Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined topic chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the twenty-first day of the month is "Decision."
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As many of you know, I am somewhat frugal, particularly when it comes to clothing. This isn't to suggest I buy cheap clothing, but the opposite. I spend money on clothes, but then I baby them and they last for years and years. I have a dress I bought in high school that I still wear on a regular basis, although I don't look as good in it as I once did. I have a relatively small wardrobe (I mean, larger than Elisabeth's, but my nephew once asked me if I owned a different sweatshirt than the one I talk about in this post and I was able to tell him that I did in fact, own ONE other hoodie. He was astounded because he owns probably a dozen), but it is mighty and I love all of the pieces I own.
Today I made the difficult decision to get rid of this beloved University of Minnesota sweatshirt that I have had for many, many years. This sweatshirt had it all - full zip, piping everywhere, quality embroidery, and a fabulous maroon color (the school colors are maroon and gold). It has stains on it I can't get out, the sleeves are frayed beyond repair, and because I have had to replace the zipper multiple times, the piping is more of a handwave than an actuality in many places.
I have replaced it with an inferior sweatshirt (no mascot, no piping, no sleeve embroidery), but I hope to someday grow to love this one was much as I did this one. You served me well, Maroon Full-Zip.
I have started immediately replacing anything with noticeable holes or stains, and it is HARD to replace my very faves. The new shirt is so cute, and I bet you will soon love it, too.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to replace this one for years, but a full zip has been incredibly hard to find. The replacement is inferior, but I guess I'll have to deal.
DeleteAw! I also have a hard time parting with beloved clothes. I agree that the new hoodie isn't as special as the old one, BUT, maybe because you got it as part of your birthday weekend, with your husband, while you reminisced about old times and getting engaged, that will imbue it with special meaning. It does look comfy!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the new hoodie will be great as soon as the weather cools down and I need it!
DeleteI love the new one! I am a big hoodie fan and probably 90% of my hoodies are of the full zip variety. Definitely the way to go!! (Though certain times and places call for the oversized pullover style, lol. I have a few of those too and just got a new one that has my son's high school name + Soccer on it which I LOVE!! It's sooooo comfy and I can't wait to wear it to his games when the weather cools down.) That one is so cute! Very much my style too.
ReplyDeleteI have so many old clothes too, though not all of them are super expensive. I am not joking, I have a set of $5 basic tank tops from Target that I have worn as "undershirts" or "pj tanks" for, seriously, almost 15 years now. (I bought when Ethan was a baby.) The blue one still literally looks new, but the black one finally just developed a tiny little hole in it (but I've worn it approximately 5,428 times, so...) and the tan one has just this year started to stretch out (I wear that one to bed a lot).... but for $5 Target tank tops, MAN I GOT MY MONEY'S worth!! haha.
I also have a Columbia zip up hooded sweater that I have been wearing on vacations since the boys were toddlers! I just love it and will cry when eventually it wears out. It is so neutral and is the perfect "put something on when out to dinner and I get chilly" type sweater; nice enough that it "dresses up" well but casual enough, too for almost any setting. And you know I won't be able to find one that's just the same, when I go to eventually replace it....
Oh, before I started my "no fast fashion" soapbox, I did a lot of shopping at Old Navy and Gap. I have a lot of Gap tanks that I'm still using and my longest lasting yoga pants are ON - they're all 15+ years old. I rarely use the dryer and that's really the secret of keeping clothes from getting too ratty, I think. The cost per wear for those clothes has got to be pennies at this point!
DeleteSigh, I know the feeling when you've got that magic piece of clothing and after 20 years it starts to show its age...congrats on moving on.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It was such a big step for me. LOL.
DeleteI tend not to be overly sentimental about clothes, but I also don't always have what I need for that reason. Would you believe I don't own a single hooded sweatshirt (or zippered sweater). I'm not a big fan and have owned and not worn the ones I had and eventually ended up donating whatever was in my closet...so I'm not in a rush to find one for my wardrobe but it also feels like something that would be practical to have (I'll sometimes borrow one of my husbands - but maybe that's the best of both worlds. Then HE is the one storing it, and I get the benefit of using it when needed?)
ReplyDeleteI love the colours of your original sweater - they match the colours of my undergrad university! I think the new one looks cozy and I hope you grow to love it just as much and that is lasts you many glorious years <3
If I am wearing pants (relatively unusual, tbf), I will almost always be wearing a hoodie. I am imagining this winter, I'm going to be pairing the hoodie with my heated vest an awful lot. I don't have A LOT of sweatshirts, but I have what I need.
DeleteHooded sweatshirts are one of those items of clothing I have trouble compromising on, so I feel very drawn to this post. I'm glad your maroon one served you so well for so many years, and am sending good thoughts that the black one, although not an exact replica, may have hidden wins that repeated wearings will make known!
ReplyDeleteHidden wins! I'll definitely be looking out for advantages of the black sweatshirt!
DeleteI have very few hooded sweatshirts, too. I basically wear the same one over and over and over until it gets totally worn out/pills and then replace it. As you know from my Banff posts, I just bought a new hoodie that will be my go to hoodie until it wears out. It's a pull over hoodie, though. I have a hard time finding zip up hoodies that I like. They will be too fitted or too gappy at the bottom. I don't have that problem with pull overs it seems.
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time finding full zip hoodies at all, let alone hoodies that match my general desires, so I feel you that when you find one you like, you just wear it until it's falling apart!
DeleteIt's a sad day when a beloved clothing item has to be put to pasture. I keep my clothes a very long time when I love them, but eventually I know I have to let them go. I have a couple of hoodies but I don't wear them often at all - something about having the hood feels claustrophobic to me, unless I'm wearing it outside.
ReplyDeleteI prefer a hoodie to a crewneck sweatshirt because crew necks always feel like they're strangling me, but with a full zip, I control how much is at my neck. I think you prefer sweaters, too, and I actually only own a few sweaters because I always feel like they're trying to kill me. We all have our own things and as long as we all stay warm, I say whatever works for your own body and your own needs!
DeleteJust thinking that I only wear sweats in the house but jackets outside, if I require something. I have a sweat on now although it has warmed enough in the past few hours to remove it. It's pretty ratty but comfy and few people see it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fair to have just inside clothes. Because I walk the dog, all of my inside clothes are seen by people outside, so things can't get too ratty for me, but I do have clothes that are solely for yardwork/housework.
DeleteAwww....I totally get this. So sorry your old standard has to go, but it has served you so well.
ReplyDeleteIt has. I was sad to see it go, but we are a one in, one out household, so there it went.
DeleteI get attached to clothing (strangely) and have a hard time getting rid off some pieces but I can see that it can get to a point where it is inevitable. I hope you will love the new sweater as much as the first one (they're both awesome but I love the second color a little more ;)).
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'll grow to love it. But I am going to keep my eye out for another maroon one. LOL.
DeleteSad sad day! I would have a hard time saying goodbye to it too! One of my most beloved and tattered sweatshirts is from my alma mater.
ReplyDeleteI got a sweatshirt from my undergrad alma mater during orientation before my freshman year and I recently had to toss that one, too. Sad days. I'm really down to just two hoodies and one crewneck sweatshirt at this point!
DeleteI haaaate getting rid of old favorites. And I, too, hang on to clothing. But I do have more than Elisabeth, for sure, and you, as well. I keep trying to get rid of sweatshirts but there are so many sentimental ties. Sigh. And some work well with leggings, others are more appropriate for warmer weather (lighter ones, e.g.) and others work best with yoga pants. If I don't wear it, i get rid of it, but I still wear them, so...
ReplyDeleteHoodies are what strangles me - although I've never had a hooded *full zip*. Hm.