I am a clothing minimalist. I wear it to protect me from the elements and furniture. Oh yeah, and there’s the whole societal dim view of public nudity. I say this by way of introduction of my question: Why do some people amass huge clothing/shoe wardrobes?
I’m not being critical - I just don’t understand it. And not only the sheer quantity - I don’t understand the appeal of $500 shoes and $2000 dresses. Is there something in the quality and fit of a multi-hundred dollar pair of shoes that eclipses my $35 Dr. Scholl’s walking shoes? Do you buy high-end designer stuff for your pleasure or to be seen in it? (Which, I suppose, is a pleasure unto itself.)
If you have tons of clothing, do you wear it all frequently, or are there one-shot outfits that will never be chosen again? Do you have a regular rotation? Do you wear specific outfits for specific people or occasions? Do you generally wear more than one outfit a day?
This thread isn’t a shot at anyone. It’s none of my business how anyone else spends disposable funds. I’d really like to understand why some people really like clothing and/or shoes. Is it the same reason some people collect Beanies or Barbies or antiques or whatever? (I don’t do any of that either.)
So, what’s the deal? Educate me, please. Yeah, this was inspired by this thread and I didn’t want to hijack it.
I love clothes. But I’m very picky and hard-to-fit, so I don’t have nearly as much as I’d like. I wear two outfits in a day if I’m doing something after work. I prefer jeans to anything else, but they have to fit “just so.” I like different tops and I love shoes, but don’t have lots of 'em.
As for spending big bucks, I am a moderate spender. My husband didn’t know what to get me for my birthday. I had been complaining that I couldn’t find shoes I liked, except for some Bruno Magli’s I found on line. He told me to go ahead and spend $300 on a pair of shoes. “WooHOO!” cried Kalhoun. But when it got down to it, I just couldn’t spend that much on a pair of shoes. If my financial situation was WAAAAAAY fucking different, I might. But at my age, I’m not sure I could grow accustomed to spending so much on something to cover my feet in.
It’s hard to explain, FCM. I think I got my addiction for good clothing/shoes/bags from my mom. Also, I don’t like wearing the same item in a six-week period. It’s just one of my hang-ups.
As for acquiring designer/advanced labels, I don’t know. It’s just fun to own/wear an item not all people will have. Don’t get me wrong, my wardrobe’s only about 30% designer labels. I prefer pairing my designer items with basic items from stores like Banana Republic, Ann Taylor and their ilk.
I don’t know if I can explain the appeal. It’s like the way some people look at a half-dressed Chippendale’s dancer or a baby in a stroller or a brand new Lincoln Navigator and think, “That is something I want.”
I don’t really get the appeal of THOSE things, but I just chalk it up to being someone’s “thing”. My “thing” is that I love things I can wear; clothes, shoes, you name it.
And truthfully, though I might spend more $$$ on clothing if I HAD more $$$, I’m like Kalhoun–I doubt if I could bring myself to spend 300 bucks on shoes, or $2,000 for a dress.
Basically, I buy (or, in some cases, just covet) items of clothing that I like, whether it be an over-priced top at a shi-shi boutique, a vintage sundress from Ebay, or a skirt on the sale rack at the Gap. And it’s actually the latter–the “shopping coup”, as it were–which makes me happiest. If I find something that I LOVE, and it also happens to be on super-sale, I consider it nothing short of Divine Intervention.
(Of course, I don’t know WHO was intervening when SkipMagic went for a Harlequin MomentTM and ripped the hell out of my most delicious shopping coup, a beautiful white button-down linen shirt I got at the Gap for ten bucks–do you know how much a good linen shirt goes for these days??? :eek: )
As for how often I wear stuff, I do tend to get “attached” to one or two items/outfits at a time, and wear them as much as I can get away with until I get sick of them. Then I “discover” them a few months or a year later, and it’s like a Peaches & Herb moment; thus the love affair begins anew.
Yeah, I’ll wear the bejeezus out of something (I’m currently addicted to my Carlos Santana sandals, with the 3 1/2 inch stiletto heels and ankle straps…mmm…) and then I burn out on it. I really want to lose the little love handle thing I have going on. Then I’m going to get me a slinky dress. To wear with my Carlos Santanas. I could use some fun jewelry right now.
Carlos Santana has a clothing line? I knew Bob Marley did, but Carlos? I had no clue!
I gotta change my evil ways!
But since we’re sharing, right now I’m groovin’ on this vintage Hawaiian print cotton maxi sundress I got from Ebay (which SkipMagichates–he thinks it makes me look pregnant–so I probably wear it less often than I would otherwise), and my usual summer staples: a zebra-print XOXO skirt, a denim J.Crew skirt, and my “Kiss Me”, “Love Muffin”, and “Cowboy” tank tops.
I’m off to see if Carlos Santana sells his stuff on line.
May as well throw in a guy’s opinion. I’ve got a few pairs of shoes. I’m actually down from my peak right now, and am starting to feel like I hardly have any shoes to wear out. I’m now at about 20 pairs.
I just plain dig shoes. I think they’re a great way to express yourself. I like to take a rather normal-looking setup of jeans and a tee, in which I would never stand out, and throw them with something like a bright red pair of bowling-ish shoes. Suddenly, I stand out.
While I’d like to spend more on clothing, I can rarely convince myself to spend the big bucks. I find something I like but then tell myself that there’s no way I can justify a hundred bucks for a shirt. Consequently, I do most of my purchasing at Winner’s (the Canadian equivalent of TJ Maxx) and Wal-Mart. God, I love Wal-Mart. Of course, you have to replace Wal-Mart stuff far more often and it probably comes out to the same thing, money-wise.
I’ve heard from people that a $200 suit will make you look like two hundred bucks, but a $2000 suit will make you look (and feel) like a million. I dunno. I’ve got a couple of Boss suits, and while I must admit that they feel and fit very, very well, I’m not certain that they do enough to justify the cost. Then again, I’m not in a career where I really need to fit in with others wearing designer suits. For some, it would be a no-no to try to get away with an off-the-rack while their peers are in designer suits.
The exception to this is the price of dress shoes. While it’s certainly not always the case, in general, I find that the quality of shoes goes up almost logarithmically. For every extra hundred bucks you spend on dress shoes, your shoes are about ten times better than the previous marker. This seems to peak around $400. Those $400 shoes look amazing, feel amazing, actually help to keep you from tiring out during the day and actually give you more energy. They’re weird that way. They are worth every single penny.
That from a male clothes and shoe junkie. Oh, and it helps that I enjoy shopping.
I’m with Auntie Em on this one! I love clothes, and shoes, and bags, and accessories–love it all! The best part, though, is finding it on sale. I’ll stalk an item for a couple of weeks till it comes down in price. Sometimes, if I’m really lucky, I’ll be able to use a store coupon or gift certificate to make the moment really special. You’d be surprised how many stores offer printable coupons at their web sites–decent discounts, too. There’s nothing like the thrill of the hunt and the smell of the mall at opening time, first thing in the morning!
Mom is total clothes and shoe horse - so was my grandma, so it’s genetic.
Here’s the real reason - when I was a kid I moved around a lot. I had started at a new school in grade 8 and was anxious to fit in. It’s tough to always be the new kid and I liked to minimize the amount of attention I got - if I didn’t offend anyone, no one would pick on me. I’d never been that concerned with clothing before - I liked nice things, but I wasn’t really whiped into a froth about it. As long as stuff was clean, that was good enough for me.
So, I’m at the new school. I had a couple of fresh pairs of jeans and some fresh tops to wear.
About a month in a somewhat popular girl in my class (not really popular, but not unpopular either) came up to me and said “Excuse me - haven’t you worn that outfit 3 times this week?” in a very sneering tone. I sessed it out. I HAD worn the outfit about 3 times - it was still clean (I was always a clean kid), but had certainly been worn.
I was totally mortified. I vowed to myself that I would never wear the same thing two days in a row again. By the following year (grade 9) I was the girl with the great clothes. I got a part time job specifically so I could get more clothing and never have to duplicate an outfit.
I guess it’s sort of a phobia. I have lots of things that I wear once or twice and get rid of. I can’t help myself.
I do have favorites that I’ll wear more than once, and I’m still known as the girl with the fabulous clothes.
There you go. Alice in Wonderland pathology layed out for all to see.
I’m not much of a shoe person, although I’m looking at updating my collection to match my clothes. If anyone here could recommend some knee high boots with a thin stiletto-like heel (like the boots Monica wore in Friends that cost a month’s rent and killed her feet) I’d be muchly grateful.
I guess people have different things that they love to splurge on. My boyfriend loves music, so he buys tons of CDs, the latest soundcards and speakers for his computer, and is about to purchase a 20 gig mp3 player. For me it’s clothes. I recently spent almost $400 on a no-name dress (well at the time I believed it was, but I’ve since been told that it’s not as unknown as I thought). I knew that I would buy the dress as soon as I slipped it on in the change room - before I even looked in the mirror. I had never felt silk so luscious before; like incredibly soft suede that was buttery and silky at the same time. When I saw how amazing the dress looked on, I was practically sobbing with relief at what a bargain I was getting.
My favourite clothing evokes particular moods. That dress makes me feel ultra feminine and seductive. My white shearling jacket makes me feel cosy and all ice-princessy. I also have clothes that are favourites simply because they go with everything. I’ve heard the rough figure that most people wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. I’m not sure how true that is for most people, but it’s pretty spot-on for me. I have some clothes that don’t even fit me, but I keep for the pleasure of looking at. Additionally my taste runs to more unique-looking pieces, which means they’re difficult to wear on a regular basis.
I love clothes. I don’t really go for the expensive stuff; I try to find stuff that I like that costs less. I generally don’t like to wear any outfit more than once every two weeks. Personally, I just think that makeup/clothes/shoes are fun. I’ll try to pick The Perfect Outfit for every occasion.
I bought a fabulous pair of Via Spigas about 2 months ago.
They’re knee high soft camel colored punched suede with a side zip and a 4" stiletto heel. They’re very comfortable and sooooo fabulous - sometimes I just want to take them to bed with me.
Anyhow - I paid $550 - worth every penny - they feel so good.
Of course, I’m about 6’ tall in them… Can you say Barbarella?
I couldn’t find the shoes on the website - only calf and ankle-length ones. Which is a pity because your boots sound to die for, and 4" heels are looking pretty nice to my 5’2" self.
Which reminds me that I need to buy a leather jacket as well. Between the jacket and the boots, I’m going to need to rob a bank or something. le sigh
I’m a guy. If I have an article of clothing I like, I’ll wear it until it falls apart.
That’s not to say I don’t enjoy getting new stuff: I just don’t usually spend money on it. About 70% of my woredrobe is made up of holiday/other event presents. Fine by me.
I’m also a big fan of shoes, but I never buy any. I have only three pair (excepting the rotten ones the government gave to me and makes me wear every day) - all of which are more than four years old. I have a cheap pair of sneakers that are … well worn, and two pairs of boots. I loves me boots. Got Doc Martins and some Carolina motorcycle boots. That’s it.
Probably my biggest expense is jackets. Gotta have leather jackets. I have three now - one for every occasion.
Otherwise, all I have is three pairs of jeans, about five t-shirts, four sweaters, and … er. Yeah. That’s it.
For “dressy” occasions I have two nice button-up shirts with two matching ties and a a single pair of Dockers. No suits, no nothing.
I found a pair of microfiber boots that look like suede but are stretchy and have three inch heels–very nice looking and very comfy, too, and only $39.99. I found them in the Lane Bryant catalog (they carry all kinds of sizes and widths in their shoes.)
Sorry for hijacking this, FairyChatMom, this kind of thing seems to just happen when we start talking clothes and shoes!
I guess the reason I don’t understand any of this is because I view clothing as being purely utilitarian. If I’m comfortable, I feel good. If I’m all gussied up, I’m not comfortable, so I’m not particularly happy. I suppose I missed out on the “girly” gene.
Years ago, I used to collect T-shirts from places I visited - a souvenir that I could wear. And I did wear them, till they were rags. So much for those souvenirs!
My husband is much more of a clothing freak than I am. He especially likes outerwear - jackets and fleece pullovers. He has the larger of the walk-in closets in our house, and before he moved most of his stuff to the boat, his closet was crammed full. And a lot of the things in there hadn’t been worn in ages, yet when I asked him to clear stuff out for Goodwill, he claimed he didn’t have anything to get rid of. Interestingly, after he moved on the boat, I managed to cull quite a bit from his closet. And I know he’ll never miss the stuff that’s gone. 'Cause he’s bought more… sheesh…
Yes, indeed!! Love it, love it. The merchandise is awesome, and it arrives packaged very neatly, with prepaid label for returns. Incredible discounts - I shop there all the time!
JuanitaTech, why, why would you do this to me? I found several perfect boots at bluefly (there are some lovely ones by Giuseppe Zanotti) but they only come in 8.5! So close and yet so far.
