Too loose, too bold, too black, too old

Posted 2/7/23

As I pondered what to wear to work yesterday morning, it dawned on me that I have an overabundance of clothing from which to choose. This may mean that I do not wear the same thing twice for months …

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Too loose, too bold, too black, too old

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As I pondered what to wear to work yesterday morning, it dawned on me that I have an overabundance of clothing from which to choose. This may mean that I do not wear the same thing twice for months on end, but it also means that the fit and the quality of the clothing varies greatly.

 Fifteen pounds have slid off my body since December. Well, maybe not SLID, but, through hard work swimming a couple of times a week and eating less, I have been losing weight. By doing so, many clothes are a size too big. Not being a person to waste anything, I have still been wearing them. They were really cute when they fit.

Now, the shoulders are too large, the material is too flowing. The oversize dresses now fit me like a tent! With this realization, I went through my closets, bureau drawers and totes to pick out the larger clothes and bag them for a donation to Savers. Ironically, again not wanting to waste anything, I had also been squeezing myself into clothing too small, remnants from my earlier days when I weighed even less. Sure, the buttons may be popping open on the shirts, but what else are safety pins for? The pants are often so tight it hurts to sit down and zipping up the backs of dresses is nearly impossible without Hubby’s strong touch.

 I went through my closets, bureau drawers and totes to pick out the too small clothing and bag them for a donation to Savers. Also in my repertoire of clothing are those fancy, impulse buy items. A gorgeous black dress with gold leaf edging looked great at the store and was on sale for an unbelievably good price. It now sits in the closet, unworn, tags still hanging from the sleeves. The only time I would wear black would be at a funeral, and the gold edging would look too fancy. However, Hubby would not care, he thinks I look great in anything, so I will save it for HIS funeral… I also purchased a brightly colored, embellished sweater that is way too fancy to wear for everyday life. It, too, sits in the closet unworn, along with a type of black satin pants designed for fancy occasions. A bold, purple sequined top hangs nearby, all great items the customers at Savers will appreciate.

Several years ago, I had my “colors” done, and the suggestion was mustard yellow, eggplant purple and pumpkin orange would best suit my skin tone, along with the lighter shades of ivory, cream, khaki, olive green and brown. Do I have any clothes of these colors? Just one pair of khaki pants with no matching shirts or tops. The pants just hang there, unworn.

My “go to” colors are navy blue and black. In fact, I love navy blue so much that my wedding band and engagement ring have sapphires. I have never met a navy-blue outfit that I didn’t love, regardless of the size. The color black also permeates my wardrobe, with black pants and a black patterned tops. However, I just learned that wearing a black shirt can dramatically age my face by highlighting the dark lines under my chin, shadows around my eyes and wrinkles on my cheeks. Another article indicated wearing turquoise, red/violet and periwinkle can be worn by everyone. Not a single item of my clothing boasts those colors. This means that there is plenty of non-flattering colored clothing to donate to Savers. Several turtlenecks lay dormant in my dresser drawer. While I thought that a turtleneck hides my sagging neck and chin, along with my scar from cervical surgery, the reality is they highlight my aged jowls. The turtlenecks will join the rest of the donated clothing, along with the numerous bell bottom jeans that are no longer in style, (and two sizes too small.)

 After going through all of my clothing and taking out everything that is not a preferred color, too small or too large, too out of date, or too fancy, six large bags sit and await delivery to Savers.

Time to go shopping again!

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