Selfish Mom

Fashion Monday. That’s right, I said fashion.

Dec 1, 2009 Fashion

The Bloodbath

If you had told me a few months ago that I would want to write a post about fashion – fashion and me, that is – I would have said you were crazy and would have shown you my closet.  Because it was filled with cheap, ill-fitting crap that made me look ten pounds heavier or like a time traveler from the early 90s.  Or both.

But now my closet looks a bit better.  It still needs tons of work, but now there’s hope.  It all started with what I call The Bloodbath.  I had won a three hour wardrobe consultation at a school auction, and then the person giving the consultation – a fashionista mom from my ‘hood named Meg Gallagher – moved to California.  Which worked out great for me, because I figured that by the next time she saw me I’d be a size 8 and we could do some serious work.

She came back for a week a few months later and I was, of course, roughly the same weight as when she left.  But I wasn’t sure when she’d be in NYC next so I let her came over, and the consultation began easily enough.  She asked me a bunch of questions about my lifestyle (lazy), my buying habits (terrible) and my personal sense of style (non-existent).  Then I tried on my clothes.  All of them.  In 2.5 hours I tried on everything in my closet, with the exception of a few items that were so hideous she didn’t even need to see them on me.  80% of it went into a heap to be given away/thrown out/burned.  I grabbed a few of the comfiest items back, swearing to her that I would only wear them around the house.  But the rest went.  I looked at the huge pile and thought about all of the money I had wasted on those clothes.  Some had never been worn.  How the hell did I end up with so many clothes and so little to wear?

What kills me is that I knew what she was going to hate and why, most of the time.  But I had to bring someone else into my closet and make me throw the junk out.  I never would have done it without her standing there telling me it had to be done.

How it happened

I’m cheap.  You’d never know it from my spending habits but I’m cheap.  It’s not what I pay for things that matter to me, it’s how good a deal I’m getting on the item.  It doesn’t matter if it looks terrible on me and I’ll never wear it: if it’s 90% off and I can button or zip it, it leaves the store with me.  I’ve been doing that for decades, in every size from 6 to 18.  And spending money on a fashion consultant?  Why in the world would I waste money on that?  That’s for rich people.  If you need me I’ll be elbow deep in the clearance rack at Old Navy.

But if, 15 or so years ago, I had gone shopping with a personal shopper or hired a consultant, I would have ended up spending far less in the long run and looking much better.  I don’t know when exactly I was supposed to learn how to put together an outfit, but it never happened.  So, while Meg was with me, I paid attention to what she was making me throw out.  The things she let me keep weren’t exactly great items, but she couldn’t leave me naked so she had to let me keep something.  Before she left she impressed upon me the importance of layering, of belts, and of colors, three things I had never paid attention to before at all.

Shopping smarter

In the couple months that have passed I’ve been slowly building my wardrobe back up.  Apparently, I’m a fall.  I’ve been buying sweaters and shirts in earth tones.  And I invested in a couple of good belts, big ones that I can use with big sweaters so that I don’t look like I’m being tented for termites.  And most importantly, every time I’ve gone shopping I’ve only purchased things that I want to wear, right then.  No more leaving a store with a bunch of “great deals” that will hang in my closet with the (severely reduced) tags on.  I’ve purchased some jewelry, something I never used to do.  And I haven’t spent a lot of money, either.  I’m still looking for deals, but only after I determine if the look is right for me.

You still won’t find me at Bryant Park, but at least now I can look halfway decent.  Meg recently sent me a shopping list, so that’s my next project.

Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.

Tags: Meg Gallagher, Shopping, wardrobe consultation