GLOSSING OVER IT

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Summer Wardrobe Syndrome

Posted on | May 25, 2012 | 14 Comments

Dress, H&M, $12.95

I have a recurring problem that pops up every year around this time. My husband has come to anticipate it. The sequence goes a little something like this:

First, I stand inside my closet with my hands on my hips and declare that “I have no summer clothes.”

Then I remember that they’ve been packed away in a huge Rubbermaid tub since September. I retrieve said tub and promptly throw half its contents into a bags destined for Goodwill, ReThreads (my favorite secondhand store), or an upcoming swap party. A garment gets tossed in a bag if it meets any of the following descriptions: (a) I can’t zip it or can only zip it if I suck in my stomach, (b) I’ve worn it so many times it disgusts me to look at it, or (c) it’s too short to be respectable on my not-getting-any-younger ass (“too short” is, of course, a subjective term, as is “respectable”).

Target hat, $14.99

After I’ve sorted through everything, I stand in the middle of the closet with my hands on my hips and again declare, “I have no summer clothes.”

Once I’ve gone through everything, I hang up the items that survived the foregoing test.  And my closet looks rah-ther empty. Luckily,  stores at this time of year are loaded with fun and trendy options like the ones shown here. And they’re affordable enough that, if I wear them all summer long and then, lo and behold, they end up in one of the Goodwill bags next year, I feel okay about it.

 

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Category: budget-friendly, fashion, seasonal, style, summer, Uncategorized
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Comments

14 Responses to “Summer Wardrobe Syndrome”

  1. Kerri
    May 25th, 2012 @ 2:29 pm

    So true! Great ideas. I start saying this every spring when we have one unexpected warm day and I am unprepared. I only disagree here: I think you ARE getting younger. Or you live in a time machine and keep coming to the future. I swear you look as young and unwrinkled as the day I met your 18 year old self.

  2. Susan
    May 25th, 2012 @ 2:34 pm

    Thanks, Kerri. I know a good photographer and that makes all the difference ;)

  3. Claudia
    May 26th, 2012 @ 5:34 am

    I liked that hat. That’s really gorgeous. And also affordable.

  4. Atta
    May 27th, 2012 @ 7:21 am

    Ah, humour…

  5. megan, the frugalista diaries
    May 28th, 2012 @ 2:08 pm

    ah, i know that feeling!

  6. Glamamom
    May 28th, 2012 @ 4:33 pm

    Ha ha. I do the same thing!

    Love your header btw.

  7. Ruta
    May 28th, 2012 @ 6:59 pm

    Haha, I loved this story. I never pack away my summer clothes. I wouldn’t say I really have seasonal clothes. Obviously there are some pieces that just cannot be worn all year, but I like to layer a lot so I end up rewearing a ton of stuff all year, so I never really end up with the no summer clothes problem. Although I do get bored of my clothes, so hence the “i have no clothes” problem.

  8. Jimmy
    May 29th, 2012 @ 5:12 am

    I guess the problem is the trendy part. I go for items that never goes out of fashion, so I can be sure that I have something to wear the next summer.

  9. Alyssa
    May 29th, 2012 @ 11:44 pm

    Oh yeah. Amen to that

    Alyssa from Wheat Grass Juicer

  10. Style Maniac
    May 30th, 2012 @ 7:32 am

    Umm, are we twins separated at birth?! I do the exact same thing. (Also insert “spring” in that sentence.) What is it about summer clothes — they get crummy looking so fast.

    My only salvation for summer dressing has been to co-opt bathing suit coverups as street clothes. Works most of the time if you are in a creative field. But when I recently had a meeting at a downtown office I had to go on a serious shopping safari to hunt down a real skirt, top and close-toed shoes.

  11. Gabrielle @ LookSharpSconnie
    June 1st, 2012 @ 4:31 pm

    Ahh! I am so glad you commented because this is the coolest blog and I’m so happy to have found it.

    I chuckled aloud at this – because I literally do the exact same thing. Except where you clean house, I whip out a second Rubbermaid container and proceed to indulge my inexcusable hording tendencies for yet another season.

    Which Rethreads do you go to? I heard the one not on state street is better than the one on it – but I’ve yet to get there.

    And Vinny’s once a week?! Crazy! What do you buy? What’s your best purchase ever?

    Thanks for the comment and for directing me here!

    -Gabrielle

  12. Susan
    June 1st, 2012 @ 4:35 pm

    Gabrielle, I live right near the St. Vinny’s on Willy Street, so sometimes my weekly visit is just a quick pass-through on my way to somewhere else. My favorite purchase was a midcentury Lane end table. Gorgeous! Thanks for stopping by the blog.

  13. Kristin
    June 4th, 2012 @ 1:28 pm

    Been there…That’s when I usually go on a maxi shopping spree. Haha!

  14. Mick
    June 7th, 2012 @ 5:41 am

    I guess men are luckier in terms of clothing. We can get away with wearing almost the same items all year round, which is almost impossible for women.

    I know what you mean; my wife also complains about the same thing.

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