Monday 23 June 2008

Fun Monday - Clothes

Our lovely hostess this week is Hula Girl and this is our assignment:

I love prying information out of people...and I’m really nosey….ridiculously nosey. After much thought and consideration I’ve come up with the following topic….clothing…specifically clothing you can’t get rid of. We all have at least one or two items of clothing that we can’t part with, even if we can’t or don’t wear them. I want to know about yours. Show us if you have pictures or describe it in detail. Model it for us if you dare. Nothing naughty please-we don’t want to see your backside (or your front side) in that thong you foolishly bought in Cancun on vacation. Is it your old FFA jacket from high school (which my husband has)? A Grateful Dead concert t-shirt from 1978? A shirt from an old lover or that size *&! pair of jeans you hope you get into again one day? Or maybe the really large pair of jeans you wore before you lost 100 pounds or your grandma’s vintage wedding dress. Dig around in your closets and find something you want to share with us Monday. I can’t wait to see and hear about your choices.

18 months ago, this Fun Monday assignment would have filled a scrap book. Before we moved, I had a lot of storage space and I kept everything and boy where there some classic pieces of clothing that I couldn't part with. There was the metallic purple flouncy evening dress, the black and white taffeta ball gown and numerous other clothes from the days I worked in the city. Who knows when I might have needed that suit again? I had some lovely designer cast-offs from a friend that never ever fitted me properly but I just couldn't get rid of them.

And then we moved and my storage space shrunk to a quarter of what I had been used to and something had to give. I was so ruthless and if I hadn't worn it in a year, it went. So the items I have now are not those that have been with me for any length of time but are fairly recent purchases. It's not that I'm hanging on to them for any sentimental reason, it's that I bought them when I hit an all time low with my weight last year. Weight that I managed to put back on again last Christmas. So I have a yo-yo wardrobe, one lot of clothes for when I am a size 12 (US10) and another set for when I am a size 10 (US 8).

But there were one or two exceptions that I wouldn't get rid of and this is one of them


I bought this for a friend's wedding, I've lost track of how long ago it was but it must have been at least 7 or 8 years ago and I just love it. It's silk and has the most intricate embroidery on it. It was something which, left to my own devices, I would never have bought but said friend came with me and insisted it looked fantastic and she was right! I adore this jacket and I may only wear it once in a blue moon but I will always keep it.

Then there is a more recent purchase that another friend made me buy as she said it really suited me. There are two things about this top. One, it's pink and I really do not do pink. Second, it's flouncy and I really do not do flouncy either. But I bought it anyway because I can see what she means, it's just that it is so far out of my comfort zone that I'm really not sure I will ever wear it. I suspect it will become another of those long-term inhabitants that I can't quite bring myself to lose.


And then there's my slobbing about clothes. You know how once something is past it's best but it's so comfy that you just can't part with it? I have draws full of those. How many slobbing clothes does a girl need!? Some have stains that will never come out but I keep them to wear when I'm gardening or when I'm likely to get mucky because they couldn't possibly be worn in public.

I'm a lost cause, I really am.

17 comments:

  1. All my clothes are slobbing about clothes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I adore that jacket, it's fantastic. Bet you look like a million bucks in it.

    As for the slobbing about clothes, they're the best. I live in blue jeans.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That jacket is stunning! I would wear it any time I had the opportunity. As for slobbing clothes, I have stacks of them. A girl needs a little slob in her life. Thanks for opening up your closet today and adding to the fun!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The jacket and top are beautiful, but I'm like you, more of a chilling out kind of girl where clothes are concerned. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. What you kept is lovely although I bet the metallic purple flouncy evening dress and the black and white taffeta ball gown were very nice.

    As I sit in my paint-stained shorts and pinned shirt, I am rather a lost cause too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah, I ditched a lot of clothes in the past 2 years when I married and will probably ditch more when we move next month. I love the black and white jacket; very unique. And it's good to buy stuff out of the comfort zone but it's hard too. Frills are hard for me although I'm coming around to pink lately.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have 2 of the dresses that my mother made ~ her wedding dress that my father loving cut out for her with eyes averted & a blue-shot-green silk taffeta that she made when she was dancing. Then there's my costumes from my Historical Music days, all my Romali kit, but now I tend to live in long shirts & longish skirts for every day as I'm mucking about with animals & it's surprising how much mud a dog can cover you in, not to mention the goats & chickens!

    Annon got rid of the high-heeled strappy sandals from my youth by wearing them to death. My black pair were from my days of evening dress concerts, so were 32 years older than her & the cream pair a few years younger! As for my childhood ice skates ~ NEVER ~ they were my introduction to formal dancing.

    The pink top is rather "pink", but I like the style!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I need to take your example as inspiration for ‘ruthlessness’ of my own, but I don’t want to move anywhere else! Congratulations on getting rid of ‘stuph’ … even though it was out of necessity. Both of these are pretty … and it’s nice to have pieces that make us feel great! I have stacks of ‘slobbing’ clothes ;--)
    Hugs and blessings,

    ReplyDelete
  9. No, no. The use of other stuff in the out doors is way smart. It is very cost effective.

    ReplyDelete
  10. You should have modeled it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I never keep anything ! once I am fat up of a cloth I give it away, lol !

    ReplyDelete
  12. You looked absolutely beautiful at said wedding, even if I do say so myself (My wedding, my idea to buy jacket)

    A xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. That jacket is so incredible. I can see why you would never part with it...but, just in case you do decide to give it up, let me send you my address? Just teasing.
    I think I have more slobbing about clothes than I do any other type of clothes.
    The What Not To Wear people would probably just collapse in horror if I allowed them access to my closet.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ali is right - that jacket is marvelous on you! I'll bet the pink thing is too!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love 'em both!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Those are lovely and I can see why you keep them around. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. The B/W looks like a standard culsha outfit--the one that you always go to for nice dinner out, concert, play. No extra thought included. You know it looks good on you so you can relax and enjoy the evening.

    The pink frothy just takes some attitude to wear! At least that's what my friend's husband tells her about getting up the nerve to wear a bikini.

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.