Recently at work I was teased for some dress pants I was wearing. I have had the same dress pants, all five of them, for seven years.
Two officers that are on our campus joked saying my pants were really long and were going to soak up all the rain. "Eh yeah they are...thanks," was all I could think to reply.
I admit, I've never been super lavish when it comes to how I dress. Things like the hem coming undone (the case with these pants) have never been a big deal to me.
My long unhemmed pants
I forget that we are judged by what we wear, until it happens. One time I was wearing sweats and a bandana while shopping for a mattress. I have tattoos on one arm and I wore my hoop earrings that day. I wasn't treated very well by the man who worked there as I probably looked intimidating. It's times like that I wish I could give them my resume to show I'm not what they expect.
Growing up we wore uniforms to school and didn't shop for clothes much. My mom has a bad shopping habit and I probably could have asked for any clothes I wanted, but we all wore the same things every week. Even though my mom shopped a lot, my parents were the same way. I never felt ashamed by this because everyone I ever knew wore a school uniform. When I went to public school I dressed in sweats, large shirts, and sweatshirts because I was very insecure. I never took my sweatshirts off. It wasn't until after I had my first daughter a month before I graduated high school that I promised to make myself look more presentable.
I was still really broke since I was a teen mom and was only working and going to school part time, so I still wore the same outfits every week. I went to dinner with a friend when my daughter was two (she came along too), I really felt the pressure to change the way I looked. I was embarrassed by the way I was dressed, so the guy friend (who I was trying really hard to impress at the time) offered for me to wear one of his sweaters. I had arrived to his house wearing the same sweatshirt with the logo of the community college I was attending. I wore more fitting shirts and jeans to fulfill my promise to dress nicer after high school, but I wore that sweatshirt every week. After that moment, I spent a little more money on clothes to look nicer, because after all, I "deserved it" for how hard I was working.
I spent a few years shopping to impress others and dress nice. Now I feel like I have come full circle with trying to become a minimalist by simplifying my wardrobe. I am striving to look nice for myself, but I also no longer feel the pressure to dress to impress others.
I decided to get rid of those long pants I was teased for wearing, but not because I was teased for wearing them; I am getting rid of them because if I had my oldest daughter hem them, they would be too short for me. I am also getting rid of them because in the Uncluttered course I am taking, the challenge this last week is to get rid of clothes. I got rid of a lot of clothes while on maternity leave, but I still feel that I have too much. I feel this way when it takes a week for our couch to clear from the clean laundry. I feel this way looking at the clothes that are strewn across my floor once they make it from the couch to the stairs. I would like to be in a place where I no longer have to worry about dealing with so much laundry.
My daughter did save one of my pants by hemming them, so I am down to four dress pants. I am down to two pairs of jeans, though only one still fits me well (I know, I need to get rid of the others, but I'm hopeful they will fit again soon).
The pants my daughter hemmed. I forgot to tell her to use black thread, but it's OK. It gives it character.
I had 30 school shirts last year, and now I am down to about 8. I swore that I would not contribute to another students fundraiser while trying to get out of debt (because it is us teachers who support them the most lol) and lo and behold, here I am unable to say no because these kiddos are so good this year. So I have decided to donate and let the kid keep the shirt I am buying. I don't need another school themed shirt and the kids like to get one for free.
I am still working to clear more clothes out so I can only deal with a few items at a time. I used to be worried that kids would make fun of what I wore because my school friends and I were such assholes in middle school. We made fun of our Spanish teacher for wearing the same clothes every day (so sorry!), so I was worried the same would happen to me. I am now at a point where I feel like I can mix it up enough for people not to notice. Anything to have more time with my babies and less time cleaning!
Also, the course is good so far, very similar to The Joy of Less book, but with a support group. I look forward to focus on getting rid of more in the next module. I feel that the fee covers for a membership to join the support group, which has been very supportive! I was in a minimalist mom group before this and I removed myself because it was a bit stressful. In this group, everyone has been very kind and it's nice to all go through the process together! 😊
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