My body ain't what it used to be 10 years and 3 kids ago. All of my pre-motherhood clothes were given away a long time ago, and I have been wearing the garb of the SAHM (t-shirts, jeans, yoga pants).
There are occasions, though, when even a SAHM needs to dress nicely. In my case, it has mostly been wakes that demanded I look a little more formal. I would ransack my closet, putting together things that didn't look especially good but were more appropriate for a funeral home than an "I Survived the Stampede" t-shirt and a pair of bleach-stained workout pants.
Up until about a month ago I did not own a pair of black dress pants.
I decided it was time for mommy to purchase some nice clothes, and by nice I mean something better than my typical $6 Old Navy finds (which are great for SAHM-wear, but terrible for anything else).
To make a long story short, I went to White House, Black Market, gave my usual spiel about being a complete fashion idiot and "would you dress me, please," then proceeded to be babysat for 2 hours by a salesperson named Jane. I walked out with some nice, professional clothing (included a pair of dressy black pants) after having spent an obscene amount of money ($350).
It has taken me many, many weeks to even begin to get over the shock of this shopping escapade.
And I hate to admit it, but I think buying myself some "fashionable" clothing was sorta fun. Fun enough that I bought myself a white blouse to wear with some skirts I own at Von Maur yesterday. I spent about $48.
I generally think that if a person has to rationalize an activity as being "ok," then it is probably not really ok. Because of my frugal nature and my environmental conscientiousness, I am finding myself rationalizing these recent clothing expenditures.
I googled how much the average American spends on clothing per year (over $1100 from my research). I checked my mint account to see how much I've spent on clothing over the past 3 years (nowhere near $1100 per year). I reminded myself that of the two skirts I own for which I purchased the white top, one was given to me by my MIL when it no longer fit her, and the other was made out of fabric that had once been used as a drapery in our first house. (I still liked the print but didn't want it on my window so I had my mom make it into a skirt.)
Today, when I wore the drapery-fabric skirt and the white top along with a WHBM sweater to my nephew's First Communion, my black heels (of which I have one pair) began to disintegrate as I stood in the church. My mother asked where the mud came from that was flaking off my shoes onto the floor. I said, "Mother, that's not mud. That's my shoes."
These shoes were purchased around 13 years ago when D got a gift certificate from work to the mall and he couldn't find anything on which to spend it. I bought myself some Easy Spirit uber-comfortable chunky black heels.
Now I don't have black heels, nor do I own a purse (which I realized today when I went to look for something nice in which to carry my wallet).
I think this might be life telling me to quit stewing over money so much and update my fashion life.
There are occasions, though, when even a SAHM needs to dress nicely. In my case, it has mostly been wakes that demanded I look a little more formal. I would ransack my closet, putting together things that didn't look especially good but were more appropriate for a funeral home than an "I Survived the Stampede" t-shirt and a pair of bleach-stained workout pants.
Up until about a month ago I did not own a pair of black dress pants.
I decided it was time for mommy to purchase some nice clothes, and by nice I mean something better than my typical $6 Old Navy finds (which are great for SAHM-wear, but terrible for anything else).
To make a long story short, I went to White House, Black Market, gave my usual spiel about being a complete fashion idiot and "would you dress me, please," then proceeded to be babysat for 2 hours by a salesperson named Jane. I walked out with some nice, professional clothing (included a pair of dressy black pants) after having spent an obscene amount of money ($350).
It has taken me many, many weeks to even begin to get over the shock of this shopping escapade.
And I hate to admit it, but I think buying myself some "fashionable" clothing was sorta fun. Fun enough that I bought myself a white blouse to wear with some skirts I own at Von Maur yesterday. I spent about $48.
I generally think that if a person has to rationalize an activity as being "ok," then it is probably not really ok. Because of my frugal nature and my environmental conscientiousness, I am finding myself rationalizing these recent clothing expenditures.
I googled how much the average American spends on clothing per year (over $1100 from my research). I checked my mint account to see how much I've spent on clothing over the past 3 years (nowhere near $1100 per year). I reminded myself that of the two skirts I own for which I purchased the white top, one was given to me by my MIL when it no longer fit her, and the other was made out of fabric that had once been used as a drapery in our first house. (I still liked the print but didn't want it on my window so I had my mom make it into a skirt.)
Today, when I wore the drapery-fabric skirt and the white top along with a WHBM sweater to my nephew's First Communion, my black heels (of which I have one pair) began to disintegrate as I stood in the church. My mother asked where the mud came from that was flaking off my shoes onto the floor. I said, "Mother, that's not mud. That's my shoes."
These shoes were purchased around 13 years ago when D got a gift certificate from work to the mall and he couldn't find anything on which to spend it. I bought myself some Easy Spirit uber-comfortable chunky black heels.
Now I don't have black heels, nor do I own a purse (which I realized today when I went to look for something nice in which to carry my wallet).
I think this might be life telling me to quit stewing over money so much and update my fashion life.
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