It’s not me, it’s you.
Last week Thursday, my sisters and I descended upon The Salvation Army for the 5/$15 sale. This rare occurance means that all my finds are not $5.99 as usual, but $3! We approached the racks with a careful determination – piling up pieces and strategically laying out our changerooms. I quickly found 5 new items, and was quite pleased with my varying selection – 1 dress, 1 cardigan, 1 skirt, and 2 new shirts.
I went home with 5 more items than my closet currently has hangers, so it was time for a mini-binge to make room for my new steals. I did a quick scan of the territory, and pulled out the items I never wear, don’t like, and quite simply forgot about.
I removed some frump-tastic items from the back corners of my closet – a khaki skirt that looked like garbage after one wash, a gray cardigan that was the Eeyore of my sweater collection, some pinstriped pants from my bland “young professional” phase, etc. This pile was a testament to the unremarkable. As I bundled up these leftovers, I noticed one common thread between these sorry pieces of polyester and cotton – they all came from The Mall. All of these cast-offs came into my possession in exactly the same way: they were purchased in a panicked haste – last-minute impulse buys to make me feel better about wasting three hours of my Saturday doing my best Zombie walk from store to store.
Giddy from the success of my 5/$15, and motivated by the lumpy pile at my feet, I’ve decided to make something official. It’s something I’ve been toying with for some time now, and I think Mondays are the perfect days to share sweeping declarations. So, here is my sweeping declaration for this here 16th day of January, 2012:
That’s right peeps. This relationship has officially gone sour. For 2012, I will only buy clothes that are thrifted, or come from an independent retailer I intentionally desire to support. This means no Winners, no Walmart, no H and no M, no Zara, no Cleo, no Ricki’s, and no Guess. Mall – we’re breaking up. And no, it’s not me – it’s you.
*However, I do require some small exceptions to my Year Without a Mall. I will only revisit my former flame for two reasons, as follows:
1) To buy undergarments and various hosiery. I don’t think this requires any explanation.
2) To buy pants – my “38 inseam unfortunately limits my ability to thrift pants. I’ve tried. I look silly. However, just the other day my Mom gave me some jeans that were too low-rise for her tastes, so perhaps I just need to find a way to trick my mom into buying more low-rise pants.
So there you have it! A resolution for 2012, only two weeks too late. I should feel daunted by my new pledge, but I’m actually feeling confident and excited. It means I’ll stay motivated to keep thrifting and adding new-old pieces to my closet. On Friday night, I put together two of my 5/$15 finds – this lovely, delicate lace top, and a basic-black skirt. $3 dollas each! And, in order to ensure there is a sufficient amount of dorkiness in this post, here I am, taking “the vow”.
And now, I’d like to extend the call to my thrift fashionistas all across the interwebs – any of you care to take the pledge and break up with the Mall? I’ll make you a button! And teach you the secret handshake. And invite you to my clubhouse. No boys allowed! Okay, okay. Some boys allowed. But only nice ones.
(I think I’m actually serious about the button. Stay tuned for that!)
Anyways, that’s it for today. Let’s all raise our cups, and give three cheers for new years, old clothes, and sweeping declarations. Happy Monday everyone! Update: Join the movement! Grab a button. Allz you gotta do is grab a button using the code below, add it as a widget on your blog, and watch your closet grow! Magic!