I've had enough.


I've had enough, I say!


I've had enough stretched out necklines and pilled cotton.  I've had enough snagged sweaters and baggy pants.  I've had enough grease stained, too small, too big, too ugly, too haggard, and generally worn-out clothing.


Somethings gotta give.  And it ain't gunna be me…it's gunna be this sorry excuse for a wardrobe.


First, let me clarify: I'm not exactly what you would consider “fashion forward”.  My goal in this life is not to just look pretty as I skip on through it.  Truth be told, I really don't care that much for fashion.


However.


There comes a point when hand-me-downs and second-hand clothing just isn't cuttin' it anymore.  I've made it work for many many years – but that shirt I (literally) bought in the ninth grade?  Well, I think it's run it's course.

Here in lies the problem:  When I got pregnant, I got large.  So I had to wear all kinds of new large clothes.  Then, when I delivered and nursed my wee one, I lost mucho weight, so I am having to wear all kinds of new little(er) clothes. Only none of them fit.  Not my bras.  Not my pants.  Not my shirts.  


Bah!


Now, surely, I do not mean to sound ungrateful for the way that my sisters and mother have blessed me with their rejected clothes.  I kid you not people, over 90% of my wardrobe has been graciously donated to the Shaye-charity by my loved ones, and for that, I am very grateful.  It has seen me through many a year.


But it's time.


It's time to wear pants that don't fall down.


It's time to wear shirts that don't have holes.


It's time to throw out those clearance cotton tees I bought in the tenth grade.


It's time to say goodbye to misfitting bras.

It's time to feel fresh and feminine again.


So, I've come up with a plan, thanks in part to my friend Aileen, and here it is:  Every two weeks, coinciding with paydays, Stuart, Georgia, and I will each be allowed to purchase one piece of clothing.  Be it jeans, a dress, a blouse, or a bra.  Each month, we will get two new pieces of clothing.


As in new!  From the store!


As in, “I am actually choosing something that I want!”


As in, “I must now define my actual style, because I get a choice!”


And you know what I chose this time?  Feast your eyes on this beauty:

After months of facing the reality that Stuart needs new dress pants, dress shirts, and underwear (hey, a man's got needs!), I kept stressing over the fact that we never have a large amount of extra money to go and purchase a new clothing with.  


Someone went and bought a Nikon D70 with the stash…but that's beside the point…let's not point any fingers…


I realized that if I just kept waiting for the money to be available for new clothing, it wasn't going to happen – because it's just not our priority.  However, this two-week plan allows us to not only stretch out the purchases to avoid the sticker-shock of a new wardrobe, but it also allows us to have more fun with the shopping!  Instead of stressing about filling our closet all at once, we get to dabble with whatever we find and like that week!  Plus, saying goodbye to $40 or so at a time is much easier than parting with hundreds.


I want to wear this:

And this:

And this:

Well, I want to wear the Target and Old Navy rip-offs of them anyway…


Ooh!  And I want these:

Just in case anyone wants to get me an early Christmas present…


I want to feel pretty and feminine.  I don't want to be a wife that just let's my looks go!  I want my husband to be pleased when he looks at me…I want him to know that I put in an effort to stay sassy for him!  I want to feel like a well kept and natural lady.


I'm not sayin' that you have to have a new wardrobe to feel this way.


But I am sayin' that this homesteader feels much more feminine when she wears pants that don't have a giant hole in the knee.  And while these jeans are appropriate on occasion (ie: shoveling manure), they are not so appropriate on other occasions (ie: Church).


So, goodbye, my lovely well-worn wardrobe.  Thank you for faithfully seeing me through fifteen years of my life.

…Ya, I'd say it's time.

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