11:47 p.m. | 2005-10-09 Two Days Of Shopping, Oh My. I have to say that I�ve needed some new clothes very much. I�ve been wearing the same tired outfits to work, day after day after day. That�s a result of several factors. One, I don�t shop often. Or, at all. Two, my weight was quite consistent for a long period of time but has increased in frustrating increments over the last two years. A pair of pants fits one day and then not the other. And, other such nonsense. Well, and plus I threw out (donated) a ton of clothes when I moved Downtown. Rightfully so. My wardrobe was hopelessly out of fashion. However, that purge left a huge gap. HUGE. GAP. Suddenly, I was reduced to the rest of my wardrobe, which was everything I refused to wear because it was more horrendous than being out of fashion. I experienced a fashion disaster. Not the first time, I must admit. In the last two years, I�ve tried to build up a wardrobe. Only to be frustrated by random weight gain and weight loss. It�s not been huge � the weight gain/loss � only ten pounds or so, but enough to make my outfits a little too tight. Well, and there�s that whole shifting thing that happens with age. Ahem. But this weekend? I threw caution to the wind. I�m tired of wearing the same stuff over and over. And, for the first time ever in my life, I spent TWO days shopping. For clothes. It�s important to take a step back before going forward. Of course, I�m talking about my fashion history. Dismal to say the least. I�m a third child. Of poor parents. Plus, I was a very small baby/child. I wore doll clothes for my first year since they didn�t make preemie clothes back then. Once I got bigger, my older sisters� clothes became mine. From toddlerhood through high school. EldestSister was much broader than I and DearestSister was� well, she was supposed to share clothes but she didn�t. She was nearer in size though. But, they were both taller than me. By a long shot. I remember the one time my parents bought me new clothes. My freshman year in high school. We drove to the closest city mall which was over an hour away. Once there, I was captivated by the choices as we walked around racks and racks of clothes. However, we ended up in the girls section (read: children�s) at the clearance rack. That�s where my high school wardrobe was purchased � for all four years � for a total of $100. Unfortunately, since it was the children�s section, Strawberry Shortcake (the oringinal one, I might add) was on pretty much every item purchased. My mother was surprised at my lack of enthusiasm since she thought they were �hip� clothes. I never wore the stuff because... Strawberry Shortcake in high school? Yeah, not so much. Throughout high school? I wore EldestSister�s hand me downs that were too big and too long. Lets just say that I learned early on how important a �great personality� is. Perhaps, that�s where my �big� personality comes from. When you�re poor and unfashionable, I suppose a personality helps. Thank goodness I knew about hygiene, had manners and was smart. And, I�m not kidding about that. I knew lots of other kids that suffered in those areas along with lackluster personalities and really bad fashion. Some people can be very unforgiving of those who don't meet the grade, so to speak. (Cross-reference: Bullies... who, ironically usually don't meet the grade. That's why they're big.) Over this weekend, for the first time in my life, I took the time to find clothes that fit well and spent the money to buy them. Trust me, it wasn�t an insignificant investment in time or money. And, it felt great. It was the first time I gave myself the freedom to buy what I really wanted to buy. The first time everything didn�t come off the clearance rack. Some things did and other didn�t. It helped that there was a big sale going on though. I�m not a fool. Foolish maybe, but not a fool. At least when I can help it. I suppose that�s a different story though. All told, I bought seven pairs of pants, ten shirts, one suit jacket, two winter jackets and three pairs of shoes. The most expensive item? A pair of shoes. The ones with the highest heel, of course. Oh, the irony. your thoughts? seed flower