A couple of days ago, while waiting at the grocery checkout line I was clicking through a Buzzfeed piece that I came across. The topic I chanced upon was how Sarah Jessica Parker buys clothes. I might as well have taken an interest in how Martians cook dinner. This person and her clothing is so out of my realm that inspiration from a Martian recipe might have been more relatable. But I read on and learned that she buys new items of clothing rather rarely and when she does she asks herself if the piece she is considering is one she would want to wear 10-15 years out. Suddenly, I found myself relating to someone whose way of life is infinitely removed from mine. Couple of thoughts crossed my mind when I read this.
The first - it is a great idea and one I fully agree with. The second - it would be hard to execute on for the average person for multiple reasons. Clothes that someone like me would consider reasonably priced and even on the high end are no longer made to last. I have clothes from my childhood that are as good as new - J wore them as a baby and they have been put away for the next generation. My father bought them on his business trips abroad but they were items a very middle class person could afford. Today, such items simply do not exist at the kind of price point. So owing a piece that will stand the test of time is out of reach for the average person.
Then comes the ravages of time - physical and mental. There are many items in my wardrobe from two decades ago that I still like and still fit me - but they no longer feel right. I don't feel like myself when I wear them because the person who bought them unrecognizably different from who I am now. I believe this kind of harsh transformation is also the realm of the average person who has to cope with a lot without the endless resources of the rich. So while her idea is laudable, I don't think it is meant for folks like me.
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