This Is Us
Best Kept in the Closet
Stuff is stuff.
Every time I walk through a thrift store I am reminded of how quickly things go from must-haves to unwanted. This is especially true of clothes. You’ll find racks of discarded shoes, handbags worn but not worn out, and dresses guilty only of the crime of outlasting their peak of stylishness.
Most clothes are worn for a bit before being tossed like used tissues.
And they generate as much sentimental value.
But then there are the things we hold onto; the skirt that no longer fits but still hangs in the back of the closet; the jackets with shoulder pads wider than those on NFL receivers; the torturous, toe-pinching, heels you wisely gave up wearing long ago but just can’t seem to bring yourself to permanently ditch.
Occasionally, I’ll hold onto an item beyond reason simply because I remember how much I paid for it. Maybe I don’t want to admit I made a terrible mistake. Or maybe I optimistically hope the purchase will make sense sometime in the future.
But unlike banked money, these saved clothes rarely enjoy an increase in interest rates.
After being feeling sufficiently haunted by these ghosts of fashion pasts, I see the light. I change my ways. And my clothes. And I set them free, releasing…
