Insightful post - and a moment to treasure as I think this is really helpful. Wear those well fitting pants- enjoy them!!

Sterling- Sorry to be late replying. I have been out of town the last week. Your new pants are great and I hope you are enjoying wearing them. I am so happy for you.

Your initial reaction the next day is so familiar. I always have to warm up to new things, even clothing. New items often sit in my closet while I wear old familiar items. I am such a creature of habit. In the future if a new item is replacing an older item I think I need to immediately purge the old item to force me into wearing the new one right away

Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments. The comments were incredibly therapeutic.

I spent February searching for well fitting slacks for work. Yesterday I began the onerous task of "ruthlessly culling" my wardrobe. I will devote most of March to this task. So no shopping in March, just evaluation and assessment.

Good for you Sterling! And in the meantime, I hope that you continue to wear your nice new things.

GOOD JOB, Sterling.