I've been wearing a lot of button-up shirts, plain khaki or black skirts, plain flats or loafers -- clothes that look suspiciously like modern school uniforms, frankly. And now, predictably, I'm bored with this. Time for an update!
I found a fantastic website that has helped me greatly in determining where I want to take my fashion wardrobe.
Check it out.The site was created by and for Muslimas, but there are some tips that will help out non-Muslims too. In fact, all of them will work for Jews and for Christians outside the Plain communities -- just tie the scarf in a slightly different way to conform to your community's standards, tastes, or signals.
Continued in next post.
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