shopping happiness

Every August, I get the urge to purge my closet and go clothes shopping as part of my back-to-school preparations. Partly, I think it's the slight confusion I feel, faced with the prospect of putting together teaching outfits next week, when I've been wearing jeans, cargo pants, and t-shirts all summer. Simply remembering what I used to wear to work seems like an effort. Plus, there's the slow decay of my wardrobe. I weed out a few things every year, but I'm thinking I need to start timestamping my clothes. After five years, most of my jackets and pants really need to be put out of rotation (I'm not that into "timeless" "classics". Especially since the cut of even basic clothes changes.)

This year I feel more frustrated than usual with my wardrobe, since I've lost a few inches and many of my clothes no longer fit the same. I'm going to have to re-hem most of my pants, since they're hanging down lower now. Some things I can just wear baggier, but some are really looking like shapeless sacks.

So yesterday I gave in to the urge and did a little shopping. And for the first time in years, I am so happy with the styles in the stores. My essential, fundamental tastes in fashion and music were formed in the 80s. So I was thrilled to find skinny black jeans and these boots on sale. They remind me of both my favorite elf boots from high school, and the punk boots I wore in college. There are other 80s styles I'm not interested in -- those shirts with huge ruffles down the front, for instance -- but I'm psyched that pants are finally narrowing. Flared pants are just not that good on a shorter person. Old Navy was rocking an awesome 80s soundtrack while I was in there, too... it's almost enough to make me bust out some purple eyeliner. (I already switched to a more extreme hair product a month or two ago.)

It's been a long, long time since I felt this excited about getting some new clothes. Of course, this isn't a full wardrobe overhaul yet, but now I feel even more motivated to clear the big baggy pants out of my closet.