The Great American Apparel Diet
no buying for one year

Lori W

Like many women, I have way too many clothes. I'm 51, married for almost 5 years to my FIRST husband (I was a late bloomer!) and was obviously single for 46 years. During that time, I've amassed an enormous wardrobe.   A bit of the back story -- raised by a single mother (of 4) who not only loved fashion but had little money for nice things, I grew up going to yard sales and consignment/thrift stores where I learned to turn other people's seldom-worn purchases into beloved items in my wardrobe. My mother taught me to recognize classics, fine fabrics and good workmanship. I've always been a bargain hunter/sale shopper, and have very few items I don't wear or that were poor purchases. I constantly cull through my closets to get rid of things I haven't worn in ages or that no longer fit (although I've maintained the same size most of my adult life -- 0 or 2). I give things to co-workers, one of my sisters, or donate them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army.   The reason I'm interested in joining the program is not only from watching the segment on the NBC Nightly News with that adorable Brian Williams, but because lately I've started feeling guilty. I own enough clothes and shoes (approx. 150 pair, almost half of which are high-end - Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Prada -- all purchased @ at least 50% off, often more) to last for the foreseeable future. I have a fetish for outerwear, so command over half of our full-size coat closet (I have multiples of everything), plus have an upstairs closet which contains only evening wear, and another that in most homes is devoted to linens but which contains sweaters and handbags. These are in addition to my full-size walk-in closet which houses all the shoes as well as spring/summer/fall/winter clothing. I don't NEED to shop -- I like the thrill of finding gorgeous things on sale at a price I can afford (I can still name everything I ever paid full price for, and it's less than 5 items!). I can't wear all that I have now, and yes, I have clothes with tags on them that I've had perhaps 2 years now. They fit, they're in style, but I just have so much it takes a while to wear something new. Yet I still go out each weekend to shop, buy more, bring it home, look at and admire it, put it in the closet, and yes, eventually wear it. At the end of a season, however, I realize I have way more clothes than I can wear, and things get put away for the next season, unworn. (I will add that I have no credit card debt -- whatever I spend each month is paid in full the next, even if/when it hurts!)   I am often accused of never wearing the same thing twice. That's not true! I wear a lot of basics over and over, but pair them in new, creative ways to get more use out of them. I get ideas from InStyle and Harper's Bazaar magazines, and love both Jak & Jill and The Sartorialist blogs. I look at pics in InStyle and realize I have every item in an outfit, so then put them together the same way and there's a new look! I just want to wear what I have and try to break the addiction of constantly acquiring more.   Unfortunately, one of the added benefits of marriage has been more expendable income to shop in better stores. For the first few years we were married, my husband would chastise me for still going to thrift stores. "Why would you want to buy someone else's old clothes when you can afford to buy brand new ones in a 'real' store?" he would ask. It was hard to explain to him the thrill of finding an alligator handbag from probably the early 60s for $24 in a consignment shop in my hometown in Arkansas -- something that would cost many thousands of dollars in the present day, and which I would never spend the $$ on, even if we were wealthy.   Clothes shopping is a monkey on my well-dressed back -- and I believe I can keep the clothes, still look great and fashionable, but lose the monkey! I need your help!!!