The secrets in my closet!
This week’s first guest post comes from a charming reader called JakJak, who sent me this lovely email:
I’ve been reading your blog for a while and noticed you are missing! (Hopefully due to good things.) Anyway, since I’ve missed reading your entries I thought I’d have a go at writing one myself. If its any good please use it as a guest post.
Her guest post is wonderful, so without further ado, here it is!
My wardrobe contains many, many secrets.
I have a deal with my sister that if anything happens to me, she must get to my wardrobe first and clear it, lest any of my secrets be shamefully exposed to a wider viewing.
What do I hide in there, that I don’t want the world to know? I’ll start small with one secret…
In my ‘real life’ I work part-time from home, and am a mother of two.
Not so in wardrobe. My clothes are GLAMOROUS.
They are all about the life I think I have, instead of the life I actually do have. My clothes lead a completely different life to mine!
Should I get invited to the opening night to the Royal Opera, I have three different outfits ready to choose from, all complete with shoes, bags and jewellery. Taking my children to the zoo however, not so many choices.
But why buy a sensible tracksuit when a silk dress is waiting to be purchased?
Things reached crisis point recently, when I found myself putting on a floor length Aurelio Costarello equestrian skirt with an adidas t-shirt to pick the children up from school. But I got the skirt on sale, and it would have been quite the bargain if I had actually needed it!
I have bought tickets to the ballet, simply so that I get a chance to wear my claret velvet coat with ruffled collar, and tickets to the Arubian Drumming Spectacular so I can wear my avant-garde black wrap dress with exposed edging. I’m currently eyeing a Trelise Cooper ensemble that I fear I may have to join a polo team for.
You don’t want to know how far I’ll go for my clothes!
When I see all the unworn clothes/dreams in my wardrobe — say, the ten pairs of unpractical but beautiful shoes, or the glittery headscarves that fear they will never see a midnight picnic — just wait, I say, I will be coming for you one day.
For me, clothes allude to greater things and grander schemes. They express my outlook on life, and I simply refuse to belong to the suburban set, even though I clearly do at this hard-working point in my life (the kids are small, the mortgage big).
There’s nothing wrong with the ‘burbs, they’re just not me.
I am not against the tracksuit, the jeans and t-shirt. I am against the mundane, the typecast and the loss of dreams.
Thank you JakJak for the wonderful guest post!
But, please don’t fix that ‘problem’! How wonderful to pick up the kids from school in a fabulous floor-length skirt. Practicality be damned, dressing up is far more fun!
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I agree with the Bargain Queen… please don’t fix that problem. I live in dresses and skirts.
Before you go out and give in to t-shirts and jeans, consider how you might creatively play down a piece without sacrificing it’s charm. In my wardrobe, a pair of fun ballet flats, a funky bright-colored purse, and my enamel butterfly and bead necklace can bring my dresses back down to day-wear. Even when I do wear some denim, I like to pair it with my all the above and a nice blouse. I’ve recently discovered clutches and wristlet purses and I’m amazed how well they work into casual attire.
It really is so nice to hear about someone who isn’t afraid to dream - especially with clothing. With so many under-dressed people around, I really love to see people who dress up despite them.
Agreed… I don’t pigeonhole my clothes into “work” “play” “casual” only.. everything mixes and matches. I wear sequined silk tops during the day with jeans and flats, and comfortable cotton t-shirts at work with dressed up trousers and heels.. :)
I think all women’s closets are filled with secrets ..not all of them of the clothing kind!
I have dreams a la the Brit who goes to the ballet all dressed up - except that I am an actress/musician in Hollywood who gets invited to glam events for which I have to stock clothing. And then I DO get to wear them. I also have to have clothing which serves as wardrobe - such as the shirt and wool jacket I wore last week - complete with earrings & chain - for a shoot. Whereas mostly at home I am in jeans and a tshirt/sweatshirt - (Right now I am in my dressy jeans and a sweater.) As such, I have a hard time tossing clothing - as I need a variation of shirts, say - for wardrobe - Ditto accessories, etc. Eventually, with very few exceptions, I wear EVERYTHING. And this is made more complicated, that as an Uberfrugal bargain queen, everything I own started off life as a rockbottom bargain (hard to duplicate that). I should have a walkin closet the size of my bedroom - but I just have my bedroom, alas….
Hi Pamela,
That’s one of my dreams, too!
In the meantime, I usually find an excuse to wear most of my stuff — even if it’s wearing a white lace dress for Easter at my place, or spending a few days at the yearly medieval fair so that I can wear my corsets.
In fact, I’m planning to try out a new goth / dance noir night at a local club so that I have an excuse to wear some of my punk/goth clothes that are a bit too much to wear by day.
Yes, preppy Meg has an alter ego ; )