Can I get away with this? (Ruminations on clothing and mindset)

[scarlettina]

Yesterday, after a delightful brunch with matt_ruff and lisagold (and the ever assertive Sophie Sestina) and an afternoon of work, I went downtown for movies with bedii and ladyjestocostMy bus brought me downtown about a half hour earlier than I had to be at the movie theater, so in the wake of this weekend's experiments with clothing, I decided to stop into a store I've never been

Comments

[prettyshrub]

*HUGS*

I also struggle with voices in my head about various things in my life. It sounds like most people do.

I heartily endorse balancing expense with how often you will wear and enjoy something. Yes, I am usually a t-shirt and jeans girl, but I won't buy either unless I like the way they look and fit. And if it is full price, it's full price. I just don't buy a lot of clothes, ever.

I also heartily endorse coming to peace with whatever body you have. I spent years being unhappy and feeling unattractive. Consequently I missed out on many opportunities for personal enjoyment. I still struggle with it, but I'm doing better. Now if I could just get over my dislike of exercise, I'd be much better off generally.

[mevennen]

Interested that All Saints do the sewing machine thing in the US - they're great window displays.

[scarlettina]

Oh, I completely agree. I've passed there any number of times and found the look of the place compelling. As soon as I realized it was a clothing store, I pretty much wrote it off as being somewhere I could never shop. That changed yesterday, much to my astonishment.

[varina8]

Your post struck a cord with me. I don't shop very often and when I do I frequently struggle with questions one and two.

Part of it, I suspect, is that I'm pretty happy in jeans and only go shopping when I have to get something for a specific event or when whatever I have (coat, pants, suit, etc) is shot so the pressure is on. It's also been getting harder for me to figure out what looks good on me and going alone tends to make the whole shopping thing a slog.

When I do find something I like, I wear it into the ground. One of my goals for this year is to go through my closet, dump whatever has gotten shabby or isn't working for me now and purchase some replacements.

So, yeah, I feel a kinship here.

[singingnettle]

I hear those questions too, although my answer is usually, "Screw it, I'm buying what I like

[mevennen]

We sell very elaborate Medieval dresses, among other clothes, in a range of sizes. Larger women tend to look great in those and as someone selling the things, I'll only comment if they don't fit (eg if they gape at the back of the neck). It's heartening to see people enjoying clothes and buying them for fun, but it is sobering to see how some people see themselves (I recently had a customer who was clearly anorexic and who equally clearly thought she looked enormous).