Joining the New Year retrospectives with these thoughts, dear fabbers. Here are the gifts Angie and all of you from YLF have given me for the new year. They include:
TIME: Almost five years into YLF, I now have a functional closet. “Functional” for me means that when I go to work, run errands, go on holiday or a special occasion, or simply lounge/work from home, I have clothes that fit, work together, are appropriate for the moment, and that I like. No more “a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear.” I not only save time getting dressed; I now no longer need to shop, open boxes, try on, return, track receipts...what a time-saver!
PRACTICALITY: The clothes are suitable for my lifestyle and that includes footwear. I wrote a few years back in another restrospective that because we must get dressed each day, having a functional wardrobe is as much a necessity as a luxury (relatively speaking—as long as we live in a peaceful, functioning country with adequate food, water, air quality, etc. Then, cloth on one`s back becomes “functional,” and I try not to take this blessing, privilege, luck—whatever you want to call it—for granted). Included in practicality for me is footwear. With short legs, I did not realize before YLF how easy it is to fix a lot of ills with high heels—but of course, then one can`t walk without jeopardizing safety, comfort...or often, dry and warm feet. Angie is the best teacher for “how” to do things. I have learned how to lengthen the leg line without heels and am much healthier for it!
KNOWLEDGE: This is hard won. Tips, tricks and details come wide and deep, and so my cumulative awareness of how, what, and why to choose certain items over others for my body and my lifestyle have come from Angie and all of you, who put her vast know-how into action. Knowledge allows me to buy less often, wear what I have (and in varying combinations), and understand “why” I like something or don`t, why I “need” something or don`t, why I should/shouldn`t buy on sale, invest in quality or a trend...in other words, make choices about clothing I purchase and wear. I also just bought The Triumph of Individual Style and am blown away. I remember a thread about such epiphany-inducing books (from Roxanne? Suz? Carla? Janet? Lisa? Someone else?) and would greatly appreciate a reference to the threads and/or the books, since I cannot seem to find them. I may privately message some of you for help!</p> <p>WISDOM: For me, wisdom answers some of the biggest questions of all: Why care about clothes at all, for example? I remember Lisa writing that she gets her happiness elsewhere; I have always felt this way about the word “confidence” in connection with clothing. i can be very confident in my abilities while looking as far from the cultural ideal of beauty as possible and have had to be at various points in my life (she says only partly humorously. I mean, the show must go on, right)? This wisdom is born of necessity, too. If we are caregivers, or if we ourselves need for whatever reason care, we have sleepless nights, weight fluctuations, and all kinds of other obstacles that thwart our ability to put together a “look.” How I look becomes the last priority on my agenda. Also, expensive clothing items or jewelry can get lost, broken or damaged, etc., thwarting any notion of “investment dressing to last forever.” In this regard, Angie`s holding zone concept has been a miracle worker. Too good or too utilitarian to let go, even if not immediately functional, clothing in that closet has served me time and again as my needs or temporary circumstances change. I don`t have to buy; my newest needs are right on hand through old workhorses, and my closet is, well, FUNCTIONAL.
Which brings me full circle. Thank you for your gifts of time, practicality, knowledge and wisdom, YLF, that you have given me into 2020. May these gifts also be yours!
