New Clothes

When I was about 15 I counted teeshirts and they numbered in the neighborhood of 75. I had at least 20 pairs of jeans. I had at least 40 pairs of shoes. I had about 24 sweatshirts. I had probably 7 jackets/coats. I had a whole closet full of dresses/dress tops/skirts. Why? I had access to pretty much unlimited, free clothing at a thrift store that I volunteered at (I didn't steal it! ;) They had a deal where if you worked there for a reasonable amount of time, you could take home what you wanted.) Did I wear it all? No!! I could end up with a massive pile of laundry, though, and I had the hardest time keeping it all in my drawers/closets/on shelves. Now I have three pairs of pants, and about 7 tops that work all the time, several jackets, and a number of clothes that I don't really wear much. At 15, I gasped and couldn't imagine only having one pair of jeans. And I don't even have access to laundry all that much, but I try to alternate my pants so they don't get worn all week (not that I didn't do that when I was 15, I often wore one of my favorite jeans for a week, which doesn't make any sense). Less is more ;)

I'm not sure how to go about changing this, but I'm really tired of wearing jeans and a tee shirt. Why? Several reasons:

• it's boring because everyone does it
• it's not pretty
• jeans cut into my belly, which I expect to have for a long time (sure, maybe it'll come off eventually, but why torture my guts in the meantime? Dresses seem more womanly and fit me better
• it's modern and so uniform and uncreative 

Now, before I go further, and tell the first things I've done to change, I have to explain a little more. I found a blog called The Fiercest Lilliputian that has awesome vintage outfits. I'm sure I'll be going back to look at it many times. But as I looked at it, and other fashion blogs that the author links to, I realized I really don't want to get into a huge collection of clothes. Maybe it is inevitable, but what I envision is a simple, pretty, and pared-down wardrobe. I've never been into clothes that much, except eschewing what I felt was awful (and let me tell you, I wore a lot of what I'd now consider awful, but I was comfortable in them!). I don't want to dress in high fashion, either, or wear 4 inch heels. 

I'm thinking something like this: 

• necessary underwear, including sturdy tights for winter
• 7 everyday medium weight dresses worn year-round so I can do laundry once a week (maybe 8)
• 2-3 light sundresses for summer
• 2-3 cardigans for winter
• 2 fancy dresses for dress-up occasions; full-length and below knee
• 1 winter jacket
• 1 spring jacket
• 1 pair waterproof shoes for all around walking (winter)
• 1 pair waterproof boots/hiking shoes
• 1 pair black pumps (low heel!)
• 1 pair tan/white pumps (again, must be low heeled)

The only must for the shoes is that they are comfortable and suited to the weather. It rains 9 months out of the year here, so I really have to find something that works. I've been here two winters and still haven't spent the money or come up with a solution to arriving places very soggy (especially feet!).

Unfortunately, when I start nursing school this is going to go out of the window for most of my work. Clinicals have strict dress code, and you all have to buy the same clothes at the same place. I'm fine with that. It'll be simple. When I become a nurse, I wonder if I can wear white dresses. I'd love to wear white dresses and white lace-up oxfords (depending on how comfortable I could find them). 

So, now that that's out of the way, and I've explained that I don't want to become a fashionista, but just want to get clothing that's simple and attractive, classic, and works for me, I might post some pictures. I'm not a model, so maybe I'll show them on the hangers ;) The first thing I did was buy a new dress via mail order, but it was the wrong size so I returned it and there weren't any in my size. The second thing (much smarter!) was to visit the thrift store and look through the entire dress rack. I found three button-up dresses, which are a must right now because I'm nursing. One fits, the other two are just a little small. I bought them because they were beautiful dresses and I'm planning on not keeping the 40 pounds I have gained after pregnancy forever. Maybe they'll fit in a year, maybe not. I'm keeping them :)