Nothing Broken

I will openly admit that I still have not unpacked my suitcases from my Christmas travels. I will also admit that my holiday decorations are still up. While I have no excuse for the fact that our house looks like it belongs to the retired couple that leave their lights up until mid-February, I have a perfectly good reason for not touching the large suitcases for weeks.

I have no more room. Residents of the city often find themselves hard pressed for storage room or closet space. I can’t even use this as a crutch—I am blessed with more room than most of my friends. The problem really is that I have too much stuff.

Until recently, I wasn’t really one for rotating your wardrobe or adding updates to replace something else. I was more the get what you want while you still keep the rest of your crap type. I didn’t sell my stuff to a store in exchange for credit. I didn’t put it up for auction on ebay or even sell it on the less frequented sections of Craigslist.

These things piled up on top of each other and got squeezed in between other things that soon they became forgotten. Eventually, I would find some old Karen Scott (yes, you heard right) blouse or Guess sundresses that I bought during another lifetime. These are things I am just too embarrassed to own and wouldn’t even dare sell on Poshmark. I wouldn’t even take it over to that forsaken Crossroads where they seem to only take the outdated and mass manufactured.

I guess I never really parted with them because they are in really good condition. I hardly wore them and I always imagine that I could style them brilliantly. But chances are I won’t. I mean it’s pretty much fact that I won’t. So this year, I am making the resolution to donate more of my clothes. All the stuff that is still in phenomenal condition but no longer suits my style has to go. If someone or someplace won’t buy them, they will find a wonderful future elsewhere because, while I might have a lot of room, it isn’t endless (at least not yet).

Here are some great places to consider giving your gently loved or new items to:

• Goodwill and the Salvation Army provide donations that fund good works in the community and support job education, rehabilitation programs, and housing efforts
• Dress For Success provides work appropriate and confidence boosting clothing, assistance finding employment, and a community to support breaking the cycle of poverty
• The Cinderella Project takes unwanted formal gowns and dresses and places them in the hands of underprivileged young women, removing an additional financial burden on already strained families and promoting self-esteem so that they can focus on creating the memories and experiences they deserve

This should help with my closet situation. But I know that it will probably only slow the rate of expansion and not stop it altogether. That’s why I still bought an extra retail rack and a million hangers on Amazon last night.

But still, donate because it is the right thing to do. Blessed to be a Blessing–and take the extra room in your closet as the icing on the cake.

Whether you’ve only caught an occasional episode of “I Love Lucy,” or are a cult fanatic with a collection worthy of renting a space in an antique mall, you know Lucy didn’t hit up the mall every time she had a party to attend. What she did have in common with the 2012 woman is that seconds after an invite, she would run over to her best friend Ethel so that they could talk about what they were going to wear. Ethel would grumble about her basement discount dress from Gimble’s while Lucy would begin her pleading with husband, Ricky, to let her buy something new.

Back then, most women didn’t have a million things in their closet. Lucy begging Ricky for the new dress or hat wasn’t like us trying to justify another cute top. It was more along the lines of making the decision to buying that expensive handbag that you tuck into the dust bag when you’re not using it.

Traditionally, women had a few pieces in the closet that were rotated or had a specific purpose: the weekend shirt, a few everyday dresses, a nice suit for professional occasions, and a nice dress or two for formal company. With a small number of things that were used many times, people took good care of their clothes. They didn’t roll up a cashmere sweater with their clip-in hair extensions and shove it into a handbag after they finished changing in the backseat of a Toyota. And they definitely weren’t stumbling around on a Friday night; they didn’t end up with the mysteriously scuffed heels. Let’s just say, they were very lady-like and probably much more composed than we are.

The apparel business was completely different. It had to be. Basically, people had pieces that were impeccably made. I say pieces because, well, they were. Attention to detail, construction, and design were masterful and something that today’s market only allows in the most exclusive of couture houses.

This leads me to why we should all do our part to buy more vintage this year. Below you’ll find a list of reasons why stepping back in time is fabulous for your style and a good work—bet you didn’t think snatching up a vintage Missoni dress at a deep discount was altruistic!

• When a trend revives itself decades later, you’ll have a one of a kind way to interpret it.
• Stock up with vintage classics instead of the mainstream cookie cutter alternatives. Some things like an LBD never go out of style, so make sure your basics are anything but boring.
• Buy vintage: your wallet will thank you. Not only will you avoid paying the costs of a newly manufactured item, you’ll soon have an entire wardrobe of dreamy designers at a fraction of the cost. Case in point: I have more Oscar De La Renta and Escada silk tops than I can count all purchased for no more than $5. Thanks old lady who unknowingly gave them away!
• You’ll get the kind of quality that you can’t buy at the malls. Remember how much Lucy loved her dresses? Believe it or not, she probably loved them more than you do yours because she didn’t have two walk-ins filled with them.
• Here’s the part most of us don’t think about but should. Usually the best deals aren’t at the consignment boutiques, but come after some hard but rewarding and fun work at places like your local Goodwill. Bonus: you are being charitable while you shop.
•  Shopping used and vintage does the world a load of good. It keeps these clothes from joining the tons that annually hit the landfills. Also, your money isn’t spent on covering the natural resources like fuel and energy that are used during most manufacturing processes.
• You are also not contributing to the pollution from emission and chemical dumping that comes from the factories that make the new clothes in the store.

Eco-friendly, philanthropic, signature style, dollar savvy, and independent—shop vintage and you’ll be as timeless and iconic as Lucy. And, you won’t even have to get into some frazzled (but loveable) jam for it.