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Fashionably Sensible

Posted by Cynical Sarah on March 18, 2007

I have never considered myself to be a fashion conscious person. I grew up in a household where name-brand jeans didn’t exist and hand-me-downs were the norm.

Even as I got older, I never really felt the need to ask for the Guess jeans or the Nike shoes that were such a big deal to everyone else. Perhaps it helps that I grew up in the Midwest where the latest fashions didn’t really hit us until they were “so over” in most major cities anyway.

Not that it mattered really. I don’t remember many of my friends caring who made their shirts or what kind of shoes they were wearing. It is certainly not the same as say downtown L.A. where there are way more people than the entire state of South Dakota, and much more people who care about what everyone else is wearing.

Now I live in a big city though and I find myself being somewhat sucked into the fashion world.

At least once a week, I hear people talking about clothes, shoes or other fashion accessories. One guy at work swears by Oakley sunglasses and has never worn anything else. He has even traveled hundreds of miles to spend a hundreds plus dollars for the pair he wanted.

I didn’t even bother to mention that my sunglasses cost me perhaps $16 at some random department store. And they definitely don’t have any special brand name. They just looked good and were a good price. Plus, if I break them, I can get another pair just as easily and just as cheaply.

I’ve also heard plenty of conversations about all the trendy stores downtown and where to buy the best shoes in the $100 range.

Even though I’ve been taking more interest in what I’m wearing and putting together outfits, I still can’t fathom paying more than $30 for a good pair of jeans and more than $100 for shoes.

My version of taking more interest in fashion is just finding clothes that fit me better rather than settling for whatever I can get a good deal on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still looking for the best deal I can find, but I’m not going to buy a shirt that’s atrocious and not quite the right size or cut for me just because it’s $5.

That’s a pretty big step for a girl who also enjoyed thrift-store shopping for a good many years and didn’t care how clothes looked as long as they weren’t too tight.

The change is perhaps the byproduct of moving to a bigger city where fashion is more important to people, plus watching a little too much “What Not To Wear” on TLC. I think the biggest factor in the change though is losing weight.

Two years ago I was about 50 pounds heavier and clothes shopping was a bit depressing. The most important thing I looked for in clothes at the time was that it was big enough without me having to always head to the plus size departments and stores. Baggy was good and fleece and sweaters were definitely my friend. (Or my enemy if you saw how they looked.)

Now clothes shopping is more fun. I can shop in the “regular” stores and actually try the latest styles and see how they work for me. The best options I had in the plus size stores tended to be old-lady styles and all about tenting to cover everything – which isn’t flattering on any body, no matter what the stores seem to think.

Another big change is I have learned to shop for quality as well and not just quantity. After who knows how many shirts I’ve bought at Wal-mart for $5 and then had to replace after just a few wearings, I figured out that sometimes it actually saves money to buy quality since you won’t have to replace it as often.

I won’t even get into how many pairs of shoes I’ve bought cheap and had fall apart in a matter of weeks as well. Yes Dad, you were right, less expensive is much better than cheap when it comes to shopping.

So my fashion rules may be different than those who actually follow the trends, but they’re probably a lot more handy.