Fall . . . the season Michigan does best. My favorite time of year.
A number of years ago I read a fun book entitled Wear More Cashmere by Jennifer "Gin" Sander. The subtitle is 151 Luxurious Ways to Pamper Your Inner Princess. In it, the author encourages women to treat themselves to special pleasures and to enjoy them every day.
I didn't own any cashmere at the time and thought that a cashmere sweater in my wardrobe would be the epitome of chic and classic style. Fast forward a few years and I have three beautiful cashmere sweaters in cream, pink, and pale blue.
But I'm letting them go.
I knew I couldn't wear wool, but I had thought cashmere would be different. And I ignored the discomfort at first, thinking only about how luxurious they were. But. They itch.
My cashmere sweaters have come from Garnet Hill, Talbots, and Everlane. Maybe an extra-fancy, ultra-refined $500 cashmere sweater would not itch? I don't know, but I'll probably never find out. (In case you love cashmere and it loves you, I think the Garnet Hill sweater, the blue one, is the nicest.)
So here I am, donating three beautiful cashmere sweaters.
If it's uncomfortable and you don't feel good in it, it's not worth it! Someone else will really appreciate it.
Have you ever had this buyer's regret? Spent good money on something then realized your mistake? Maybe kept wearing or using something even though it didn't feel right? Or worse, let it languish in a closet or cupboard somewhere, and feeling guilty every time you see it?
Better to cut your losses and get rid of it. Try to learn the lesson and not repeat your mistake.
From now on, it's 100 percent cotton for me. Or silk. But no wool of any kind.
Another thing I've realized is not working anymore is dresses and high heels. My favorite things to wear. But after I've replaced just about everything in my wardrobe because of my weight loss, I'm not replacing the dresses. Of course, I have a few. For church. One for funerals, sadly a necessity. But we haven't been to church since March because of COVID. And really dresses don't work for my life. It's too cold most of the year here in Michigan. I've also realized that I favored dresses because I thought they were more flattering when I had extra weight on me.
These are so beautiful. But, seriously? What was I thinking?
I've taken to heart what some minimalist wardrobe experts have called "not shopping for a fantasy life." Mine would be very dressy -- beautiful dresses, high heels, lots of special occasions to go to. But realistically, this isn't my life. My new closet needs to reflect the fact that I spend most, almost all, of my days in very casual activities.
So, as I've been re-building my wardrobe after this weight loss, I've let go of some of the lovely, "fantasy" items -- the ones that I thought were luxurious (cashmere) but in reality were uncomfortable and itchy, and let go of the idea that my life is going to be a fancy, dress-up party every day.
Here I am with my husband at a friend's cottage on Lake Huron in August. This reflects my daily "uniform" these days. Easy and casual and comfortable. And that's good by me.