Recently I received a kind
invitation to a birthday hoolie at
the Irish pub in Thessaloniki. And what caught my attention was the plea, ‘No
presents PLEASE’. I think we can all relate to that as we have more belongings
than we can ever need. The time was when
we – at least some of us – had our school clothes or everyday wear and then our
‘good’ outfit - maybe more than one if we were lucky – which may well have been
hand-me-downs at that!
Now, hands up those who take ages
getting ready to go out because we can’t decide what to wear or because we know
what we want but can’t find it among the many clothes crammed in the closets!
(I don’t believe your hanging-space is restricted to a singular item of
furniture!)
With the changing of the season comes the task
of stashing away the heavy gear and bringing out the cottons and linens. Our
fairly extreme Greek climate means quite different garbs are donned in
different seasons. Right now is that weird in-between-times when it’s quite
cool still in the morning and evening , so leather jackets and boots can be
seen walking alongside T-shirts and sandals.
Sometimes during the seasonal rummage, you
pounce upon something that hasn’t been off its hanger for ages, and it is
exactly what you feel like wearing. Like an unexpected pleasurable reunion with
an old friend. Other outfits glare out
at you from the farthest recesses where for some reason they’ve been relegated
to and are as good as discarded. What makes us keep individual items of
clothing we no longer wear? What brings out the hoarder in us?
For me it’s often a long-since-forged emotional
tie that stops me ‘casting the cloot’ – that makes me reluctant to weed it out.
Almost certainly it takes us back to a certain time/place spot where life felt
great and that outfit in part sourced the delight of our reminiscences as it
expressed exactly who we were then. Another emotional link is that it may have
been given to you by a dear friend – who is almost guaranteed to know your
style and taste. The green, black-striped tunic below was given to me by
Angeliki. Light and comfortable, its fabric never creases and it’s a
go-anywhere piece. The dress, given by Marisa, is really fluid – a wonderful
cover-all at festive times and, its rich, gold tones go beautifully with an
amber necklace given me as a leaving-Yemen gift.
I’m a
great one for a bargain! I once bought a truly up-market wool coat whose price
was slashed – as was the coat itself. But a spot of magic tailoring had the rend
rendered invisible. This midi-length,
double-breasted piece is a timeless classic that continues to serve me well. After
30 years, I still love wearing it. The
red jacket below was bought in a surplus stock outlet. The oriental style, in
good-luck red, with the rich gold-embroidered chrysanthemums always collects
compliments. The cream ¾ jacket alongside had had an unhappy experience:
someone had stepped on it leaving clear footprints. With a dry brush the marks
lifted off nicely so, at a 40 % mark down, I felt I got a bargain in what I now call my …. duster coat!
It may
also be a particular fabric design, with a pleasing pattern or colour combo –
the style may now be really passé yet you can immediately take pleasure in its
artistic harmony. The blouse below has clearly not been cut well, but the
beautiful design of the peach, lemon and
white lilies on black has always been a delight to me. It’s now coming to bits
but instead of getting the heave it is now reclassified as gardening gear.
Now clearly I would never wear the blouse and
trews together but they do match in the sense they show my love for floral
patterns on a dark background. The trousers are one of my favourites and, worn
with a flowing, green silk shirt, definitely belong to my ‘feeling chic’ category.
Or it
could be – and this is the hard one – that it has been stored in your
designated ‘thin’ wardrobe? One you keep promising yourself that by month
X/event Y, your spare-tyre will have melted, thawed and resolved itself into a
dew and you will get into it and you
will look divine, darling! That is the case for this M&S piece – again note
the oriental essence – and I have promised myself I can wear this unusual diagonal-cut
top in the summer, looking sleek…. :o
Then
there’s the alter ego in us – the Kardashian wannabe? – which collects slinky
evening trousers, crepe pencil skirts and tops with more than a soupcon of
sparkle. I have a rather smart oyster jacket which I lusted after for an entire
season. When I found it on 50 % reduction, I snatched it. It still lies
languishing, label-intact. And though I love it, I can honestly say I haven’t
yet found climate and occasion colluding to make it appropriate apparel. Perhaps
these are purchases where we’ve been trying to buy into a lifestyle?
I
started out with a project of paper-clearance with which one does not have such
a close identification. There is nothing quite like the joy of having freed-up shelf-space,
empty folders and lots of extra cellophane envelopes to reinforce the sense
that jettisoning journals and decimating documents is a worthwhile chore. You
promise it will never get to that chaotic state ever again and from now on your
data will be permanently and instantly retrievable. Hmmmm!
Once in established ruthless mode, it’s time to
take a really deep breath, open the wardrobe doors wide and pile the out-ed
items high on a nearby spare bed. Be brutally honest about the chances of ever
wearing each piece again, fling it out with gay abandon! It sometimes helps to
establish a pending corner where you calmly accumulate all those pieces that
you’re not quite ready to part with – and which are likely to feature in your
next outfit-out!
Finally, think of who might really appreciate
wearing your cute cast-offs. Somehow knowing that they are going to someone who
will appreciate them and enjoy wearing them will make your callous expulsion
more of a sweet surrender.
Do excuse me – I have a wee delivery to make! :)
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